The 2nd in a series of articles ranking Ted Thompson’s draft picks by round.
So what do you want in a 6th rounder? I don’t know, a little more than a 7th rounder? The 7th is usually for late flyers and you can get a lot of that in the 6th, too, but they aren’t as throwaway and you get some special teams picks down here, too. If you get anything worth hanging on to, you’re doing pretty good.
19. Ricky Elmore – Total waste. Google doesn’t even know what this guy did, go ahead and ask him.
18. Craig Bragg – Managed to make four practice squads… if you include the Amsterdam Admirals.
17. Brandon Underwood – In the two years he lasted, he managed 5 tackles, 2 misdemeanors (sexual assault and soliciting is a winning combination), and 1 super bowl ring. Now I think he works at Arby’s.
16. Kennard Backman – Biggest contribution to date was helping celebrate the Miracle in Motown (stupid Lions). At least he didn’t rape anyone.
15. Caleb Schlauderaff – Didn’t stick, but Ted traded him to the Jets for a 7th rounder (which was eventually packaged to move up and get Casey Hayward, which is nice). He managed to play a dozen games with the Jets to little fanfare, so, a nice set of moves, but not a lot of production from the player.
14. Demetri Goodson – He’s been good enough to play special teams and fill in at corner when everyone else on the team is hurt, but the results haven’t been all that pretty. I’ll bet he’s a hit at charity basketball games, though.
13. Nate Palmer – Hey remember in 2015, when he started 10 games and had 47 tackles? That’s about what we got for this 6th rounder – not terrible.
12. DJ Smith – What could have been… This guy was looking like a poor man’s Sam Mills. Unfortunately, knee injuries cut him off too early. This might have been one of Ted’s best 6th round picks if it worked out differently.
11. Christian Ringo – Keeps teasing with his potential, he also saved a guy’s life, which is pretty good for any round. Still time to move up the list.
10. Kyle Murphy – Looks to be a developmental swing man, possibly replacing Lang at guard. A little early to grade him, but he may still have a future. A good bet to move up this list.
9. Jarius Wynn – Managed to last six years on five teams as a rotational lineman. That’s something.
8. Tyrone Culver – Lasted a year with Green Bay before spending five with Miami as a nickel and dime back with two career interceptions.
7. Michael Montgomery – Hung around for five years as a rotational lineman, exiting the team just in time to miss out on a Super Bowl.
6. Korey Hall – Part time starter for four years as a fullback, H-back, and specials teams fixture. Also had a year with the Saints after that. Fun fact: he was chosen right before Desmond Bishop and Mason Crosby, as the Packers ended up with three consecutive picks in the 2007 6th round after trading down two times earlier in the draft.
5. Aaron Ripkowski – Clearly the fullback of the future, he has proven to be a strong blocker and a power runner, if not a guy who doesn’t fumble at the goal line in crucial championship game situations (yet).
4. Johnny Jolly – One of my all time favorite players and he talked mad trash! He was a rare talent, a circus elephant whose career was whittled down by tha drank. Man he was fun to watch and very disruptive over a two year stretch. Also had some of the best big play celebrations since Tim Harris. May have really grown into something if, you know, he could stop doing drugs.
3. Desmond Bishop – The battleship! This dude roamed the middle like a total bas#ss, blowing up anyone who got near him. One of the meanest middle men the Packers have had in recent history. Two great years as a starter, including the Super Bowl where he recovered CM3’s forced fumble (and almost took it to the house), before injury effectively ended his career. Minnesota tried him out, but he was done (those suckers never learn). Fun fact: we got the pick used on him from Pittsburg (funny how that worked) as compensation for moving down seven spots in the fourth round earlier in the draft.
2. James Starks – Despite his sad ending, Starks was productive and, without his unlikely 2010 season in which he came off the PUP list as a rookie in December to spark a run game and have the third most post-season rushing yards ever for a rookie, Aaron Rodgers probably doesn’t even have one Super Bowl to his credit (and then the fans would really hate Ted Thompson). Starks had a high-running, slashing style that would not allow his body to hold up, but we’ll always have 2010, James.
1. Mason Crosby – All time leading scorer in Packers history, holder of the NFL record for consecutive field goals in the playoffs, and the first player in NFL history to make two 50-yard field goals in the last two minutes of a postseason game (three if you count the icing – how’d that work out for ya, Cowboys!? Shut up, nobody cares!).
In addition to the historied team’s leading scorer, Ted has found a number of guys who were key contributors for short periods of time. If injuries and the man hadn’t damaged guys like Starks, Bishop, Jolly, and DJ Smith, there may have been gold in this round. As it stands, not bad.
Other parts in this series
Ranking Ted’s Seventh Round Picks
Ranking Ted’s Fifth Round Picks
Ranking Ted’s Fourth Round Picks