A Better Collection of First Rounders — the Packers 2000–2010 Drafts

The gist of this exercise was to explore first round picks, but it’s turned into a bit more than that. And for good reason.

The Packers first round picks from 1983–1999 were mostly terrible with the exception of Sterling Sharpe. Brent Fullwood is the only other first rounder in that stretch who made a Pro Bowl. That is amazing. And terrible. It’s terribly amazing. From ‘83-’93 seven of those picks were in the top 15. All ten were in the top 20. The success that came in the ’90s was made through mid-round picks, one legendary trade (Favre) and roughly eight really smart free agent signings — including Reggie White. I’ve come to learn the Packers early round drafting was not good, let alone sexy, for a very long time.

The Packers first round draft picks in the 2000s were considerably better than those of the ’90s. They provided fans with 3x Pro Bowler Bubba Franks, one good season with Javon Walker, Aaron Rodgers, the master of absorbing blockers and making tackles six yards downfield A.J. Hawk, Clay Matthews, B.J. Raji and Bryan Bulaga. There were some really bad picks too.

2000

Mike Sherman was the coach, Ron Wolf was the GM. The team bounced back from a bad 1999 and ended the season 9–7. This was Ahman Green’s first season with Green Bay and the draft was outstanding.

In the first round, they drafted Bubba Franks, who was a good player for a few seasons. The big wins were with Chad Clifton…