Green Bay Packers 2015 Draft: Aggregating Report Card Grades from Around the Web

Everyone knows that you shouldn't grade draft picks the week they're selected. So many of them are projects, and no one is truly prepared for what the NFL entails. Still, we have the fascination for how those on the outside view a team's class.

It's never good to bet against Ted Thompson, the Green Bay Packers' general manager who has years of success under his belt, but some might still have some doubts over what he's put together over the three-day event.

This is more of an exercise to consume the media, which has also watched the squad selections. We might take these thoughts with a grain of salt, but the internet lasts forever, as do the prospects on record for the Packers.

Sports Illustrated

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Our first pundit is Doug Farrar of Sports Illustrated, who keeps an eye on these players for the full draft cycle, starting with the seniors in the summer prior to their last season. Farrar has become one of my favorite writers and draft analysts over the years, as he's been proven to be right more than wrong, which, in this industry, is tough to do.

Farrar, along with Chris Burke, gave grades to all 32 classes in the NFL in their piece and thoroughly went through each team's major selections.

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The fifth-round selection of UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley is an interesting one. Hundley passes all the athletic tests, and he's got great mechanics, but he's a couple of years away from being a complete player at the position. Could he be Aaron Rodgers's ultimate backup in time?

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Overall, he gave the Packers a positive grade of B+, which only seven franchises surpassed. One of the prospects he wrote the most on wasn't one of their high picks, but Brett Hundley is the new quarterback in Green Bay by way of UCLA. Hundley was selected in the fifth round after the squad traded a seventh-round pick to move up in the fifth to secure the passer.

He questions if he will be Aaron Rodgers' "ultimate backup." That's an odd way to spin that selection to me. I think Hundley should be the second quarterback on the roster, overtaking what was assumed to be Scott Tolzien's role, as keeping a third quarterback as a team's game-day active player isn't beneficial.

How often do two quarterbacks go down in one game? At worst, receivers Randall Cobb, Jared Abbrederis and newly drafted Ty Montgomery could see the field, as they have spent time at quarterback at the college level. Not only should he be the Packers backup in time, but he also should be in that role for Week 1, considering his developmental upside.

CBS Sports/NFL Draft Scout

Matt York/Associated Press

CBSSports.com and NFLDraftScout.com work hand-in-hand with content, so to credit the next writer to just one website would be a disservice. Through the years, Rob Rang has built up a following while becoming one of the main fixtures in the internet scouting community. He's a draft-cycle staple, and his work speaks for itself.

He graded the Packers' class as a B+, the same as Farrar, only putting one team in the NFC North ahead of Green Bay: the Minnesota Vikings, who from the media's perspective, have done well for two or three years during draft weekend.

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Though I did project Damarious Randall to go in the first round (one pick earlier to Indianapolis), I was initially surprised by the Packers' selection -- until it was made clear Green Bay envisions the former ASU standout handling nickel duties.

Given the dynamic passing attacks in the NFC North, the move makes sense, though it is rare that a college safety is capable of making the transition to cornerback in the NFL.

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Most Packers fans were confused when their first-round pick was used on Damarious Randall of Arizona State. It wasn't that they knew he was a "reach," as Rang noted he had mocked Randall to the Indianapolis Colts in his last first-round mock, but they just didn't know how he saw the field in a base defense.

It's not too often that you see a college safety move to cornerback. Nnamdi Asomugha is probably the greatest example of that process succeeding, but there aren't many who can even attempt to transition.

Randall clearly has the athleticism to make the move, and with the need in Green Bay to replace Tramon Williams and Davon House after they left in free agency, it's beginning to make more sense. As draft writers have started to explain, Randall will be a cornerback at the next level, and it seems as though fans have warmed up to the selection.

ESPN

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

ESPN has put together a nice group of writers for their NFL Nation roster. Green Bay's reporter is Rob Demovsky, who is a must-follow on anything Packers. He's not a draft writer, but since he covers the team, he's tuned in to their specific movement, which to me makes his perspective one worth listening to.

Instead of giving letter grades, NFL Nation gave thumbs up or thumbs down as their standard. Of the 32 teams, only four writers gave their teams "thumbs down" marks, but it should be noted that the Packers indeed did enough to suffice for Demovsky's approval:

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The Packers were a few minutes and a couple of plays away from the Super Bowl last season, so it's not like this team needs instant help to contend.

But if the Packers can get one of their two defensive backs -- Damarious Randall or Quinten Rollins -- to make some splash plays, and if third-round receiver Ty Montgomery can give a jolt to the return game, that might be enough.

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I think that Ty Montgomery is going to be a little more than just a returner for the Green Bay Packers, but it's going to be hard for him to see the field outside of four- or five-receiver sets. One aspect that I think is underplayed is the Montgomery pick: The best returner Green Bay has had recently is Randall Cobb, but he stopped taking kickoff duties when he developed into a star player.

Now with a new contract in hand, I doubt the Packers throw him into the fire that is special teams ever again. Montgomery's selection might help Cobb's long-term health down the line.

Bleacher Report

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

One of our own makes the list, with Ty Schalter turning in letter grades for all 32 squads. The Packers earned a C, according to his assessment, the lowest of all the rankers so far. He seemed to be a harder grader than some of the rest, though, giving eight squads lower grades than Green Bay's "average" class.

His take on Jake Ryan, the Michigan inside linebacker who might start in 2015, was notable to me. For some reason, most of the writers hadn't really noted Ryan. I understand that he was a Day 3 selection, but he had Day 2 grades for many in the media and was selected with the Packers' first selection of the day at a position of need. Schalter said:

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If Clay Matthews is sriracha sauce, Jake Ryan is boneless skinless chicken breast. Together, they'll cover inside and outside linebacker as situations and matchups demand. Ryan was unremarkably competent at Michigan, and the team will need him to be the same thing in the pros.

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So Packers fans have Clay Matthews draped over a rookie linebacker? Matthews on Ryan's shoulder would probably still have better coverage ability than last year's starter, A.J. Hawk, who was cut this offseason.

After Ryan's injury in college, we haven't seen his explosiveness reach 100 percent. I don't know if it's ever coming back, but if it's not, I see him only as an inside linebacker option. While it would be cool to see him flex out, the Packers are already deep there, and they moved their 2014 fourth-round pick Carl Bradford from outside linebacker to inside linebacker due to positional depth in the preseason.

Rotoworld

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Evan Silva has built up a name in the fantasy football community at Rotoworld, covering the game as a whole from the national level. For the Packers' three-day process, he gave the team a C+. He only ranked four of the NFC's 16 franchises behind Green Bay, though. Per Silva:

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I'm used to giving Ted Thompson high "grades." I think I've done it every year. This draft seemed a little more needs-focused than usual, which is a fine approach in general but may have left some "value" on the board. ...

I don't think this was a bad draft, but I also don't believe it was a tide tilter in the NFC. I've come to expect a little more from Thompson over the years.

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I agree with Silva to an extent. This draft class on paper isn't as good as some of Thompson's in the past. I think there's a reason for this, though: This class wasn't one which was projected to be deep.

There seems to be a consensus that Quinten Rollins in the second round and Jake Ryan in the fourth round were big plus values for the team. If Thompson had known that he was going to be able to get a cornerback like Rollins in the second round, I'm not sure he would have taken Damarious Randall in the first round, but one can only draft for value based on how other teams take prospects off the board.

Green Bay needed a cornerback quickly, so Thompson got one quickly. When another appeared as a second-round steal, he pounced on him as well. The one head-scratcher is Ty Montgomery, but if the team is looking to add special teams help to their roster, who can blame them? They were essentially kept out of a Super Bowl because of special teams.

Final Grades

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Final Grades

Sports Illustrated: B+

CBSSports.com/NFLDraftScout.com: B+

ESPN: Thumbs Up

Bleacher Report: C

Rotoworld: C+

My Grade: B-

I think overall, writers understood the value of two of the Packers' first four selections in Quinten Rollins (cornerback, Miami-Ohio) and Jake Ryan (linebacker, Michigan), but they feel its unfortunate that Green Bay picked two cornerbacks in the first two rounds when Rollins proved to be such a value.

A selection such as Malcom Brown of Texas, the defensive lineman who was drafted by the New England Patriots, could have pushed the Packers up media draft grades.

The Ty Montgomery (receiver, Stanford) selection has many hung up, as there's really no way for him to see the field on offense, as he'll enter camp in a three-way battle with Jared Abbrederis and Jeff Janis for the fourth receiver slot. He'll contribute on special teams, but being on the field for one out of every four plays doesn't seem to be enough impact for graders.

The consensus surrounding the selection of Brett Hundley (quarterback, UCLA) was that he could provide the team with a cheap, high-end backup for a couple of years, with the potential to grow into a player worth a high draft pick.

The last three picks for the team, all being sixth-rounders, were Aaron Ripkowski (fullback, Oklahoma), Christian Ringo (defensive lineman, Louisiana-Lafayette) and Kennard Backman (tight end, Alabama-Birmingham). Those final three seem to be fringe roster types to most observers.