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I was thinking. Thompson really doesnt have too many options this offseason in the draft. We traded away or 2nd and 3rd rounder to get Mathews last offseason. Unless Ted trades the #1 for a 2 and 3 or whatever to get some picks he will be limited. It will be a boring day one on draft night for Packer fans if he passes on someone we all like.

So could this be the year that Ted is forced to spend some money on FA's? Lets assume no labor deal is reached. What players could be a likely option in your mind. What bothers me is how certain FA's dont like Green Bay becasue of the small town feeling. This could be a bad offseason for the Packers. And what really sucks is we could be a player or two away from being a legit contender.
Lets hope they go deep into the playoffs.

5 Boroughs wrote:I was thinking. Thompson really doesnt have too many options this offseason in the draft. We traded away or 2nd and 3rd rounder to get Mathews last offseason. Unless Ted trades the #1 for a 2 and 3 or whatever to get some picks he will be limited. It will be a boring day one on draft night for Packer fans if he passes on someone we all like.

All the picks he traded were from the last draft. We'll have all of our picks.

I edited the title to make it more clear. The free agent list is pretty thin and if there is no labor agreement it's really thin (takes 6 years to be a FA). We really need an offensive lineman. Clifton is a free agent, as is Taucsher again. Even if they come back they are just about done. Cornerback is obviously another position of need. I'd rather draft one or two there though, let them learn from Woody and Harris. I'm still pissed that we MATCHED Bush. That was dumber than the Titans offering him the deal in the first place.

We're not the bears. We have those draft picks.

does FA not start until after the draft? I think we will make the draft. hopefully address OT, CB, RB and DL After that I think there is a chance we are a player this year in FA. I dont think we are going to go out and sign 5 guys or anything crazy. But I am pretty sure Ted will act if he see one or two guys that will absolutely put us over the top. We have the money and a pretty solid core in tact.

From what I understand the free agent pool this offseason is terrible. I highly doubt TT is going to sign a free agent unless he believes they can have a major impact.

Yup. The free agent class is going to be lousy, so don't count on finding a replacement for Harris or Clifton there.

I could see a trade of our first rounder, though. Last year Philly dealt their first and two late round picks for Jason Peters.

If a franchise LT is available I could see Thompson doing something similar. No one comes to mind off hand, but I could see New Orleans putting a tag on Jamal Brown and dealing him for a 2nd.

I could see TT signing a handful of cheap free agents to bring to camp kind of like this year. If they are good enough to make the team and can contribute then great, if not then we can cut them no problem.

I could see a trade up for an impact OT if TT really likes someone a lot. I also think we need a CB, but I still hold out hope that we can get something out of Pat Lee. Maybe Underwood will have a great offseason. Either way, we need another prospect there with Harris down, and Blackmon being made of glass.

I don't think we will be able to find an impact tackle at our point in the first round unless there is absolutely no blue chip offensive line talent. I think that the first round would be a good place to find a corner or a possible running back upgrade.

Since 2010 may very well be an uncapped year the cap space we have now will disappear completely. We'll no longer have that advantage over other teams. We can use it now on our own guys but that's it. We'll be able to spend whatever we want after the season, but so will every other team.

DrugBust wrote:Yup. The free agent class is going to be lousy, so don't count on finding a replacement for Harris or Clifton there.

I could see a trade of our first rounder, though. Last year Philly dealt their first and two late round picks for Jason Peters.

If a franchise LT is available I could see Thompson doing something similar. No one comes to mind off hand, but I could see New Orleans putting a tag on Jamal Brown and dealing him for a 2nd.

Yea that was a great move by Philly. Peters got paid like the best LT in the game which he isn't, but he's still an upper tier LT and those guys aren't easy to find. Plus, the price tags for LT's will just keep going up anyways so i doubt Philly will ever end up regretting that deal.

El Duderino wrote:

DrugBust wrote:Yup. The free agent class is going to be lousy, so don't count on finding a replacement for Harris or Clifton there.

I could see a trade of our first rounder, though. Last year Philly dealt their first and two late round picks for Jason Peters.

If a franchise LT is available I could see Thompson doing something similar. No one comes to mind off hand, but I could see New Orleans putting a tag on Jamal Brown and dealing him for a 2nd.

Yea that was a great move by Philly. Peters got paid like the best LT in the game which he isn't, but he's still an upper tier LT and those guys aren't easy to find. Plus, the price tags for LT's will just keep going up anyways so i doubt Philly will ever end up regretting that deal.

I've been promoting such a deal for months. I'd be willing to pay even more than Vikes did for Allen IF the guy is quality young. 2010 1st & 2nd + 2011 3rd +Hawk for a guy like Joe Thomas. Less for a middle age (>27/<30) guy (keep 2nd)

Brown for a 2nd would be nice! Even throw in Hawk.

As has been said, it's a bad year for free agents, and projecting trades at this point is just too difficult. Also, along with an uncapped year comes an ability to release players without suffering cap penalties, so teams who might be worried about re-signing a quality tackle will probably just dump other bloated contracts instead. This draft does have some real quality at tackle. I don't see any Joe Thomas's (actually there is a tackle named Joe Thomas at Pittsburgh who will be coming out) or Ryan Clady's but there will be talent to be had when the Packers pick in the first 3 rounds (USC's Charles Brown, LSU's Joseph Barksdale, Miami's Jason Fox, and even the Haitian guy from UMass is interesting).

I would like to see the Pack take a swing at Logan Mankins. But that is assuming that the salary cap gets straightened out and that the Pats don't tag or tender him. I read somewhere that they have a couple young guys they like as future inside linemen but I could be mistaken.

I personally wouldn't spend a lot on a guard given our situation. I think Lang will settle in as our left guard and Sitton is solid on the right side. If we're spending money, it ought to be on a center who can stay healthy or on a tackle.

Wade-A-Holic wrote:I personally wouldn't spend a lot on a guard given our situation. I think Lang will settle in as our left guard and Sitton is solid on the right side. If we're spending money, it ought to be on a center who can stay healthy or on a tackle.

That's one option but another would be to put Lang in at right tackle and use the money on a probowl guard. A great guard is a little easier to get your hands on than a great OT.

I dont know what I was thinking. I thought it was this years picks...

What do you guys think about Trent Williams from OLK or Bryan Bulaga from Iowa? Those are two guys that should be around our pick in round one. Williams is still a little raw on his footwork, but he has the skills to be a very dominate tackle. He's been moving up in boards latley.

Richard Seymour would be a great pickup to play in the 3-4 as he was in NE. He's not playing as well in the 4-3, but again nobody plays well while on the Oakland Raiders. Just don't know how much money he would command. Definitely not as much as Peppers, so Seymour could be a good target IMO

mufan4life wrote:Richard Seymour would be a great pickup to play in the 3-4 as he was in NE. He's not playing as well in the 4-3, but again nobody plays well while on the Oakland Raiders. Just don't know how much money he would command. Definitely not as much as Peppers, so Seymour could be a good target IMO

Are the Raiders going to let him go? Why would they give up a 1st round pick if they didn't want to keep him long term?