Re-Grade the Packers 2010 Rookie Class

[Ayt]

Agreed that UDFAs can be a part of the whole. It's not like the GMs blindly throw darts at a board after the draft...they normally call up the guys they've been scouting.

Plenty of these guys have been in touch with the team about the situation. It isn't like the Packers call them up out of the blue after the draft is over. With only 7 rounds in the draft, there are going to be tons of bubble guys who could have what it takes to make it in the NFL who don't end up getting drafted for whatever reason.

Sam Shields is an example of a guy that we specifically targeted hard to bring in. The main reason we got him was that we offered him an unusually large signing bonus (for a UDFA) and beat out the Bears. There was no blind dart board throwing about that at all.

As for all the other guys we bring in, it isn't at all hard to imagine that there are plenty of players that our scouts like who may not be good enough to use a draft pick on (or maybe were but we just didn't have the picks to use) but who deserve a serious look in camp as to whether they can make it.

[humanrefutation]

I remember when this discussion over UDFA started, and I was like "Eh, this is just arguing semantics. I hate those arguments. I'm not going to get into it."

And boy, did I make the right decision.

[El Duderino]

Agreed that UDFAs can be a part of the whole. It's not like the GMs blindly throw darts at a board after the draft...they normally call up the guys they've been scouting.

Who teams end up getting among UDFA each year is probably a mix of both luck and targeting.

Teams obviously will like certain guys over others among a large pool of undrafted kids, but then it's just a matter in many cases of players deciding whether or not to pick your team for a variety of reasons. Often those players and their agents will look at factors like the depth chart of teams, maybe the agent has better relations with certain teams, what teams have a stronger history of keeping UDFA's, vibes players may have gotten when meeting coaches pre-draft, etc.

This is especially the case for kids who receive offers to sign from a number of different teams. For them, their biggest goal by far is to make an NFL roster, so they and their agents have to factor in a variety of things before choosing where to sign. Some of that will be completely out of the control of teams wanting them, but not in all cases though.

[chuckleslove]

We didn't do one of these for the 2009 draft but I see in Wiretap a headline about 122 out of 256 players from that draft are already out of the league or 47.66%.

Our draft from 2009:

Raji
Clay
Lang
Quinn Johnson
Jamon Meredith
Jarius Wynn
Brandon Underwood
Brad Jones

87.5% of TT's draft picks are still in the league, almost double the league average.

Only Underwood is out of the league and he is playing in the CFL.

We also picked up EDS as a UDFA that year.

[Newz]

We didn't do one of these for the 2009 draft but I see in Wiretap a headline about 122 out of 256 players from that draft are already out of the league or 47.66%.

Our draft from 2009:

Raji
Clay
Lang
Quinn Johnson
Jamon Meredith
Jarius Wynn
Brandon Underwood
Brad Jones

87.5% of TT's draft picks are still in the league, almost double the league average.

Only Underwood is out of the league and he is playing in the CFL.

We also picked up EDS as a UDFA that year.

This draft was pretty damn good too. Could have been absurd if Raji didn't turn into a flaming pile of poop after a few years.

I'd probably give that one an A+ though. Got a Pro Bowl NT for 3-4 years, one of the best OLBs in the NFL and a starting G... along with several quality depth guys and EDS in UDFA who is a legit starting C.

[HKPackFan]

Just to throw in...I did notice this year, Thompson and McCarthy referring to "college free agency."

Maybe in previous years I never noticed that term before, but this year I was soaking up a lot more interviews and what not, and I noticed them use that term quite a bit.

So after the draft...is "college free agency"

Here is one time I heard Mccarthy Use it. But I heard them both use it.
http://m.jsonline.com/more/sports/blogs/258778151.html

(ILBs) Our numbers are good coming into this time of year. Free agency is still going on, college free agency. Trying to add a couple players. Probably will add a couple players.

Sorry to add to this FRUSTRATING discussion of rookie class vs DRAFT class, but I just recall hearing the term college free agency multiple times a couple weeks ago, and thinking I'd never heard of it being referred to that before.

It appears they are referring to the moment the 7th round ends to College Free Agency.

I'll slowly back away from this..hoping I won't have tomatoes thrown in my direction....

[chuckleslove]

I think people are entitled to look at it either way, I think we were always arguing semantics. My original intent with the thread was the entire rookie class which is why I edited the thread title so that people wouldn't argue semantics

[PackBuckBrew]

I feel like the draft picks are all average players with the only above average player being the undrafted signing of sam sheilds.

Interested to see if bulaga can stay healthy and if morgan burnett can be a above average starting safety.

But this draft produced quite a few solid rotation guys. I give it a C that can move up all the way to a A if bulaga can stay healthy, Burnett becomes a pro bowler, and sheilds becomes a legit lockdown corner rather than a solid starter.