NFL Draft 2013: Green Bay Packers Could Look to Trade Down, Compile Picks
By Josh Hill
The Green Bay Packers have lived and died by the draft — mostly lived. The Packers have seemingly mastered the art of drafting, rarely going outside of the event to add talent and so far it’s worked. Green Bay is consistently one of the best teams in the league and already have a Super this decade. They’ve drafted guys like Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Jordy Nelson and others.
And they may be looking to continue that trend this season.
Green Bay is a deep team in the way they think, which means they love hitting home runs late in the draft. Morgan Burnett, James Stark, Jermichael Finley and so many others were third round picks or later for the Packers, and so many of these guys the Packers have been drafting have helped out even if they were in just minor roles.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers could trade down and still get one of the top offensive lineman they covet to protect Aaron Rodgers.
"It takes two to tango. And this is speculation. But if the Packers do manage to find a trading partner, Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Terron Armstead, Syracuse’s Justin Pugh or Florida State’s Menelik Watson are all offensive linemen with value that could slip to the second round."
One thing that could help the Packers trade down is the quarterback market in the second round. Guys like E.J. Manuel, Ryan Nassib and Matt Barkley will be hot commodities on the second day if they’re available which means teams will be looking to move up. Right now the Packers hold the 26th and 55th picks in the first and second round and they could realistically trade both of them if the right deal comes around.
That first round pick is the most likely to move, as a team like the Cleveland Browns or Buffalo Bills might want to trade back into the first round to make sure they get the guy they want before the Jacksonville Jaguars get the pick of the litter at the top of the second round.
As stated, the only real need for the Packers is on the offensive line, and while they could use a big tight end like Zach Ertz or a running back like Marcus Lattimore, there are options in the later rounds to fill those needs. It will be interesting to see what the Packers end up doing, but if one thing is certain, it’s that more often than not Green Bay will end up on the right side of things.