Green Bay Packers Combine Wrap Up: Aaron Kampman Edition

The NFL scouting combine is over will end on Tuesday. Much to my chagrin, I thought it ended yesterday.

So, we’ll give you this hot beef injection of Green Bay Packers’ combine-related news 2010! from the weekend.

Let’s start with Bruce Campbell, the left tackle prospect from Maryland who blew the field away in several drills over the weekend. I was quick to note Campbell was probably shooting up draft boards after he ran a 4.85 40-yard dash, but it appears not everyone is sold.

One of those people is NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, who says Campbell often looks subpar on film.

Mike Mayock placed the “buyer beware” tag on Campbell during Sunday’s excellent NFLN coverage, explaining that the former Terp has a lot of “average” film.

And that’s the most direct tie to Jets linebacker Vernon Gholston, whose stellar workout numbers and Paul Orndorff physique got the team to overlook plenty of subpar film.

We talked about Gholston on Friday and how he shot up draft boards after a killer combine, but hasn’t done anything in the NFL, so if you don’t know his story, click the link. In short, Campbell could be a real risk if the Packers were to draft him.

We’ve been updating you on players the Packers have spoken to at the combine, and a couple more have come to light.

One of them is the Wisconsin Badgers O’Brien Schofield, who underwent reconstructive knee surgery four weeks ago. After registering 12 sacks as a senior, Schofield was projected to be a third-round selection, but the injury could send him down to the seventh round.

“Man, he’s a good player,” said an NFC executive who is noted for being a tough grader. “Somebody’s going to get a steal there. He will fall with the knee. It will hurt the kid contract-wise on the first contract. But he’s going to be a good player.”

The Packers, who are in dire need of depth in the secondary, also spoke to Oklahoma State cornerback Perrish Cox, who was suspended for the Cotton Bowl for missing curfew.

“They need a corner. (And) a special teams guy also,” Cox said. “They tell me to keep my head up, stay focused, don’t make (another) mistake like I did in the bowl game. That’s something easy I learned from. It happened.”

Finally, the Press Gazette’s Pete Dougherty suggests the Packers may have an eye on Hillsdale College left tackle Jared Veldheer.

Veldheer, who measured in at the combine at 6-feet-8 1/8 and 312 pounds, came into the weekend as probably a late second-round to third-round prospect but could get teams to take an even harder look at him after his performance Saturday.

He ran the 40 in 5.09 seconds, which was fourth among the linemen. He also tied for first in the three-cone drill (7.40 seconds) and 20-yard shuttle (4.51 seconds); tied for third in the vertical jump (33 inches), was fifth in the broad jump (9-feet, 1-inch) and ninth in the bench press (32 reps of 225 pounds).

OK, so you’re wondering why this is the Aaron Kampman edition of the combine wrap up? Well, here it is.

One very interesting nugget came out on the business side of things regarding Aaron Kampman. Cheesehead TV’s Aaron Nagler, who was at the combine, says the Packers are worried about being the bad guy when it comes to Kampman.

… the Packers may be so scared of potentially looking the fool if yet another popular player ended up playing within the division (hello, Chicago) that they may be setting themselves up to bring Kampman back so as to ‘look good’ in the eyes of the fans and indeed, the rest of the league. I know – it sounds absurd. But how else do you explain the theory I heard from one source in Indianapolis – that the organization may have gone as far as feeding Mike Vandermause the meme for his column in the Green Bay Press Gazette last week.

It’s title? “Green Bay Packers Would Be Foolish To Let Kampman Go”

In essence, both Packers GM Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy have been singing Kampman’s praises over the past week, but are only doing so because Kampman is a fan favorite.

First, I want to praise Nagler for having the balls to actually write this. We’ve told you time and time again why Kampman doesn’t fit in the 3-4, we told you why the Packers should let him move on and we told you what a steaming pile of horseshit Vandermause’s column was (by the way, nice journalism, “journalist”).

I know some people will be disappointed to see Kampman go because he’s a likable guy who works his ass off, but Jesus H. Christ, if you don’t believe my assessment of Kampman’s play, just look at the numbers. His tackles and sacks have decreased each of the past four seasons.

The Packers need to move on and do the best thing for their football team. While Brett Favre may not be soon forgotten, Aaron Kampman will, even if he signs with the Bears.

For the rest of the Packers combine news, check out our first two roundups.

Packers’ combine roundup one
Packers’ combine roundup two

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