When it came time for the Packers to exercise their second-round pick, the 51st overall, in the 2005 NFL Draft, the entire scouting world except for general manager Ted Thompson seemed to think it would be a reach to select Nick Collins that early.

For starters, Collins had played at Bethune-Cookman University, an NCAA Division I-AA school of less than 3,000 students, with what was hardly a powerhouse football program. Aside from that, there was uncertainty in the eyes of many talent evaluators about where Collins would play – cornerback or safety – and whether he might be a tweener who wouldn't excel at either position.

Brian Gutekunst, the Packers' southeast area scout, was thinking, "I like him, but second round?" After all, the historically black college in Daytona Beach, Fla., where Collins played, had never produced a first-round selection other than a supplemental choice and had only three second-rounders taken in the top 50 in the previous 40 drafts. Jim Bates, the Packers' new defensive coordinator, lobbied instead for Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo linebacker Jordan Beck, who would last until the third round and last only two seasons in the NFL without ever starting a game. Even after Thompson had selected Collins, then Packers head coach Mike Sherman called the choice "a roll of the dice."

Talk about proving the skeptics wrong.

Continue Reading @ Packers