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Yes Olsen has been hurt and has no one to throw to him but I think Lee has really stepped up. He's played great, made some tough catches. Bubba has been a fine backup too.

Olsen may have a long Pro Bowl filled career but for now I'm happy where we are at TE.

Lee's really been impressive. Bubba has been pretty reliable over the middle as well.

Lee and Bubba have played well, but what about the future?

Drafting Olsen would've taken care of that. He would've been a reach at #16, but at least he would've given us our tight end of the future. Justin Harrell was a reach as well, but he was drafted at a position of strength. We already have a great group of defensive tackles: Pickett, Williams, Jolly, and Cole. Plus he looked horrible in the preseason.

Olsen should've been the choice.

Comet wrote:Lee and Bubba have played well, but what about the future?

Drafting Olsen would've taken care of that. He would've been a reach at #16, but at least he would've given us our tight end of the future. Justin Harrell was a reach as well, but he was drafted at a position of strength. We already have a great group of defensive tackles: Pickett, Williams, Jolly, and Cole. Plus he looked horrible in the preseason.

Olsen should've been the choice.

This post reeks of false logic.

So one guy we KNOW would have been a reach in Olson. This is easy to see because he didn't go until the Bears, half a round after the Packers picked.

Harrell, however, wasn't. We know this because Shanahan was targeting him at 21. He said so himself.

However, you make the case that Olson should have been the pick because even though he was hurt and did nothing the preseason and thus far into his NFL career, he would have provided the position a starter in the future.

What about Harrell? He's no where close to 100% and was injured all last season. He was certainly picked for the longterm, not the short. You don't think the staff considers him the long term fix at DT?

As for what we had (or more accurately didn't have) at DT heading into the draft, it was Ryan Pickett and a lot of mid round picks that had proven nothing in the NFL. Corey Williams was an impact player in all of two games last season, Pickett was nothing but solid, and Jenkins was making the switch to DE. I love that Jolly has turned into a good player, but nobody could have seen that last April. The best defensive tackles come from the first round. It's simply a fact. And I'm not sure if you realize it, but for all the pub our front seven has gotten, they still allowed 4.3 ypc to Westbrook, 6.0 to Ward and 9.3 to Peterson. I've been disappointed in their run defense. It's obvious that the staff wants Harrell to be that wide body in the middle to clog lanes. He's just not there yet.

Harrell is a project. He's been asked to carry 20 pounds more than he ever has before. He's coming off a season ending injury. He likely won't be on the field much this season, but it's the future that this young Packer team is worried about.

Harrell is a project. He's been asked to carry 20 pounds more than he ever has before. He's coming off a season ending injury. He likely won't be on the field much this season, but it's the future that this young Packer team is worried about.

I hope you're right and that's all that it is right now,extra weight and missing a year is why he can't even get himself activated for games.

I'm not in panic mode over this,but i can't help being somewhat concerned over what i've read so far about Harrell in camp and him not even being activated.Reports that camp fodder offensive lineman were owning our first round pick isn't ever a good sign,of course though it doesn't mean that it's a given he can't turn things around.

DB's post is exactly right.

Not only has Olsen been hurt, but Lovie isn't utilizing any 2 TE sets, which he said they would do in the offseason.

Whatever, I'll take it. I think Olsen is going to become a pretty good TE, but Donald Lee is a pretty damn good receiving TE in his own right. I have been as happy as you could possibly be concerning our TE's through the first 4 games this season.

Lee is looking like the guy that really impressed me back in 2005 when he joined our team the week before the first game. He didn't do much of anything last year for whatever reason, but he's certainly a very solid TE when he's playing like he is now and like he did in 05.

You could argue that Harrell has an even better chance to succeed in the future because he is not being thrown in there his rookie year. Sure, we could have benefited from a first round draft choice that could have came in and provided some help this year (somewhere) but there's the chance Harrell will be lining up as the starter for years to come. You can't always look to the draft for immediate help.

You forgot one, MD.

David Martin 7-59.

Lee/Franks have been adequate to good.

However, the Dolphins are effectively running the crap out of the ball, have Trent Green, and I don't think the Bears QB situation needs to be documented.

I think most TEs in football would put up similar stats to Lee/Franks on the Packers, although its very nice to have two instead of one.

Even if Harrell doesn't pan out, and I think we could have definitely used a young TE, I'm fine with the choice, because there wasn't a player available then I just HAD to have, to include Olsen.

Lee also has a QB that can get him the ball....