Walker runs out, Hawk and receivers fly in

By Os Davis  |   Monday, May 01, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Green Bay Packers
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The draft is closed, and Green Bay Packer backers can finally breathe again after a week’s worth of more activity than the mall at Christmas. As prelude to the draft, Brett Favre finally ended all speculation regarding his status for 2006; Charles Woodson climbed aboard shortly thereafter, representing a high-level free agent signing that chased away the Packer inertia that had dominated the team’s offseason. Suddenly, the sour taste of last season’s 4-12 was sweetened a bit by promises of roster improvement.

This past weekend was the conclusion of months of speculation and interminable draft forecasting. As in all drafts for all teams, only time will tell whether the potential additions to the green-and-gold show merit, but the prospective Green Bay Packers look generally pretty promising. Though the shape and scope of the post-Favre offense is still a bit of a question mark, the Packer draft served to shore up the Green Bay defense for the short term.

To no one’s surprise, the Pack took Ohio State LB A.J. Hawk with their number five pick. Clearly the top linebacker available, Hawk comes to the NFL with an impressive resume including seasons of 106, 141 and 121 tackles, two All-America nods and three spots on the first-team All-Big Ten. Hawk is expected to make an immediate impact (so to speak) and will be placed in the top slot at weak side linebacker as soon as the ink on his contract has dried.

With pick number 67 in the third round, Green Bay managed to snag Iowa LB Abdul Hodge, a seemingly underrated player with impressive university stats culminating in 158 tackles as a senior and three All-Big Ten bids. Despite his well-noted tackling prowess, Hodge has a downside in his size: At six feet and 236 pounds, some scouting reports found him too small for their consideration.

The Green Bay Packers have a bit of depth at linebacker, however, with Hawk and Hodge joining an impressive corps spearheaded by three-year MLB and rising star Nick Barnett; with this group, the weakness of Hodge can be compensated for. Some speculation is already being bandied about regarding Hodge and Barnett switching positions.

Also to no one’s surprise was the draft-day departure of Javon Walker. Walker’s new franchise, the Denver Broncos, sent their second round choice to Green Bay for the disgruntled receiver. This result has to be a bit disappointing for cheeseheads who had faith in the success of the front office plan to snag at least two picks for Walker. With their two second round picks, the Packers selected Boise State OT Daryn Colledge and Western Michigan WR Greg Jennings.

Colledge was primarily known as a left tackle at Boise State who earned “iron man” status by starting every single game in his four years at college including in his redshirt freshman year. Colledge, too, was deemed too small by many scouts, and looks to join the offensive line at the guard position instead. Another addition to the offensive line is Louisville’s Jason Spitz. Spitz started the last thirty-six games of his college career at guard, but could play anywhere on the Green Bay line and rumor has him playing center. A third offensive lineman, run-blocking specialist Indiana OT Isaac Sowells, became a possible Packer with the team’s selection in the fourth round.

The number fifty-two overall pick, Jennings hauled in ninety-eight passes for the WMU Broncos in his senior year, making him one of the most productive receivers in the NCAA game. The knock against Jennings is – you guessed it – size, but his speed in scouting combine was impressive enough to bump him up to this high in the draft. Jennings was one of three receivers -- the others are Cory Rodgers out of TCU and Tony Moll out of UNLV -- picked up by the Packers in the first five rounds alone, as the serious reshuffling of the team’s receiving corps continues. But that’s a topic for another column…

For now, Packer fans may relax in the post-draft glow and probably should. After all, Mr. Favre is certain to provide more than one nerve-wracking moment during the season.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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