Is Offensive Tackle a Realistic Selection in the First Round for the Packers?

When looking at Ted Thompson's history as a general manager, a clear trend is presented with his first-round picks. Since taking the job in 2005, all but two of the Packers' top-32 selections have gone toward premier positions.

Premier positions are usually attributed to both lines, pass-rusher and quarterback. In 2005, Aaron Rodgers was picked to be the future face of the franchise. On the offensive line, Bryan Bulaga and Derek Sherrod were tackle selections in back-to-back years in 2010 and 2011. Defensive linemen include Justin Harrell, B.J. Raji and Datone Jones. Finally, Green Bay has selected two edge players out of USC in Clay Matthews and Nick Perry.

The only two non-premier picks?

The first was A.J. Hawk in 2006. The NFL was different then. While a linebacker selection still wasn't ideal that high in the draft, the "Will" linebackers were receiving a lot more money on the relative scale of the 2006 salary cap than 2015 weak outside linebackers are.

That draft was a bit of an outlier too. Despite a defensive end, offensive tackle and quarterback coming off the board before Hawk's name was removed as an eligible candidate at No. 5 overall, the subsequent four selections after Hawk were also non-premier selections, and the back-to-back picks after that run were quarterbacks, a position the Packers had addressed just a year before.

The second happened just short of a year ago, when Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, a safety out of Alabama, was drafted 21st overall. The Packers had such a large need at the position, which yielded zero interceptions the year before, that the pick made total sense. Searching for a free safety since losing Nick Collins due to injury, Green Bay had finally filled the void.

With the 2014 season over, fans of the team look to the draft, as free agency hasn't historically been an event where Thompson likes to sit at the cool kids' table. A question arises when looking at the personnel of the squad: Which position is he going to look at?

If you narrow down the possibilities from the jump to premier positions, the task becomes less time consuming. Quarterback, outside linebacker, defensive end and four of the the five offensive line spots are clearly addressed at this point.

That really only leaves nose tackle and right tackle as the two large needs for the squad to look for high in the draft, and even that's pending free agency.

At nose tackle, Green Bay currently has two expiring contracts, both B.J. Raji, the slated 2014 starter, and Letroy Guion, the functional 2014 starter. When looking at the draft class, there's only one true nose tackle who Bleacher Report's Matt Miller is high enough on to contemplate drafting in that range: Danny Shelton from Washington.

Based on the mock drafting of many plugged into the league, including Russ Lande, who was formerly an NFL scout and currently works as a scouting director in the Canadian Football League, Shelton could go as high as the top 10, way out of range for the Packers' reach.

So, if right tackle Bryan Bulaga, who would likely be the best tackle in the free-agency pool, does walk from a Green Bay offer into the open market this offseason, it would appear that the most realistic outcome on paper, if a talent presented itself, would be the Packers coming away with a bookend on the offensive line early in the draft.

Miller's most recent board lists six tackles in the 15 to 45 range, the prospects one would assume are possibilities when Green Bay is up to bat. Two are no longer really options for the team, as Ronnie Stanley from Notre Dame did not declare early for the draft and Cedric Ogbuehi, according to Yahoo's Rand Getlin, tore his ACL in the final game of his college career.

If you're a betting man, that leaves Andrus Peat of Stanford, Ereck Flowers of Miami, T.J. Clemmings of Pittsburgh and Ty Sambrailo of Colorado State as the presumed clubhouse leaders in green and gold for this class.

The interesting thing about the group of blockers is its style. Green Bay tends to look at ambiguous offensive linemen who played the premier slot, blindside tackle, on the offensive line in college and project well into a zone-blocking scheme.

Even the Packers' guards, Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang, fit that mold, as well as J.C. Tretter, who was once slated to start at center before an injury forced him out of the lineup. If not for the injury, all five of the Green Bay starting offensive linemen would have come from that exact background.

Of the four remaining big, ugly prospects, it's hard to perceive them as ambiguous in position. At their listed heights, all are taller than the four Green Bay starters slated to return in 2015. It's fairly clear from just their frames that they're likely to be tackles at the next level. Clemmings played right tackle for a right-handed passer, too, breaking the mold of blindside tackles the Packers typically swing at.

In short, there's a possibility the team will look at a tackle high in the draft this year, but the question is who it's going to be. As the draft process kicks off, it's difficult to point to a favorite for the Packers at this time.

There are two clear slots of need for the team if free agents walk at the premier positions. At nose tackle and offensive tackle, though, the recent mold of Packers targets and player value in this class doesn't seem to match up.

The process will need to play out before anyone can be named a favorite. Last year, a player like Clinton-Dix wasn't thought of to be in the mix for Green Bay in January. We know one thing, Thompson won't panic. On draft day, no one will be stunned if the the white-haired general manager patiently waits for his turn at No. 30 and steals a player once more. Until then, we'll have to wait.