When you looked at the Green Bay Packers’ 2015 draft class, you probably said, “What’s with all the Pac-12 guys?”
The Packers chose four players from the Pac 12 in their seven picks. That’s 57 percent of the class.
Normally, we’d write that off as an anomaly, but it certainly seemed like a trend. Thanks to our crack research department, we now know that’s exactly what it is.
We sifted through all of general manager Ted Thompson’s glorious drafts and broke them down by conference. What did we find?
Not only do Pac-12 players make up the highest percentage of Thompson draftees, that number has been trending up over the past four drafts.
Here’s the breakdown, with all conference realignment accounted for.
Number of Players Chosen by Conference OVERALL
Percentages are rounded.
- Pac-12: 19 (17%)
- SEC/Big Ten: 14 (13%)
- Big 12: 11 (10%)
- ACC: 10 (9%)
- MWC/WAC: 7 (6%)
- Big East: 5 (5%)
- Mid-American/Conference USA: 4 (4%)
- Southern: 3 (3%)
- Two with 2
- Nine with 1
Number of Players Chosen by Conference LAST FOUR DRAFTS
Percentages are rounded.
- Pac 12: 12 (34%)
- Big Ten: 6 (17%)
- SEC: 3 (6%)
- Four with 2
- Six with 1
You can see the Packers have an increasing affinity for the Pac-12 and Big Ten, but they’re also moving away from drafting SEC players.
That probably wouldn’t be notable if it were any other conference, but the SEC is widely considered to be king among conferences in college football. With Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M and so forth, they routinely recruit the top talent in the nation.
They routinely win national titles as well, thanks largely to Alabama.
In theory, the SEC has the most talented players.
You could argue the Packers don’t have the opportunity to pick the most-talented players because they’re always picking late in any round. However, as we’ve seen on occasion, Ted Thompson will trade up if he really likes someone.
Like he did for Clay Matthews (Pac-12, 2009), Casey Hayward (SEC, 2012) and Jason Spriggs (Big Ten, 2016).
Wait a second, Thompson traded up for Hayward, who was an SEC player…
Right. And Hayward also played his college ball at Vanderbilt, known as the Harvard of the south.
This seems like a conscious decision. The Packers haven’t chosen an SEC player in either of the past two drafts.
So you might surmise that’s about intelligence.
Other than Vanderbilt, the SEC isn’t known as a hotbed for academic excellence. Those schools are football factories and the Packers now appear to be looking for more well-rounded players.
The Pac-12, with Stanford, UCLA, USC and Cal, is known for academics. Same with the Big Ten, with Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.
There’s one theory.
Intelligence counts more than ever.
You could come up with another one by looking at the SEC players chosen by Thompson.
Here’s the list.
- Ha Ha Clinton-Dix
- Eddie Lacy
- Josh Boyd
- Casey Hayward
- Derek Sherrod
- Randall Cobb
- D.J. Williams
- Quinn Johnson
- Jamon Meredith
- Jarius Wynn
- Pat Lee
- Matt Flynn
- Justin Harrell
- DeShawn Wynn
There’s quite a bit of ugly on that list, including two first-round picks (Harrell and Sherrod) and one second-round pick (Lee) who were undeniable busts.
Yes, there’s quality in Clinton-Dix, Cobb and the in-shape version of Lacy. You could also say Hayward was a quality player, but the Packers just let him walk as a free agent without so much as an offer. So they would obviously disagree.
However you want to chalk it up, the direction is clear.
The Packers love the Pac-12 and they’re no longer high on the SEC.
Interesting theory. And not too crazy. It seems the Packers ‘ system is horribly hard to learn. And for both, offensive and defensive players.
I really believe TT will take the player that he believes is the best player that fits the teams need. It does not matter what conference or area they come from. There are usually several players (not always) at each pick that probably have similar grades. Area or conference does not Factor in the decision.
What makes the difference in the conference or area that picks are obtained is how trusted the area scout is, and that is were I believe Sam Seales comes into the mix. I believe several area scouts have been promoted or taken other positions over the last few years. Sam is the wise old veteran in the room and if it is a toss up as to several different players Sam’s experience is going to be heard and given more value than some of the other scouts.
Anyone who will stand up in a press conference and say making the playoffs doesn’t mean anything, it is only super bowls that count is my type of guy. Sam Seales is the answer to why the conference or area picks have gone more west coast.
There’s been some criticism that Thompson relies on Sam Seales too much. He’s the last of the Wolf trained scouts and really I never heard of him until the last couple years.
So we are missing out on other conferences’ players because we trust a single scout too much.
No! If there is a group of players that have similar value and or need at a particular pick TT is going to give more weight to the opinion of a trusted scout that has been with the team since Wolf. It does not matter the conference or area. It would be stupid to not listen to and give more weight to the advise of trusted, and experienced council. You can guarantee Sam has a strong voice in the draft room, including for players from other areas. Sam just happens to be the west coast scout, so he sees more of those players.
So are we missing out on other conferences players because the Packers think those conferences in general have players to stupid to learn the Packers supposed complicated systems? I don’t think so.
Actually the insinuation is a correct one but they’ll never admit to it. Kind of like affirmative action and EOE are legal bullshit in most employers minds but they quietly find ways around it.
So no chance for a Nick Collins type to be drafted in the New Packer draft room?
Give me the smart ones. Unlike the LT from Alabama who may have been #1 overall, if not for weed and stolen guns in the car at 3am. I’d like to see that wonderlic score.
There’s a lot of truth to this article. Pac-12 offenses are likely more dynamic than the line em up and smash em up SEC. The NFLs best players are usually the brightest in terms of speech and grasping concepts quickly. That leads to a more rapid return on one’s investment. Finally, SEC players on dominant squads may be the beneficiary of the talent surrounding them and may appear better than they actually are as a result.
The Packers generally require versatility at most positions. Hayward was great inside on slot receivers, but he couldn’t cut it playing on the outside, therefore he was expendable. Rollins may take a little while to be as good as Hayward on the inside, but will be a lot better than Hayward, if other’s injuries force him to sub on the outside.