The Packers have selected DT Mike Neal out of Purdue with the 56th pick overall (2nd round) of the NFL Draft.  Neal is a solid player when he’s not getting tired and he stays motivated.  He seems like someone that the Packers are going to have to keep an eye on getting him rest during a game.  Neal played in 12 games (all starts) for Purdue last season in which he had 35 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, he forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  He played in 46 games (23 starts) in his four years at Purdue and he finished up with 99 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 13 sacks, he batted down 2 passes, forced 1 fumble and he recovered 2 fumbles.  Neal has a nice upside but it appears that the Packers might have picked him a round or two too early.

The Packers nabbed T/G Bryan Bulaga of Iowa with the 23rd pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.  Bulaga was one of the most highly rated prospects at OT this season and the Packers were giddy when he fell to them.  He played in 10 games (all starts) for Iowa last season.  Bulaga’s future down the road will likely be at tackle but he will likely be moving inside in 2010 as the Packers need help at guard.  Bulaga is a big guy at 6′5″, 310 pounds and he is adept at both pass and run blocking.  He played in 30 games (28 starts) in his three years at Iowa.  Packers’ GM Ted Thompson is at it again finding solid value late in the first round.

The Packers will be busy trying to fill holes this weekend as they have not added anyone in free agency this off-season.  The Packers have 3 of the top 86 picks in this draft and they have 8 picks overall so they have the potential to trade up if they want to.  The Packers have needs at OT, CB, OLB, S and PK heading into this weekend.  The Packers have never been a team you can pinpoint in the draft as they sometime draft for need and sometimes they go with the best player available.  I would think that they are considering using their first round pick on one of the following players:  LB Sean Lee, OLB Daryl Washington, CB Perrish Cox, CB Kyle Wilson, CB Patrick Robinson, S Nate Allen, S Taylor Mays, OT Bruce Campbell and OT Charles Brown. 

PROJECTED FIRST ROUND PICK:  OT, Charles Brown, USC

The Packers went into last April’s draft wanting to help the defense and the offensive line and I think they did that.  With the #9 overall pick in the NFL Draft (first round) the Packers took DT/DE B.J. Raji out of Boston College.  He played in 14 games for the Packers last season and he made 25 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and he defensed 1 pass and had a sack.  The Packers will expect more out of him next season and down the road.  The best player the Packers took last April was their other first round pick (#26 overall) OLB Clay Matthews out of USC.  He played in all 16 games for the Packers as a rookie and he made 51 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, he had 10 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 7 passes.  The sky is the limit for Matthews as he looks unstoppable at times.  In the fourth round the Packers picked OT T.J. Lang (#109 overall) out of Eastern Michigan.  Lang played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Packers last season and he has nice size at 6′4″, 316 pounds so he has a nice upside.  Fullback Quinn Johnson came to the Packers in the 5th round (#145 overall) out of LSU.  He didn’t run the ball but he caught 2 passes for 4 yards in 9 games.  OT Jamon Meredith was selected in the 5th round (#162 overall) out of South Carolina.  He played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Packers last season and he looks like a keeper just like Lang.  DE Jarius Wynn was picked in the sixth round (#182 overall) out of Georgia.  He played in 11 games and made a whopping 4 tackles for the Packers last season.  CB Brandon Underwood was also picked in the 6th round (#187 overall) out of Cincinnati.  He played in 11 games and he made 11 tackles including three of them for a loss.  The Packers really got themselves a steal with linebacker Brad Jones who they picked in the 7th round (#218 overall) out of Colorado.  He played in 14 games for the Packers last season and he made 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 1 pass and had 4 sacks. 

GRADE FOR 2009:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A-

The Packers traded up back into the first round to select outside linebacker Clay Matthews.  Matthews has nice size at 6′3″, 246 pounds and he’s definately fast enough (4.7 40) to handle the outside.  Matthews also has great bloodlines as both his dad (Clay) and uncle (Bruce) were both outstanding NFL players.  He still had to work for everything he got as he was a walk on as a freshman with the USC Trojans.  Matthews played in 48 games (12 starts) in his career and he has made 96 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, has 5.5 sacks and he broke up 4 passes.  He is just scratching the surface of his potential as his best football is ahead of him.