Packers head to combine with many options

By Todd Mishler | Tuesday, February 19, 2008 | ( 0 )

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Because Green Bay finished 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship game doesn't mean the Packers don't have needs.

Just ask all of the so-called pundits out there who have splattered the Internet with mock drafts for several weeks already.

According to most of them, Green Bay will select a cornerback or an offensive tackle, although safety, tight end and a young quarterback to groom behind Brett Favre and/or Aaron Rodgers are other options that general manager Ted Thompson is sure to address in April's draft.

Thompson, coach Mike McCarthy, his assistants and the team's medical staff are joining every other organization in the league this week for the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

Cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State, a cousin of San Diego standout and NFL defending interception leader Antonio Cromartie, and Reggie Smith of Oklahoma, fellow Sooner and wide receiver Malcolm Kelly and offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus of Boston College have been mentioned as possible first-round picks for the Packers.

The idea is that Green Bay is looking to provide depth and future starters to replace Charles Woodson and Al Harris in the secondary as well as Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton along the offensive line.

However, those names and the process are extremely fluid when you're selecting 30th. Players rise and fall, injuries occur and several trades will no doubt affect who's still available when Green Bay's turn on the clock arrives late that Saturday.

So the Packer brass will poke, prod and try to figure out what makes dozens of college football's best players tick and hopefully get a better feel for whether they could or should wear green and gold.

Another huge factor is that free agency begins Feb. 29, and Green Bay could be a major participant depending on how much of its estimated $25 million in cap space it wants to use.

Only time will tell, and even though the combine's significance is questionable, this is the time of the year where things get interesting as teams jockey for position and the rumor mill starts churning out of control.

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