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DRAFT NOTES AND STATS
posted 04/21/01
WHAT WILL IT BE - A WR OR A DL?: All indications have been that Executive Vice President Ron Wolf and GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman will opt for either a defensive lineman or a wide receiver in the first round of today's NFL draft.
For the record, the Packers historically have done well with their selections of wide receivers in the draft's opening round - except for the very first one. He turned out to be Larry Elkins of Baylor, their initial pick in the 1965 draft, who elected to play for Houston in the American Football League and was never to wear a Green Bay uniform.
Next, then-GM/Head Coach Bart Starr tapped Stanford's James Lofton in the 1978 draft. Lofton became a nine-year starter for Green Bay - and the team's all-time leader in receiving yardage (9,656) as a seven-time Pro Bowler.
A decade later, Executive Vice President Tom Braatz and Head Coach Lindy Infante chose Carolina's Sterling Sharpe in the first round of the 1988 draft and he became the most prolific receiver in Packers history to date, making 595 receptions, including a club-record 112 in 1993.
The Green and Gold have had mixed results with respect to first-round selections of defensive linemen. They were, however, on the proverbial money with their first one - end Dave Robinson of Penn State in 1963. Robinson developed into a three-time All-Pro and helped Green Bay win three NFL titles in a four-year span and the first two Super Bowls.
Starr subsequently drafted "book ends" Mike Butler (Kansas) and Ezra Johnson (Morris Brown) in 1977 and had "50-50" success with the duo. Butler had a mediocre 7-year career in Green Bay but Johnson enjoyed seven generally productive seasons, leading the team in quarterback sacks in six of those years.
Alphonso Carreker of Florida State, the Packers' first-round choice in 1984, was even less of a factor in the Green Bay defense than Butler and was released following the 1988 season.
Vonnie Holliday of North Carolina is the only other DE to be drafted number one by the Packers and he could be the best of them all - after tying a team rookie record with eight sacks in 1998.
The Packers also have drafted three defensive tackles in the first round - Nebraska's Lloyd Voss in 1964, Notre Dame's Mike McCoy in 1970 and Bruce Clark of Penn State in 1980 - but all proved to be unsatisfactory investments. Voss was traded to Philadelphia in 1966 after two forgettable seasons and McCoy, the second player to be selected in the '70 draft, was dealt to Oakland after seven ordinary campaigns.
Clark, meanwhile, initially cast his lot with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and, later, the Packers traded their NFL Clark rights to the New Orleans Saints. With the No. 1 pick they received in the transaction, the Packers selected cornerback Tim Lewis of Pittsburgh in the opening round of the 1983 draft and the transaction paid delayed dividends for the Green and Gold, Lewis becoming an immediate starter and standout until early in the 1986 season, when he suffered a career-ending spinal injury in a game against Chicago.
IT'S YEAR NO. 39 (AND LAST) FOR WOLF: Executive Vice President Ron Wolf, conducting what he has indicated is the final draft of his distinguished career, will be involved in the NFL's draft process for the 39th consecutive year. He made his debut with the Oakland Raiders in 1963, the year he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, assisting Al Davis with choices for the Oakland franchise in the then-AFL selection meeting. Overall, he has exercised his draft expertise in behalf of four teams - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets in addition to the Packers and Raiders.
HIGH BATTING AVERAGE: Wolf 's keen eye for talent in the draft has been a key ingredient in the Packers' on-field renaissance since his arrival upon the Green Bay scene in late 1991. A remarkable 57.8 percent of those he has drafted during his nine-year tenure were still playing in the league at the end of the 2000 season - a figure impressively opposed to the average career length for an NFL player of approximately four years.
FOR THE BENEFIT OF NUMEROLOGISTS: There are two years ending in '1' that stand out in Packers draft history from the first round perspective. They are 1961, which netted Michigan State's Herb Adderley in the first round and 1971, when GM/Head Coach Dan Devine made running John Brockington of Ohio State the team's initial pick.
Adderley, drafted as a running back, went on to become a five-time Pro Bowl selection as a cornerback, and Brockington became the first running back in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in his first three pro seasons. He remains the second-ranking rusher in Packers annals (5,024 yards).
Just for the record, in the other years ending in '1', the Packers' first-round picks included running back George Paskvan of Wisconsin (1941), tackle Bob Gain of Kentucky (1951), quarterback Rich Campbell (1981) and cornerback Vinnie Clark of Ohio State (1991).
THE FIRST ROUND selections the Packers have made in the 65 previous years of the NFL draft have represented 47 different institutions of higher learning. The list was increased to its present total in 1998 when defensive end Vonnie Holliday became the first University of North Carolina athlete ever chosen by Green Bay in the first round.
THE PACKERS' INITIAL PICK will be the 76th first-round selection in their history. This is only the NFL's 66th annual draft, with the difference in the two numbers being accounted for by the fact that the Packers have had "doubles" (two first-round choices) in 12 different years.
SON'S SWAN SONG, TOO: Wolf's 19-year-old son, Eliot, likewise a draft veteran, also is working his final draft on the second floor of the Packers' administration building. Eliot, a freshman at the University of Miami (Fla.) is assisting in his tenth consecutive draft. As intrigued with the draft process as the head of the house, he will be in the "war room" throughout the two-day event. He again will be responsible for the posting process - updating the boards of all 31 clubs as they make their selection so that everyone in the Packers' draft central - Wolf, GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman, coaches and scouts - will be able to see at a glance what has transpired as the draft proceeds.
THE BEST?: As far as Packers historians are concerned, the team's best ever draft was forged in 1958. The Green and Gold secured two Pro Football Hall of Famers during that year's selection meeting - linebacker Ray Nitschke (Illinois) and fullback Jim Taylor (LSU) - and two other all-pros, guard Jerry Kramer (Idaho) and linebacker Dan Currie (Michigan State). Currie was Green Bay's first-round selection that year and Taylor was No. 2, while Nitschke was one of two third-round choices and Kramer was a fourth-round pick.
GOPHERS 'GOLDEN:' The University of Minnesota, historically, has been the Packers' most popular choice in the first round over the 65-year history of the NFL draft. Minnesota's representatives have included running backs Larry Buhler (1939), Hal Van Every (1940) and Darrell Thompson (1990), tackles Urban Odson (1942) and Dick Wildung (1943), center/linebacker Clayton Tonnemaker (1950) and guard Gale Gillingham (1966).
2001 Green Bay Packers Draft Selections (as of 4/20/01)
| ROUND |
OVERALL |
NOTES |
| 1 | 10 | from Seattle in M.Hasselbeck trade |
| 1 | 17 | to Seattle in M.Hasselbeck trade |
| 2 | 41 | from San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 2 | 47 | to San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 3 | 71 | from San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 3 | 72 | from Seattle in M.Hasselbeck trade |
| 3 | 80 | to San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 3 | 82 | to San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade (from New Orleans in A.Brooks, L.Hall, K.D.Williams trade) |
| 4 | 105 | from San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 4 | 113 | to Denver in N.Wayne trade |
| 5 | 147 | to Philadelphia in A.Rossum trade |
| 6 | 179 | to San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade |
| 6 | 198 | Green Bay (Compensatory Selection) |
| 7 | 219 | to Denver in D.Bowens trade |
| 7 | 222 | to San Francisco in 4/20/01 trade (from St. Louis in M.Morton trade during 1999 season) |
* Packers' Current Picks in Bold (6 Total)
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