Green Bay plans to improve roster in draft

The league’s annual player selection meeting, commonly known as the NFL Draft, is now just two weeks away, meaning Packers general manager Ted Thompson must put his team under the microscope.

Throughout free agency, Thompson’s Packers have been predictably quiet.

Since signing cornerback Charles Woodson and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett as free agents in 2006, Thompson rarely looks to other teams’ veterans for help. Instead, he turns to the draft to build a competitive team.

Thompson’s first draft pick was Aaron Rodgers, who had been mentioned as a possible No. 1 overall pick before a draft-day slide landed him in Green Bay. His second-round pick in 2005, Nick Collins, may have been on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame until a neck injury ended his Packers career before the 2012 season.

Of the 53 players on the Packers’ Super Bowl XLV championship team, 49 of them were acquired by Thompson since 2005.

But during his eight years in Green Bay, Thompson has had several head scratchers in the early rounds of the draft. Brian Brohm, a second-round pick in 2008, appeared in just three games over the course of his three-year NFL career, and Justin Harrell, Thompson’s first-round pick in 2007, missed a total of 30 games in four seasons with the Packers.

While other playoff teams such as the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have engaged in an all-out arms race through free agency, the Packers hope this year’s draft class is enough to get them over the top in the NFC.

Unlike the 2012 NFL Draft, this year’s class lacks star power at the top, but it’s deep in the first several rounds. The 2012 class consisting of Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill dwarfs this year’s quarterback class led by West Virginia’s Geno Smith.

Fortunately for the Packers, they’re in good shape at quarterback with Rodgers. However, Green Bay has needs on both sides of the ball, and they’ll first be on the clock with pick No. 26.

In a dream scenario, one of the top two safeties would fall to the Packers at the end of round one. Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller ranks Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro as the No. 10 overall prospect and has Florida International’s Jonathan Cyprien at No. 24.

Should either Vaccaro or Cyprien slide to the Packers at No. 26, the team could solve its secondary woes that started after Collins’ career was cut short.

If there’s no safety on the board worth a first-round pick, the Packers may look to the defensive front seven with their top pick. Defensive linemen B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, Mike Neal and C.J. Wilson are currently slated to become free agents after the 2013 season.

Green Bay utilizes the 3-4 defense, which requires its defensive linemen to occupy blockers, freeing up linebackers to make plays.

Late in the first round, the Packers could consider UCLA’s Datone Jones, Southern Methodist’s Margus Hunt or perhaps Alabama’s Jesse Williams to fill a hole on their defensive line. With Pickett likely playing his last season in Green Bay, Williams would be a logical replacement at nose tackle.

Inside linebacker is another position that provides some options for the Packers late in round one. Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown may be the best of the bunch and could come off the board as early as the middle of round one.

Opinions vary on Georgia’s Alec Ogletree. LSU’s Kevin Minter and Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o. All three could come off the board late in the first round, or they could fall to the early stages of Day 2.

After re-signing Brad Jones and redoing A.J. Hawk’s contract to keep him in Green Bay, the Packers are more likely to look somewhere other than linebacker with their first pick.

At some point in the draft, the Packers will turn to the offensive side of the ball and address their skill positions. Having lost wide receiver Greg Jennings to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this offseason, the Packers face some question marks, as James Jones’ contract expires after this season and Jordy Nelson’s deal is up after 2014.

There’s no surefire top-ten pick at wide receiver, but Tavon Austin of West Virginia and Cordarrelle Patterson of Tennessee appear to be safely within first-round range.

The team also faces uncertainty at running back, despite the presence of DuJuan Harris, who emerged within the offense late in 2012. Green Bay may have a chance to land a starting-caliber back with one of its later picks.

Most view Alabama’s Eddie Lacy as the top running back in the draft. Michigan State’s Le’Veon Bell, UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin, Oklahoma State’s Joseph Randle and Texas A&M’s Christine Michael are all candidates to go in the second round.

North Carolina’s Gio Bernard is a unique option for the Packers with their second pick. After catching 92 passes in two seasons with the Tar Heels, Bernard could help a pass-happy team like the Packers immediately as a rookie. Bernard joined UW-Green Bay’s WGBX March 13 for a phone interview.

“Green Bay is an awesome place, has a great quarterback and a great facility,” Bernard said. “For me, it’s about playing for any team that wants me. So if they want me, I would love to be able to play for them.”

The first-round pick is sure to get a great deal of attention, but Thompson has done a lot of damage in the later rounds of the draft. A couple weeks from now, the offseason may not seem so quiet in Green Bay.