I will sit squarely on the fence regarding A.J. Hawk. We have more significant needs than replacing him, that's for sure. I think he stood out in a good way, but only in comparison to two things: 1. the way he played in past years and 2. the rotten way most of the rest of the Packer D played. The lesser of the two starting ILBs by far was Brad Jones. I wish Thompson had never re-signed him, and I want to see him replaced. However, Lattimore would seem to be a decent replacement for Jones, so maybe we take a quality ILB in the 3rd or 4th round.
I also think we don't need a replacement for Raji and Pickett - who REALLY need to be GONE from the team. For most downs, I don't want a big fatty playing NT anyway - Daniels would be a lot better. For those few situations where we really need the bulk, Boyd has played head and shoulders better than either Raji or Pickett.
First choice for the first round would be the best COVERAGE Safety available - NOT some big hitter who can't cover.
The other top area of need would be OLB. I would say the jury is still out on Nick Perry. Mulumba has been impressive for a UDFA, but either signing somebody like Orakpo or drafting a quality OLB in the second round would be a good idea.
The third area of need would still probably be O-Line. Bulaga was not great even before his injury; Sherrod is getting more bust-like all the time, although I still have hope for him; I just don't see the fascination so many have for Bakhtiari - he sucked badly in pass blocking, and was only mediocre in run blocking - where did Lacy and Starks get most of their good gains? Not off tackle - up the middle.
All those needs aside, just watch Ol' Ted go and draft a TE in the first round - something we REALLY don't need with Quarless, Bostick, Taylor, and Stoneburner already being on board.
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