Packers, Bills, Lynch: A love triangle?

By Darrell Laurant | Wednesday, April 25, 2007 | ( 0 )

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The Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills might find themselves playing a bit of stud poker on draft day. The stud in question is Cal running back Marshawn Lynch.

It's not a bad draft for backs, but it's not a great one, either. Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson is definitely the cream at the top, with Lynch generally considered No. 2. After that is a clump of other viable prospects -- Antonio Pittman, Lorenzo Booker, Kenny Irons, Michael Bush, Bernard Jackson, Chris Henry, Brian Leonard -- most of whom are projected for later rounds.

Now that Willis McGahee has been traded away, the Bills (picking at No. 12) are looking at veteran Anthony Thomas as their featured back. The Packers lost Ahman Green, which leaves a rotation of Vernand Morency, Noah Herron and Arliss Beach.

Neither of these alternatives is very palatable for the teams in question.

Here's where the mind games come in.

The Bills also have holes in their secondary and linebacking corps. Moreover, the team continues to covet San Diego Chargers backup RB Michael Turner. If a trade goes through for Turner, Buffalo would probably take Mississippi LB Patrick Willis with its first pick to make up for the loss of London Fletcher and Takeo Spikes. Or, if Willis goes earlier, the best available DB.

The tricky part, for Green Bay, is timing. If Buffalo cuts a deal for Turner between now and Saturday, no problem. If it happens on draft day, however, the Packers can only hope it happens soon enough to give them the option of trading up to get Lynch -- or even take a shot at Peterson.

On the other hand, should Lynch be gone when Green Bay goes on the clock, the Packers may opt for one of the big receivers available this year not named Calvin Johnson (Robert Meachem, Dwayne Jarrett, Dwayne Bowe, Sidney Rice) and grab a second-tier back later.

Tyler Dunne, writing in the Packer Report, recommends that Green Bay swap a couple of lower draft picks to Washington at No. 6 in an effort to get Adrian Peterson. The Redskins have no picks in the second and fourth rounds and are rumored to be amenable to a deal.

The problem there is Cleveland. The Browns might take Brady Quinn at No. 3, but they also need a quality running back (aka, Adrian Peterson). So in the end, a move up to sixth might cost Green Bay more than it would help, because a number of good backs will still be around in the second and third rounds.

Lynch put up some eye-popping numbers for the Golden Bears in 2006, rushing for 1,356 yards and 11 touchdowns and catching 34 passes for 328 yards and four touchdowns. He also comes with some character issues, although much of that seems to be guilt by association. It's always a bit unsettling when a player you're considering drafting was nearly killed the year before when a car in which he was riding was riddled with bullets (in Oakland).

The Milwaukee Journal polled some scouts and player personnel people about the '07 crop of running backs, a survey that confirmed how far ahead of the pack Peterson (72 points) and Lynch (56) have moved. The third-highest-rated back in this poll was Auburn's Irons, with 16 points, followed by Pittman at 12, Bush and Henry at seven apiece.

And yet it's a back given only a single point in that poll, Florida State's Lorenzo Booker, who might be a good fit for the Packers in Round 2 or below. Booker is fast and versatile, able to run inside or outside, return kicks and catch passes. In 2005, he split time with Leon Washington, now a Jet. Last season, the 5-foot-11, 195-pounder gained fewer than 700 yards rushing in the midst of a down season for FSU; however, he showed what he was capable of by running for 91 yards, catching passes for 115 more, and scoring twice in the Seminoles' Emerald Bowl victory over UCLA.

Besides his 4.4 speed, Booker was named the strongest Seminole pound for pound. His numbers aren't even close to those of Peterson and Lynch, but he might have a bigger upside.

Louisville's Bush, who missed virtually all of 2006 with a broken leg, could also be a steal in a later round. Additionally, some of the higher-profile mock drafts have linked Green Bay with Arizona's Henry.

Get your 2007 NFL Draft fix at RealFootball365.com

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