I remember before the 2009 college season, some draft dude said that Benn would end up being a top 10 pick overall whenever he entered the draft. He had come off a fantastic 2008 season and prospects were good. But he cooled in 2009 after injuries set him back and then apparently his performance at the combine was weak on top of that – weak 40 time of 4.57.
Still, he may be another guy TT may have his eye on because by all accounts, Benn has great football instincts. A few years ago, someone did an interview with TT and other personnel guys about the kinds of guys they look for and they said something about liking “football guys” – guys with great football instincts and football in their blood. Greg Jennings is a guy with great football instincts. Clay Matthews is a guy with great instincts and football in his blood. BJ Raji also appears to be a relatively instinctive big guy. Aaron Rodgers is not only intuitive, but he’s also highly instinctive. Charles Woodson of course defines instinctive. And of course, one of the most instinctive guys on the team who doesn’t get a chance to play much: Desmond Bishop. These are all guys TT has acquired during his reign.
Again, don’t run off now thinking I am saying we need to draft this guy in the first round etc etc. I just wonder if this is another guy on TT’s radar. I saw Benn play back in 2008 anyway and the guy was fantastic.
packergeeks 
April 22, 2010 at 10:24 am |
WR is even lower than RB. Unless they can get him as an unsigned FA that is.
April 22, 2010 at 12:17 pm |
It appears that Bradford, Suh, and McCoy are going 1,2,3. That leaves 19 picks between the 4th and when the Packers pick at 23. I count 16 players that fit a need and per draft ‘experts’ project in the first round:
OT: Williams, Okung, Bulaga, Davis, Saffold
S: Berry, Thomas
G: Iupati (not really a need but maybe the next Steven Hutchinson)
C: Pouncey (not a need but damn good offensive lineman)
CB: Haden McCourty, Jackson, Wilson
OLB: Kindle, Hughes, Grahmn
Most likely, at least 3-5 of the above players will be on the board at #23 because most mocks have these players going before #23: Dez Bryant (WR), Dan Williams (NT), Pierre-Paul (DE), Weatherspoon (ILB), and Clausen (QB).
April 22, 2010 at 12:22 pm |
Forgot Mays at S.
April 22, 2010 at 1:43 pm |
DaveK, that’s a great way of looking at it. By this analysis it seems very likely that there will be a quality guy there who fits a need. I’m rooting for a pass rusher or CB but would not be disappointed with a quality OL. Hope TT makes the right choice or, in a perfect scenario, finds a way to make a deal that yields two of these guys.
April 23, 2010 at 2:11 am |
Well Bryan Bulaga slid a lot so I think we definitely got a fairly decent OT. I was almost sure we would not get an OT in the first round unless of course we couldn’t pass one up. And quite frankly Bulaga slid pretty far as he wasn’t even really a consideration to making it to 23. We got a good value for him at 23, so I’m not disappointed that we ended up with an OT first round. You can’t pass up value when its staring you down.