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There are a few interesting connections with Green Bay's nine picks in the 2016 draft - including one Hall of Famer drafted in one of those slots sixty years ago.
Now that the NFL has announced the compensatory picks for the 2016 NFL Draft, we finally know the full draft order for all seven rounds. The Green Bay Packers have one selection in each round except the fourth round, in which they have three picks due to the addition of two compensatory selections.
Of course, by virtue of being one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, the Packers have at some point in their history made picks in each of the draft slots that they currently occupy. Below, we will take a look back at each of the Packers' picks in their current places.
This analysis, which we have performed in the past, turned up a fun surprise - a Pro Football Hall of Famer chosen deep down in the draft exactly sixty years ago.
#27 Overall
The last time the Packers selected 27th in the NFL Draft was in 1996. That year, they picked USC offensive tackle John Michels, who did not have the desired impact of a first-round pick. He started 14 games for Green Bay at left tackle in '96 and '97 but did not play another game after his first two years.
Prior to 1996, the Packers had the 27th pick most recently in 1964. They chose center Jon Morris from Holy Cross, but Morris was also drafted by the Boston Patriots of the AFL. He signed with Boston instead and had a 15-year NFL career, which included an All-Pro honor in 1966. Other past Packers picks at #27 included halfback Dick Christy (1958), guard George Timberlake (1954), kicker Fred Cone (1951), and end Clyde Goodnight (1945).
#57 Overall
The Packers have picked 57th overall just twice in their long and storied history, picking ends Bill Telesmanic from the University of San Francisco in 1941 and Johnny Kovatch from Northwestern in 1938. Telesmanic never played an NFL game, while Kovatch played one season for the Cleveland Rams.
#88 Overall
Three players have been drafted by the Packers with the 88th overall pick. In 1988, they picked defensive tackle Rollin Putzier from Oregon, who had a two-year NFL career with other organizations. Defensive back Steve Luke from Ohio State was the 88th pick in 1975 and started at strong safety for five of his six seasons in Green Bay. Luke recorded ten interceptions in his career, and returned one for a touchdown. The other name fitting this category is Bobo Barnett, a guard from Baylor who was drafted in 1943 but who never played in the NFL.
#125 Overall
Finally, we have a recent selection. The Packers picked running back Johnathan Franklin with the 125th pick of the 2013 draft. Unfortuntately, Franklin's career was cut short after just 11 games when he suffered a career-ending neck injury.
In 2005, Ted Thompson's first draft as Packers' GM, he chose BYU linebacker Brady Poppinga with the 125th selection. He played six of his eight NFL seasons in Green Bay, recording five sacks and two interceptions while starting in three of those years.
The most productive Packer ever chosen at pick #125 was linebacker Brian Noble, who was selected in 1985. A starter for almost all of his 9-year career, Noble manned one of the inside linebacker positions and racked up 14 sacks and three picks.
Other Packers picks at this spot include DE Matt Koart (1986), OL John McDowell (1964), OL Ron Ray (1960), back Ron Clark (1955), and back George Rooks (1951).
#131 Overall
This selection in the 2016 Draft is a compensatory pick, and it is only appropriate that the most recent Packers selection in this slot was a comp pick as well. That player was cornerback Davon House, chosen in the 4th round of the 2011 draft. In four years as a Packer, House started 14 games while recording two sacks and two interceptions. He signed a four-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2015, and intercepted four more passes last season. Coincidentally, House's contract is the reason that the Packers have the next pick in this list, number 137, five years after he was drafted.
The other notable player picked 131st by the Packers is quarterback Aaron Brooks, chosen in 1999 by Ron Wolf. Brooks was traded to New Orleans in January 2000 for a third-round pick in the 2001 draft - that pick was eventually used in a trade package that helped the Packers acquire the picks used on Robert Ferguson, Bhawoh Jue, and Bill Ferrario. Brooks started for the Saints for five and a half seasons until Drew Brees' arrival in New Orleans, throwing for 3,000 yards and over 20 touchdown passes each year from 2001 to 2004.
The other players picked 131rd are tackle Lou Agase (1948) and guard Bill Hackett (1945).
#137 Overall
The Packers have used the 137th overall pick just five times in history, with no particularly notable names chosen there. The picks include DE Francis Winkler (1968), OT Harry Ball (1960), OT Art Walker (1955), HB Don Griffin (1944), and end Johnny Frieberger (1941).
#163 Overall
Green Bay held the 163rd pick in the 2012 Draft, but traded it to New England in a package to move up for cornerback Casey Hayward. They re-acquired that pick, however, and used it on linebacker Terrell Manning, who spent one season in Green Bay before being released prior to the 2013 season.
G Craig Heimburger (1999), DT Bill Bushong (1972), OT Charley Wrenn (1953), and back Paul Devine (1949) are the other players drafted by Green Bay in that slot.
#200 Overall
In 2002, guard Mike Houghton was the Packers' final pick in the draft, chosen at pick #200. He played in one game that season and was out of football the next year. Running back Patrick Collins was the 200th pick in 1988, but also played just a single season. 1981 pick Larry Werts, a linebacker, was not that lucky - he never played a down in the NFL.
Prior to that, 200th overall picks include QB Dennis Sproul (1978) and DB Ned Guillet (1974).
If you think that the 200th pick is all doom and gloom, however, there is one other person who was chosen 200th overall by the Packers. The year was 1956, and pick #200 was in the 17th round of the draft. The player picked in that slot? Quarterback Bart Starr. Starr's name and his number 15, of course, adorn the facade at Lambeau Field as he led the Vince Lombardi-coached Packers to five NFL titles in the 1960s and earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
#248 Overall
It should come as no surprise that players picked 248th in the draft rarely amount to much. Here are the names of the Packers' 248th picks, none of which did much of anything in the NFL: DT Russ Melby (1970), end Jeff White (1965), back Hal O'Brien (1956), and G George Makris (1943).
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