Calm down, Wade. I know you, you're rational. There's no need for this. Let's calm you down a bit.
You've seen Ha Ha compared to Louis Delmas a lot? I can see why that would make you rather unhappy. Delmas was a corner/safety tweener. Not skilled enough to cover as a corner, not really bulky enough to be a complete safety.
Delmas and Clinton-Dix can both function as rangy centerfielders. Maybe Delmas even more than Clinton-Dix. Thing is, Ha Ha tackles, as well. Delmas doesn't make catches on potentiel interceptions, where Clinton-Dix does. He's taller than Delmas.
Maybe Louis can take him on athleticism alone, but Clinton-Dix is the superior football player.
Next to that, I've also seen Ha Ha been compared to slightly less athletic Eric Berry. Now that's a comparison I'm happy to take.
I see that you're also pretty down on our second round pick. You know who he reminds me of the most of the players on our team? Jermichael Finley.
I know, it's not exactly the same position, but Finley was, in essence, a receiving TE who couldn't block and lined up in WR slots a lot of the time.
Adams, looking as his tape, is a WR who's build as a small TE, has receiving-TE speed, can't block and catches everything in the area code.
I know, the comparison doesn't match completely, height-speed doesn't hold up completely and he most likely will never line up next ot the tackle, but I do feel that a lot of the plays that where designed for Finley, they could slide in Adams and still run them.
And it's not like he can't play outside. Far from it.
I think that this was a very smart pick. Especially with Nelson and/or Cobb most likely gone next year. I wouldn't have minder a first round receiver, either.
As for the rest of the guys you refer to as reaches, I always like to go back and read
this about the 2005 draft.
Cornerback Nick Collins and wide receiver Terrence Murphy, both taken in the second round, were fourth-round prospects, at best. None of Green Bay's other picks made any sense. If they passed up on Rodgers in the first round, the Packers would have an F.
One of the better safeties we've ever had was a reach. The other was a guy who had a career ending injury in his first season.
And wasn't Underwood a great value pick in that year's draft? A lot of players have very different values in GMs eyes and in the eyes of "draft experts". While even the first (two) round(s) are a crapshoot, I'm beginning to believe that there's not a sensible thing you can say about the rounds after that.
I remember Mike Mitchell being called the worst 2nd round pick ever in the 2009 NFL Draft. He just signed a $25 million contract with the Steelers.
Thornton is a guy who has some untapped potential. Someone who can become a real contributor on defense. I have to admit that I'm not that blown away by Rodgers, either, but he's pretty raw and he could be a better pro than college player.
If you where to believe all those draft board, we more than made up for it by selecting a guy like Carl Bradford who could become a day 1 starter and was gone long before our pick in the 4th round in most mock draft. I saw him go in the 2nd, mostly. He has the athleticism to cover the middle of the field, he can rush the pasher and has a great motor. If he can become a bit more of a thumper in the middle of our defense, he'll be a longtime starter.
I'm not going to go in-depth on all the players, but I feel like that, if you follow pre-draft predicitions and talent evaluation, he made some great pick in the later rounds.
It's really not all that bad as you make it out to be, Wade. I know you're an O-line enthousiast, but I don't feel like we could've added anyone at those positions with a pick that combined value with an upgrade more than we did now.
Lastly, I don't really feel like I'm an asshole, but you're doing quite well on the Foster replacement front.