Packers hit on top draft value picks at QB, WR and OT over last 25 years

USA Today

6 hours ago

With the 2025 season coming up, Eric Edholm of NFL.com is going through each position to determine the top "draft values" of the last 25 years. Unknowingly, Edholm provided the perfect opportunity to appreciate late great Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who hit on generational values at quarterback, wide receiver and along the offensive line.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Thompson's first draft pick and the 24th overall pick in 2005, was Edholm's No. 2 value pick at quarterback behind Tom Brady.
Wide receiver Davante Adams, one of Thompson's best late-career picks and the 53rd overall pick in 2017, was Edholm's No. 4 value pick at wide receiver.
Offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, Thompson's best Day 3 pick by a mile and the 109th overall pick in 2013, was Edholm's No. 4 value pick along the offensive line.
Thompson picking Rodgers helped win the Packers a Super Bowl and opened up another long winning window, while Adams and Bakhtiari were both elite players at their respective positions during Rodgers' window.
Only four quarterbacks have thrown more regular-season touchdown passes than Rodgers, who will almost certainly pass Brett Favre at some point during the 2025 season. Adams has the third-most catches by a player drafted in the second round in NFL history, trailing only Anquan Boldin and Isaac Bruce, and Adams could easily catch both by the time he retires. Bakhtiari ranks third by PFR's "Approximate Value" among all offensive linemen and second among offensive tackles drafted in the fourth round all-time.
Rodgers will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he retires, Adams has a very strong Hall of Fame case as he enters his 12th NFL season and Bakhtiari was on a sure-fire Hall of Fame path when his knee suffered catastrophic damage on New Year's Eve of 2020.
It's fair to wonder "what could have been" with a few other Thompson draft picks. Nick Collins (second round, No. 51 overall) might have built a Hall of Fame career had he not injured his neck in 2011. Jermichael Finley (third round, No. 91 overall) was a dominant receiving tight end who also had his career ended by a neck injury. Thompson also picked Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson in the second round, Clay Matthews and Kenny Clark at the end of the first round, Josh Sitton in the fourth round, Corey Linsley in the fifth round and Mason Crosby in the sixth round.
So much success of the last Packers era is due to Thompson's drafting ability. His hits on generational talents -- a Hall of Fame quarterback late in the first, a potential Hall of Fame receiver midway through the second and a borderline Hall of Fame left tackle in the fourth -- paved the way for a dominant Packers run.