Green Bay Packers: Analyzing Latest NFL Draft Rumors and Reports

The Green Bay Packers under Ted Thompson are a notably discreet organization. Very little information concerning the draft leaks out of Green Bay, as the Packers don't disclose their pre-draft visits. 

"If I can keep something from Team B just a little bit, then that helps the Packers, in my opinion," Thompson said April 22, via Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "We're not really trying to keep secrets, we just prefer our business not be out in public."

Though the rumors and reports surrounding the Packers prior to the draft may not be particularly juicy, there have been some developments worth following as Day 1 fast approaches. 

Let's break down the most interesting sound bites concerning Green Bay with less than a week to go.

Rumor: Packers Couldn't Pass Up CB Jalen Collins at No. 30

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Noting that size is lacking in Green Bay's cornerbacks group, ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky thinks it would be difficult for the Packers to overlook LSU product Jalen Collins in Round 1. 

"That's where Collins from LSU comes in," Demovsky wrote in response to a Twitter mailbag. "He measured a shade taller than 6'1" at the combine. He would be the tallest corner on the Packers' roster. I don't see how they'd pass him up if he's there at No. 30."

The top cornerback prospects in this class—Trae Waynes, Kevin Johnson, Marcus Peters and Byron Jones—could all be off the board by No. 30. 

Collins wasn't originally projected to go that high. CBSSports.com still has him projected to go early in Round 2, and NFL Network's Albert Breer confirmed that Collins failed multiple drug tests in college. However, both Lance Zierlein and Brian Baldinger of NFL.com have Collins projected to Green Bay at No. 30 in recent mock drafts. 

Demovsky makes a good point about Collins' size. If Thompson had a height restriction on cornerbacks, it would be 5'10". Starter Sam Shields is 5'11", and if Casey Hayward were to start opposite him, both of Green Bay's starters would be 5'11". 

That's not necessarily a problem for a cornerback who is otherwise a playmaker. But Collins' combination of size and skill make him an intriguing prospect at No. 30.

Report: Packers Have Interest in TE Wes Saxton

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

It's not a matter of if the Green Bay Packers will draft a tight end this year, but when. And per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, they're interested in South Alabama's Wes Saxton. 

"Beyond top prizes Maxx Williams and Clive Walford at tight end, the 6-foot-3, 248-pound Saxton, who played at South Alabama, is one ultra-athletic, ultra-raw option the Packers will consider," writes Dunne. 

The Packers lack a complete weapon at tight end. Richard Rodgers, who developed nicely in his rookie season, is emerging as a pass-catching (and red-zone) weapon, but his run-blocking needs work. Andrew Quarless is solid when used in two-tight end situations, but there's nothing spectacular about him as a starter. 

In that regard, the Packers could decide to improve the position drastically by drafting a player like Williams or Walford who would likely become the featured end, and use Rodgers and Quarless, the latter of whom will be a free agent in 2016, as support. But that move will cost them a high pick.

Or, the Packers could round out their mixed-bag group of talents with one more prospect who isn't a featured end but who would complement Rodgers and Quarless nicely.

Saxton has good size, at 6'3" and 248 pounds, and was most productive out of the backfield or out of the slot at South Alabama. As a sophomore, he had 26 passes for 336 yards and a touchdown. The following year, he led the team in receptions, with 50. 

The Packers have serious interest. Per Dunne, "after meeting with the Packers 'two or three' times in Indianapolis alone, he said about '50%' of his offense at South Alabama was what Green Bay runs."

Rumor: Packers May Trade 30th Pick

Evan Siegle/Associated Press

It's a popular opinion that general manager Ted Thompson may find better value in the draft by trading the Packers' pick at No. 30, and one that Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently shared. 

"With the Packers prepared to pick 30th once again, my inclination is to forecast that another trade will be forthcoming," McGinn writes, referencing the 2008 draft in which Green Bay traded the 30th pick to the New York Jets. 

Who would have to be off the board for Thompson to decide to trade down? There are a handful of players he could be considering at No. 30, from inside linebacker Eric Kendricks to cornerback Byron Jones to defensive lineman Eddie Goldman.

But if he doesn't feel the value for any of the players remaining on the board is solid, Thompson could strike it big in early Round 2, where players like cornerback Jalen Collins and inside linebacker Stephone Anthony become targets at great value. 

Thompson likes to trade; he's traded 26 times through his tenure in Green Bay, and of those trades, 19 have been down while seven have been up. 

It is, of course, impossible to predict a first-round trade prior to Thursday, when we have a better sense of who will be on the board at No. 30. But McGinn is in good company in suspecting Thompson will be prepared to deal the pick in the right situation.

Report: FB Aaron Ripkowski Among Draft-Eligible Players to Have Visited Packers

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

The Green Bay Packers don't announce their 30 pre-draft visits, so it's sometimes hard to learn who has made the trip to Green Bay. Draft Insider's Tony Pauline revealed recently that Oklahoma fullback Aaron Ripkowski was one of those 30 players. 

"Aaron Ripkowski/FB/Oklahoma visiting the Green Bay Packers today...great fit for that offense," Pauline tweeted. 

Green Bay re-signed John Kuhn to yet another one-year deal, but that pattern can only continue for so long. Kuhn will be 33 years old when the 2015 season opens, and the Packers may use one of their nine current selections in the draft to find his eventual replacement. 

Oklahoma's Ripkowski helped its run game thrive. As Packer Report's Bill Huber points out, "behind Ripkowski’s lead blocking in 2014, the Sooners ranked 12th in the nation with 3,395 rushing yards and fifth with 6.1 yards per carry."

The Packers' own run game, led by Eddie Lacy, enjoyed similar success in 2014 with Kuhn blocking. With Aaron Rodgers' late-season calf injury, the Packers needed to lean on Lacy more, which allowed Kuhn's role to increase as well. Per Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Kuhn played 18.3 percent of the offense's total snaps, or 192 overall, but 136 came in the final eight games of the season. 

The role of the fullback in the NFL generally may be decreasing, especially as teams turn to tight ends to satisfy the same function. But the Packers like using fullbacks in short-yardage situations and for blocking out of the backfield, and Ripkowski could be an extremely talented late-round selection. 

Rumor: Ted Thompson May Not Draft for Best Available Player in Round 1

Morry Gash/Associated Press

If there's one thing everyone knows about Ted Thompson, it's that he lives by the BAP strategy. 

But does he always? Pete Dougherty of the Green Bay Press-Gazette cautions that we shouldn't be so quick to categorize Thompson when it comes to the first round. 

"The myth is that the Green Bay Packers' general manager almost always drafts the best player available, especially in the first round," Dougherty writes. But he goes on to point out that Thompson's first-round draft picks, from Aaron Rodgers to Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, usually satisfy a team need as well—just perhaps not the team's most pressing one. 

2014 was a perfect marriage of need and value. Safety was clearly Green Bay's biggest personnel hole, and Clinton-Dix wasn't expected to fall as far as he did. 

If only every year could work out so perfectly. 

This year, inside linebacker may be the team's biggest need, but the value is hard to see in Round 1. So Dougherty wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers select a player at a position of lesser need at No. 30 to seek the best value pick. That could be any position from tight end to the defensive line. 

"So when you're trying to figure out who Thompson might take at No. 30 next week, keep an open mind," Dougherty concludes.