Green Bay Packers: Complete 2015 NFL Draft Wrap-Up and Analysis

The weekend-long event of the NFL draft is officially over. After starting the draft with nine picks, the Packers wound up taking eight players, one being in a trade-up. For the most part, these were the key offseason additions for Green Bay.

General manager Ted Thompson doesn't like free agency much, only signing one splash player, Julius Peppers, as of recently. Instead, the team approaches roster-building with draft and development, which means they push their veterans and rookies into starting roles over time, rather than bringing in outside players.

There were ups and downs early in the weekend. Questions like "What is Ted doing?" were across comment sections and on Twitter. When it was all said and done, though, the Packers addressed the two holes on their roster which needed an immediate plug, and the draft community praised the front office.

With all the information now gathered, it's time to throw out your mock drafts and scouting guides. Your new Green Bay Packers are solidified, and we'll recap the entire weekend for you.

The Selections

Paul Beaty/Associated Press

Overall, I think the Packers got what they wanted in the end. Their squad came into the draft with two major needs: cornerback and inside linebacker. Green Bay addressed both positions, just likely not in the order the fans wanted.

The cornerback need was caused due to Tramon Williams and Davon House both leaving in free agency to Cleveland and Jacksonville, respectively. Damarious Randall of Arizona State and Quinten Rollins of Miami (Ohio) were their first two picks in the draft, adding competition to the boundary cornerback race, which should include veteran Casey Hayward.

When the team was on the clock in the third round, their only real option at inside linebacker was Paul Dawson of TCU, who had a terrible combine, and if you look into general manager Ted Thompson's past, he leans on athletes. So, instead, they took Ty Montgomery, a receiver from Stanford, waiting until the fourth round to snatch their linebacker in Jake Ryan of Michigan.

They then proceeded to trade their fifth- and seventh-round picks to New England to move up for quarterback Brett Hundley, who should provide stability behind Aaron Rodgers. After that, they added three draft picks to the fringe-roster discussion: Aaron Ripkowski, a fullback from Oklahoma, Christian Ringo, a defensive lineman from Louisiana-Lafayette, and Kennard Backman, a tight end from Alabama-Birmingham.

Best Pick: QB Brett Hundley

To many, Brett Hundley was the third-best quarterback in the draft class. At one point, Hundley was thought of as a competitor with Marcus Mariota, who was the second overall pick to the Tennessee Titans, as a player who could be a top-10 "new wave" dual-threat passer.

His development stalled at the college level, but he's still very young, and he's about to learn from some of the best in the business. He's not in a rush to see the field with Aaron Rodgers ahead of him, and head coach Mike McCarthy might be the top guru of position. As good of a fit that this was for the Packers, it's equally as great for Hundley's career.

He will give Green Bay legs off the bench, which seems to be what they want after signing Vince Young and Seneca Wallace in the recent past. The theory is, if Rodgers goes down, a lesser version of him is just going to give an absolute edge to the defense, whereas if a mobile threat is behind him, at least the defense is going to face something they hadn't schemed for.

In a few years, the Packers might flip this fifth-round pick for a first-round selection, going back to their ways almost two decades ago, when they were shipping Brett Favre's backups across the league for draft picks. Hundley is a high-upside player who fell three rounds too low on draft day. Not only was this the best pick by Green Bay in the class, but it might have been a top-10 value selection for the whole weekend.

Worst Pick: CB Damarious Randall

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a terrible selection, but when you look at the scope of the draft class, I believe Damarious Randall of Arizona State sticks out like a sore thumb. He played safety in college, but the safety position is locked up with Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Morgan Burnett being heavily invested in, with the arrow pointing up on their tape.

So, he's going to see cornerback looks, a position he hasn't played since his junior college days. The issue is, on film, Randall, the first-round pick of the squad, doesn't have the same traits that Quinten Rollins, the team's second-round pick, does. If I were to make bets, I would guess that Randall would come in third to Rollins and veteran Casey Hayward in a race to replace Tramon Williams as the Packers' base cornerback.

Did Green Bay draft a slot cornerback, with Hayward and Micah Hyde already on the roster? There's just a lot of questions with this selection, and with the way the board played out, I wonder if Ted Thompson and Co. would make the pick again knowing what they know now.

What Experts Are Saying

Walter Cherepinsky, WalterFootball

Walter Cherepinsky is one of the first draft writers who decided the Internet was going to be the big venue for the event. After developing WalterFootball for years, he's gained a large following, to the point where basically every draftnik visits his site for one reason or another. It's just so big you can't avoid it.

In his breakdown of the Packers' class, he, like myself, was lower on the selection of Damarious Randall than the rest of Green Bay's early picks:

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Eric Kendricks and Denzel Perryman fell to the Packers' lap... and they pass on both for a second-round safety? The Randall love didn't make much sense to me - he's athletic, but as Jon Gruden noted, he struggles to tackle. However, I had him pegged as an early second-rounder, so this isn't a mega reach, or anything. I just think the Packers had better options at their disposal.

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I absolutely agree with Walter. I don't think that Randall was a bad pick, but when you look at the other options on the board, I believe the Packers could have used their resources better. Imagine if Green Bay had taken Eric Kendrick of UCLA in the first round as an inside linebacker. Would they have been in that bad of shape with Quinten Rollins at cornerback, double-dipping at the position with the fourth-round pick used for Jake Ryan?

There was a clear premium for this squad to bring in an inside linebacker, and the top-off-the-ball linebackers all went between their first and second selections, leaving them in a position to avoid the position altogether until Day 3. Last year, the team took Carl Bradford, who converted to inside linebacker, in the fourth round.

Bradford was an afterthought during the 2014 season. What if Ryan goes the same route? Then what?

Dan Kadar, Mocking the Draft

Dan Kadar reviewed every team's draft class after the first two days of the event. He came away with a passing grade for the Packers, and actually liked the selection of Randall, but came away with a question regarding their third-round pick, Ty Montgomery.

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It's a surprise that the Packers totally ignored inside linebacker with their first three picks of the draft. Randall and Rollins both make sense because the Packers lost some pieces in the secondary. Montgomery is a decent gadget player, but the lack of a linebacker thus far is confusing.

Overall grade: B-

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He too suggested that the team should have looked at linebacker a bit earlier, and stated that Montgomery was a "gadget player." Montgomery played quarterback, receiver, running back and returner for Stanford, which I guess can get the label of being an Antwaan Randle-El type.

The Packers probably won't use him more than as a fourth receiver until Jordy Nelson's contract expires, but he should be able to contribute in special teams as a return specialist, and potentially in the backfield.

Bryan Fisher, NFL.com

Bryan Fisher seemed to have found positive traits in every one of the Packers' picks, consistently grading them in the "B" range on all three days of the draft.

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Day 1 grade: B+
Day 2 grade: B-
Day 3 grade: B
Overall grade: B
The skinny: There are not a ton of needs for the Packers on either side of the ball, and they landed perhaps the best coverage safety -- albeit, in a weak class -- in Randall, who excels at man coverage. Add in Randall's ability to play some corner if needed, and the Packers might have landed a gem in addition to shoring up their secondary. Rollins also provides flexibility, with the ability to play both corner and safety. Wide receiver wasn't a big team need, but Montgomery has star potential in this offense and could be a Pro Bowl kick returner early in his career. Ryan was a perfect pick for Ted Thompson; he will be a hard-nosed player who can contribute as a solid player in several areas. Hundley and Aaron Rodgers can discuss their draft drops in the QB meeting rooms.

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For the most part, I agree, but I bet Packers fans sure do wish they had gone linebacker just a little bit earlier, potentially moving up in the second round for one of the top-tier guys.

What's Left to Address?

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

The Packers are a draft-and-develop franchise, so by nature, they have to be thinking a year ahead to avoid having to fill holes with unproven rookies at premier positions. Inside linebacker isn't a premier position, but cornerback was. Cornerback was only a need because of the free agents who left this offseason, and, on paper, the only needs Green Bay has revolve around the expiring contracts on their roster.

Future Edge-Rusher

There's a possibility that Mike Neal and Nick Perry, the third and fourth outside linebackers on the team, both walk in free agency. That in itself would create a lack of depth behind Clay Matthews III and Julius Peppers, which is an issue, as Neal and Perry already see time on defense in every game.

With passing offenses flying all over the field, there needs to be more rotation in defensive front sevens, which means more quality bodies. When you toss in the fact that Peppers' contract may be something the Packers would want to move past in 2016, and that Matthews is seeing time at inside linebacker, there are huge questions surrounding the future of the position.

Are the Packers going to team Carl Bradford, converting him back outside, and an unknown rookie on the edge in 2016 when Matthews is playing an off the ball role? With slipping talents like Owamagbe Odighizuwa falling through the lap of this front office on Day 2, they must not think that's an issue.

Future Defensive Linemen

Nose tackle was a position I could have seen Green Bay drafting early, had a big body presented himself as a massive value for the team. They currently have Letroy Guion and B.J. Raji on short-term contracts, which is fine for 2015, but there's no promise that either return in 2016. I don't think the Packers want to see a situation like their cornerback situation this offseason, but this time, at the center of their defense.

It's not just at nose tackle, though. The team's top defensive lineman, Mike Daniels, is also on the last year of his contract. How can Ted Thompson confidently go into 2016 with his top players under contract on the line being Datone Jones and Josh Boyd?

Those two are solid, but neither have developed in a way that you'd think about building a defensive around them. They're more like complimentary pieces at this point. Heading into next year, I view this as the top need of the team, should Daniels bolt to the open market.

Final Grade

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

I think the Packers got done what needed to be done. The needed to bring in a cornerback and an inside linebacker, and the rest of the class was gravy.

Not only did the squad bring in one defensive back, but their first two picks were of the unit. The flexibility of those players, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins, will help the team across the board. I don't think either can be named a starter at this point, but them being added to the competition probably means there's going to be a very solid replacement stepping into Tramon Wililams' old role.

Green Bay didn't get an inside linebacker on Day 2, which means there isn't a lock to start there either, but Jake Ryan of Michigan has the flexibility to play either inside role if he can beat out Carl Bradford to play opposite of Sam Barrington this season. Once again, competition is in asset by itself.

Ty Montgomery should be a return specialist early on in his career and a second slot option for when the Packers want to play with four wideouts. Brett Hundley is going to give the Packers the most consistency behind Aaron Rodgers since Matt Flynn in 2011.

From there, the other picks are indeed gravy. If they make the roster, it's just a bonus, but Green Bay's core set of rookies will come with Randall, Rollins, Montgomery, Ryan and Hundley.

Grade: B