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Who Are These Guys?

4th Round - Missouri Southern State OT Allen Barbre. He was the fastest offensive lineman at the combine, so he should be very good at chasing down defenders on fumble recoveries and interception returns. Also it means he's a pretty good athlete. He started 3+ years in college at left tackle. The Packers don't need depth on the offensive line after drafting three good offensive lineman in 2006, but if anything did happen to either RT Mark Tauscher or LT Chad Clifton, their backups are LG Daryn Colledge at left tackle and G Tony Moll at right tackle. There isn't a true backup tackle on the roster. If Barbre can make the jump from small Missouri Southern, he could help.

5th Round - Virginia Tech WR David Clowney. I like the second Hokie the Packers selected a lot better than the first one (S Aaron Rouse). Clowney is fast, fast, fast. At first he seemed like a wide receiver drafted to compete as a kick returner, but Mike Tanier thinks he could be a starting wide receiver some day and his poor college stats were the result of the system and personnel around him at VT. Worst case scenario is that Clowney is someone who could help as a return man. The Packers really need to improve their bad special teams which hasn't had a quality return man since CB Allen Rossum left in 2001 and haven't had a dangerous return man since WR Roell Preston snuck onto the Pro Bowl roster in 1998.

6th Round - Boise State FB Korey Hall. He was asked to try out at fullback at the combine and must have looked good. He was WAC Defensive Player of the Year, but apparently he has no shot in the NFL at linebacker. My guess is they think he's too slow. Otherwise he has the size and college credentials that would suggest he could make a good linebacker. The Packers really needed a fullback to compete with mediocre FB Brandon Miree, but the only guy they select is a project who won't be able to help immediately. Mike McCarthy has said that his tight ends are taught to play fullback too, unfortunately there isn't a wealth of talent at tight end either. It wasn't a great draft for fullbacks and Hall might look like a great find by 2008, but this doesn't help at all next season.

6th Round - California LB Desmond Bishop. He will have no chance to play linebacker in the near future. This selection looks like another one targeted at providing the special teams with much needed help. It might come down to Bishop and LB Tracy White for the final roster spot and the opportunity to lead the team in special teams tackles.

6th Round - Colorado K Mason Crosby. Wow. Crosby really crashed and burned at the combine. Leading up to the draft, everyone was wondering who would reach and take Crosby too early. Now everyone is back pedaling with stories of bad mechanics at the combine. Any concerns about Crosby's monster leg created by Colorado's high altitude could be dismissed due to Crosby's college production on the road. He is the best kicker in the draft and the Packers special teams have a chance to be much better with Crosby. Rayner was good in 2006, but he doesn't have the longest kickoffs and his accuracy slipped as the season wound down. This was another area on special teams where the Packers needed to bring someone in to push Rayner or beat him out. This is a boom or bust pick, but its only a 6th rounder at risk.

7th Round - Florida RB DeShawn Wynn and Rutgers TE Clark Harris. Two classic 7th round draft choices. The opinions of these two players are all over the place and they both fall because no one knows what to make of them. Mike Tanier thinks these two guys have no chance at making it in the NFL while Frank Coyle likes both Wynn and Harris. Harris is exactly the type of tight end I had hoped the Packers would select in the mid-rounds, except he was still available with the Packers last pick. We can thank K Ryan Longwell's departure to Minnesota for providing it. Wynn is certainly an inconsistent player who didn't play through minor injuries. Harris is certainly a receiving first tight end who isn't a very good blocker. Hopefully Harris works out because the Packers need help at tight end, but it seems that Wynn is a longshot.