The Green Bay Packers picked 22-year old TE D.J. Williams out of Arkansas with the 141th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He is 6’1″, 236 pounds and he runs a 4.63 40.  Williams has a good set of hands and he’s a good route runner.  He is also a good run blocker who also excels on special teams.  Williams played in 13 games (all starts) at Arkansas last year and he caught 54 passes for 627 yards (11.6 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 51 games (33 starts) in his four years with the Razorbacks and he had 152 catches for 1,855 yards (12.2 avg) with 10 TD grabs.  Williams is talented enough to play either TE or FB in the NFL, so I really like this pick for the Packers.

The Green Bay Packers have selected 22-year old cornerback Davon House out of New Mexico State with the 131st overall pick (4th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  House is 6’0″, 188 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  House has some things he needs to fix in his game but he will have time to do that because he will be no higher than #4 on the depth chart at corner in 2011 for the Packers.  He played in 12 games (all starts) for New Mexico State last year and he had 57 tackles, 10 passes broken up, he had 2 interceptions and he forced 1 fumble.  House played in 50 games (44 starts) in his four years with New Mexico State and he had 202 tackles, broke up 37 passes, he had 11 interceptions, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 3 fumbles.  This was a good pick for the Packers because House can work as a dime back and on special teams until he’s ready to handle a more important role for the Packers down the road.

The Packers took RB Alex Green out of Hawaii with the 96th overall pick (3rd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Green is a big back at 6’0″, 225 pounds and he runs a 4.53 40.  He played in 14 games (all starts) for Hawaii last year and he carried the ball 146 times for 1,199 yards (8.2 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  Green also caught 27 passes for 363 yards (13.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Green played in 27 games in his two years at Hawaii and he carried the ball 232 times for 1,652 yards (7.1 ypc) with 20 TD runs.  He also caught 38 passes for 461 yards (12.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs at Hawaii.  This was a very interesting pick as no one can argue with Green’s production at Hawaii, but he was facing mostly nickel and dime defenses because of the style of offense the Warriors ran.  He will have to prove that he’s worthy in the NFL against tougher defensive fronts.  That being said, I still like the pick for the Packers who needed depth at RB.

The Packers picked 21-year old WR/RS Randall Cobb out of Kentucky with the 64th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Cobb is 5’11″, 185 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Cobb is a very versatile threat as he was a QB when he got to Kentucky.  He throws left-handed and he can also play RB in a pinch if the Packers need him to.  Cobb is a homerun threat every time he touches the ball because he has a nice combo of moves and speed.  Cobb played in 13 games (all starts) for Kentucky last year and he caught 84 passes for 1,017 yards (12.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He played in 36 games (32 starts) in his three years with the Wildcats and he caught 144 passes for 1,661 yards (11.5 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  He will be a big time threat in the slot for the Packers.  Cobb will likely be used as the return man right away in 2011 for the Packers.  Cobb returned 44 kickoffs for 1,081 yards (24.6 avg) and he also returned 74 punts for 711 yards (9.6 avg) with 2 TD returns at Kentucky.  This was a good pick for the Packers as Cobb will get on the field a lot for them both in 2011 and the future.

The Packers were glad to see 22-year old OT Derek Sherrod slide to them.  The Packers used the 32nd overall pick in the NFL Draft (first round) on him.  Sherrod has the versatility to play either guard or tackle, but he’ll likely start his career on the outside.  Sherrod and Bryan Bulaga will give the Packers a nice set of bookend offensive tackles to protect QB Aaron Rodgers for years to come.  Sherrod played in 13 games (all starts) for Mississippi State last year.  He played in 47 games (35 starts) in his four years at Mississippi State.  This was another excellent pick by GM Ted Thompson of the Packers.

The Green Bay Packers don’t have a lot of pressing need areas, so look for them to take the best player available this weekend regardless of position:

1st round (#32 overall) – Corey Liuget, DT, Illinois

2nd round (#64 overall) – Sam Acho, OLB, Texas

3rd round (#96 overall) – DeMarcus Love, OT, Arkansas

4th round (#129 overall) – Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Oregon State

4th round (#131 overall) – Nate Irving, OLB, North Carolina State

5th round (#163 overall) – Johnny White, RB, North Carolina

6th round (#197 overall) – Rashad Carmichael, CB, Virginia Tech

7th round (#204 overall) – Jake Kirkpatrick, C, TCU

7th round (#233 overall) – Will Hill, S, Florida

The Packers would be cherry picking a lot of good players by just taking the best player regardless of need.  This would be an awesome haul based on where they are drafting.

The Green Bay Packers had a pretty solid draft last April.  A few of the players dealt with injuries but they showed a lot of potential for the future.  Here’s a look at how the rookie did in 2010:

Bryan Bulaga:  The Packers drafted OT Bryan Bulaga in the first round (#23 overall) out of Iowa last April.  He played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Packers last season, doing his best work at RT.  He looks like he’s going to be a fixture on the Packers’ starting O-Line for a long time.

Mike Neal:  The Packers took DE Mike Neal out of Purdue in the 2nd round (#56 overall).  He only played in 2 games (0 starts) for the Packers last year before his season ended due to injury but he did have 3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 forced fumble.  If Neal can stay healthy, he has pretty solid potential to help the D-Line of the Packers.

Morgan Burnett:  Strong safety Morgan Burnett came to the Packers in the 3rd round (#71 overall) out of Georgia Tech.  He won a starting job for the Packers in training camp but his season ended early due to injury.  Burnett played in 4 games (all starts) for the Packers last year and he had 12 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He looks like another find for the Packers to help out in the secondary.

Andrew Quarless:  TE Andrew Quarless came to the Packers in the 5th round (#154 overall) out of Penn State.  He played in 13 games (3 starts) for the Packers last year and he caught 21 passes for 238 yards (11.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Quarless was learning on the fly last year after the injury to Jermichael Finley but he has the potential to really help the Packers down the road.

Michael Newhouse:  The Packers took OG Michael Newhouse in the 5th round (#169 overall) out of TCU.  He never made it to the field and finished the season on the Injured Reserve List.  He will need to show the Packers something next season if he wants to continue getting paid to play football.

James Starks:  The Packers selected RB James Starks in the 6th round (#193 overall) out of Buffalo.  He started the season late due to injury.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Packers during the regular season and he carried the ball 29 times for 101 yards (3.5 ypc).  Starks also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) and he returned 2 kickoffs for 25 yards (12.5 avg).  But, in the post-season, Starks turned into the main man in the running game for the Packers.  Starks carried the ball 81 times for 315 yards (3.9 ypc) with a TD run in the playoffs and Super Bowl.  He also caught 3 passes for 15 yards (5.0 avg) and he returned 5 kickoffs for 70 yards (14.0 avg) in the post-season for the Packers.  He might not challenge Ryan Grant for the starting job in 2011, but he will be no lower than #2 on the depth chart at RB when next year begins as long as he is healthy.

C.J. Wilson:  DE C.J. Wilson came to the Packers in the 7th round (#230 overall) out of East Carolina.  He played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Packers last year and he had 18 tackles and 1 sack.  This was just another solid pick by Packers’ GM Ted Thompson who really knows what he is doing.  I look for Wilson to have  bright future with the Packers.

GRADE FOR 2010:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A

24-year old ro0kie RB James Starks got off to a very late start to his rookie year due to injury.  He played in only 3 games during the regular season for the Packers in which he carried the ball 29 times for 101 yards (3.5 ypc).  Starks also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) during the regular season.  But in the playoffs Starks has been a workhorse for the Packers.  In the Packers’ first two playoff games, Starks has carried the ball 48 times for 189 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also has caught 2 passes for 9 yards (4.5 avg).  The 6th round pick out of Buffalo appears to have fresh legs right now and he’s giving the Packers more balance on offense, making them even more difficult to deal with.  The Packers hope that Starks has a good game tomorrow, because if he does, the Packers will be in the Super Bowl.

The Packers need a little more out of 22-year old rookie TE Andrew Quarless.  He has seen increased playing time as the year has went on due to the injuries that have ransacked the depth chart at TE for the Packers.  Quarless has played in 10 games for the Packers so far this year and he has caught 17 passes for 205 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He was a 5th round pick (#154 overall) out of Penn State last April.  When you take that in consideration the Packers are probably happy with him this year.

The Packers have lost 23-year old rookie DE/DT Mike Neal for the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery.  Neal played in 2 games for the Packers this year and he had 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 forced fumble.  The Packers have had a huge rash of injuries on D so Neal would have likely gotten his big chance soon if he could have just stayed healthy.  He was a second round pick of the Packers last April out of Purdue so they like him……they’ll just have to wait until next season to see what they have in him.