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At this point in his career as a general manager, it's fair to say that Ted Thompson has a reputation for getting serious value in the draft. He's found a lot of Day 2 Pro Bowl-caliber guys and tons of excellent contributors on Day 3 for the Green Bay Packers.
But, despite that, there were a few grumblings around these parts on Friday night that Thompson went and got a couple of guys who were not considered by most to be top 100 prospects in the 3rd round. Some are a bit skeptical about Richard Rodgers for being too much of a pure receiving tight end and Khyri Thornton for being a tad undersized for nose tackle.
You can count me among the ranks of the slightly skeptical, so I was very happy to see this morning that people who watch a lot more of these guys than I do think the Packers are getting good players and good value for where they're picking. Matthew Fairburn of SB Nation focuses more on HaHa Clinton-Dix and Davante Adams than the two third-rounders, but he gave us an A in his draft grades. The grade wouldn't be an A if he thought Rodgers and Thornton were major reaches or didn't fit the scheme.
Grade: A
The Packers always seem to be getting excellent value. It started on the first night with Ha'sean Clinton-Dix and continued with Davante Adams and Richard Rodgers on day two.
Of course, this comes with the usual caveat: Draft grades on draft weekend are ultimately pointless and it's impossible to grade a draft class until about three seasons after a draft. But it's very nice to see that someone who has had a chance to watch all of these players more than once thinks we're doing a really good job getting value with our picks. Trust Ted, y'all.