Morning Buzz: The return of Trader Ted
Welcome to your Morning Buzz, rounding up news and views regarding the Green Bay Packers and the NFL from around the web and here at PackersNews.com. Grab a strong cup of coffee, and get caught up on everything you need to know about the Packers.
We’ll start with Bob McGinn’s reaction to Ted Thompson and the Packers choosing to trade out of the first round.
By trading, the Packers lost out on outside linebacker T.J. Watt of Wisconsin, who went 30th to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and inside linebacker Reuben Foster, who fell all the way to No. 31 and the San Francisco 49ers.
Foster was regarded as the No. 1 player at the position in the Journal Sentinel’s pre-draft polling of personnel people despite injury and off-the-field concerns.
Several prominent names, however, remain for the Packers on Friday when the draft resumes at 6 p.m.
Kevin King of Washington, at 6 feet 3 inches the tallest top cornerback in the draft, was held in highest regard by the Packers before the draft.
In addition, Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, the terrific running back and another of the Packers’ targeted players, remains available. Cook was regarded as a distinct character risk by several teams due to various arrests dating back to high school in Miami.
Two other players, guard Forrest Lamp of Western Kentucky and cornerback Quincy Wilson of Florida, also would seem attractive to Green Bay.
Pete Dougherty weighs in on trading out of the 29th pick.
With cornerback Kevin King and outside linebacker T.J. Watt on the board at positions of immediate need, along with inside linebacker Reuben Foster and running back Dalvin Cook still on the board in mild surprises, Thompson saw more value in trading down than taking anyone.
Perhaps the Packers general manager didn’t have any first-round grades left on his board.
Maybe there were enough players he rated similarly — perhaps the four just mentioned — that he felt fine trading down four spots because he would end up with one of them at pick No. 33, the first pick of Friday night’s second round, and picked up the first pick of the fourth round (No. 108) for the trouble..
I chatted with Packers fans after they sat around for three hours only to watch their team trade away the pick. Needless to say, some of them were not pleased:
Unhappy fans was a bit of a theme Thursday night:
So who might the Packers select when they finally do make a selection? Michael Cohen has you covered.
Pete and I discussed Thompson’s move:
Elsewhere, the Packers Wire looks into their crystal ball for Day 2:
Some folks remember who Ted Thompson ended up getting the last time he traded out of Round One:
The Power Sweep looks at some of the guys who won’t be wearing Green and Gold:
Justis Mosqueda has his Day 2 board up, which is based off Thompson’s tendencies:
Rob Demovsky writes on the Packers missing out on TJ Watt:
Needless to say, there are Packers fans who were not thrilled with the move:
At least some fans have a sense of humor about it:
Regardless, the Packers are in a good spot: