FanHouse JustinHarrell

No one doubts the primary draft needs of the Green Bay Packers. After a 6-10 season where the offense performed fairly well and close games were sabotaged by the defense's inability to generate late-game stops or turnovers, the Packers have to get better on that side of the ball.

However, general manager Ted Thompson has always been a "best player available" kind of guy. Examples of this could be found in 2005, when the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers in the first round, and in 2007, when Justin Harrell was the pick. They weren't areas of need, instead the best players on the board.

Remember when Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila was one of the best pass rushers in the league? He hasn't registered double-digit sack totals since 2004, lost his starting job in 2007, and now, nine weeks into the 2008 season, he's out of a job (via PFT).

Green Bay released the nine-year veteran who, during a four-year stretch starting in '08, sacked the quarterback 49 times.

"We want to thank Kabeer for his contributions to the Green Bay Packers," Thompson said. "During his time here, he has been a big part of our organization and our community. We wish Kabeer and his family well."

Perhaps well aware of Gbaja-Biamila's slipping production, the Packers have taken measures to shore up the defensive line. A year ago, they used a first-round pick on Justin Harrell, who promptly was injured -- and stayed that way till, well, today, when he was finally activated.

The Green Bay Packers defense suffered a monumental blow Tuesday, as it was announced that end Cullen Jenkins will miss the rest of the season.

Jenkins, a fifth-year pro, was really blossoming into a star end opposite All-Pro Aaron Kampman. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle during Sunday's 30-21 loss at Tampa Bay. The injury will require surgery and around three months of recovery time, making it pointless for Jenkins to remain on the active roster.

For Green Bay, this is a really bad break. Jenkins and Kampman were clearly the bright spots on a defensive line that has struggled to make plays. The trade of tackle Corey Williams to Cleveland before the NFL Draft, combined with the injury problems involving 2007 first-round pick Justin Harrell, really damaged the interior line.

The Packers have already slipped to 27th in the NFL in run defense (almost 160 yards per game, or more than 60 ahead of last year's total), and losing Jenkins isn't going to help.

It's expected that Mike Montgomery and rookie Jeremy Thompson will share time at Jenkins' end position. There will also be pressure on veteran Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila to provide pass pressure.

Of more concern for the Packers than the run support in that spot may be the pass rush Jenkins provides from the interior on passing downs. Montgomery and Thompson aren't likely to be very effective at all in that role, and the Packers don't have any tackles who are good at getting upfield.

The Packers had very few needs heading into the 2008 draft, and that goes a long way in explaining their very successful (but ultimately disappointing) 2007 showing. Losing Brett Favre is the most obvious loss, but 2005 first-rounder Aaron Rodgers seems ready to assume the role. The next biggest issue could be defensive tackle Justin Harrell's availability, but after that, Green Bay's biggest personnel concerns are mostly depth-related.

As I mentioned in April, the Packers will eventually need to find the successors for cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson, who are a combined 64 years old.

They selected Auburn safety Patrick Lee in the second round of the '08 draft, but he's not the only guy vying for playing time:

Tramon Williams, the physical second-year pro from Louisiana Tech, finished last season as the No. 3 cornerback and has held that spot on the depth chart throughout the past month's organized team activities. However, the same was true last summer of Patrick Dendy, who ceded the role to Jarrett Bush in training camp and didn't make the team.

Bush, Will Blackmon and rookie Pat Lee are the other logical candidates for a nickel spot that again could be won and lost from week to week, even series to series.

There's been so much talk about how disappointing Green Bay Packers 2007 first-round draft pick Justin Harrell has been that people may be forgetting how disappointing Packers 2007 second-round pick Brandon Jackson has been.

But Jackson, who carried just 75 times for 267 yards and one touchdown as a rookie, knows he needs to improve. And he says that by spending more time in the weight room and the film room over the last five months, he's done just that:

"Mentally and physically," Jackson said. "I put on a little weight. It's great. I can run with it and everything. And on the mental side, I know my plays, I study a lot, just to stay refreshed on everything."

Packers running backs coach Edgar Bennett refers to Jackson as "Tremendous, in the weight room as well as in the meeting rooms."

With starter Ryan Grant and the team still far apart on contract negotiations, Jackson has a golden opportunity to earn some playing time -- and show Packers fans that they got something for their 2007 draft.

And so it continues...

Packers 2007 first-round pick Justin Harrell is still injured -- as he has been for most of his brief NFL career -- and the team hopes he's healthy enough to report to training camp in six weeks or so.

Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asks if Harrell is "injury prone or simply unlucky" before correctly answering his own question: "Truthfully, Green Bay Packer fans could care less. All they know is defensive tackle Justin Harrell's run of inactivity marches on."

Certainly, part of it is luck, but Harrell has an extensive injury history dating back to high school.

[In high school] he battled shin splints and had a bad lower back. At Tennessee, Harrell underwent surgery for shin splints on his right leg in 2003 and missed more than half of spring practice that year. That August, Harrell broke a bone in his right ankle and missed the first five games of the season.

It all makes you wonder why Green Bay thought Harrell was worth the16th-overall pick in the draft. Whatever, the Packers need him healthy for 2008; he's supposed to help fill the void left by Corey Williams, who was traded to Cleveland earlier this offseason.

Right now, though, that job belongs to Johnny Jolly, who's currently ... recovering from an injury.

That didn't take long: some media types are already asking if former first-round pick Justin Harrell is a bust. Thirteen months after the Packers drafted him. I suppose it's not a completely insane question since Harrell's rookie season can kindly be described as underachieverific, and days into offseason workouts, he's missing practices because of injury (I'd suggest not calling him "injury prone", at least around Aaron Rodgers).

The Packers felt good enough about the depth at defensive line to trade Corey Williams to the Browns earlier this spring, but presumably because Harrell would be ready contribute. The PackerReport.com's Todd Korth isn't holding out much hope ($):

Make no mistake, Harrell's absence from [OTAs], which began Tuesday, will again hurt his chances of playing on a regular basis. That puts him on a Jamal Reynolds-type pace. You remember Reynolds, right? The defensive end had a lot of bark while at Florida State, which prompted the Packers to select him 10th overall in the 2001 NFL draft. As soon as he arrived in Green Bay, Reynolds showed very little bite and showed everyone that he shouldn't have been drafted - period.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement, that. Head coach Mike McCarthy thinks Harrell will be ready for training camp, so there's that. I think most people agree that it's too early to call Harrell a bust, but if his second NFL season is anything like his first, it might be worth bringing Jamal Reynolds in for a little "this is what can happen..." pep talk.

One of the reasons the Packers were willing to part ways with Corey Williams was because they felt comfortable with the depth along the defensive line, Especially since last year's first-round pick Justin Harrell would be ready to go heading into 2008 after struggling with injuries early in his rookie season.

Well, it's only May, and there's still a chance that might happen, but right now Harrell is on the sidelines for health-related reasons.

Defensive tackle Justin Harrell, who missed last year's off-season practices due to injury, is out again.

According to the Packers' website, Harrell (back), Johnny Jolly (shoulder) and cornerback Will Blackmon (foot) will not participate in the 13 practice sessions but "should be cleared for the start of training camp."

Hardly a big deal given the time of year, but it's just one more thing fans can point at as evidence the Packers made a mistake taking Harrell 16th overall last year.

As I wrote in February as part of FanHouse's review of 2007 first-rounders: "The Packers are excited to have Harrell for the entire off-season. He should be in much better shape for training camp since he was limited during in the months leading up to the 2007 season because he was recovering from a torn biceps tendon."

Still, I don't think taking a defensive lineman was a bad idea, it's just that sometimes things that look good on paper don't translate to the playing field. Not in a year, anyway.

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

After going 8-8 in 2006, and the annual rite of spring -- awaiting word on Brett Favre's future -- the Green Bay Packers weren't expected to do much this season. They were still a young team, with a young coach, and a quarterback who didn't seem sure he wanted to still play. And then there were the Bears, division rivals coming off a trip to the Super Bowl.

Well, a funny thing happened on the way to not doing much; the Packers won 13 games, put up some impressive offensive stats, and the defense was among one of the best in the NFC. There was the disappointing loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship game, but save even with Favre (and maybe Donald Driver), this is a relatively young one of the league's youngest teams. So what can Green Bay do this off-season to improve in 2008? Glad you asked.

1. Quarterback. Obviously, it's Favre's job if he wants it. What's not so obvious is if Favre wants the gig; he's supposedly figuring that out right now. Even if Favre decides to retire, the Packers are in good shape with 2005 first-round pick Aaron Rodgers. He showed promise during the preseason and limited action in the regular season. If Rodgers becomes the starter, Green Bay will need to find an adequate backup.

As we get ready for Super Bowl XLII, FanHouse is looking back at each team's 2007 first-round pick. Here's a look at the 16th pick in the draft, defensive tackle Justin Harrell.


Who They Took: Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

Who Else They Were Rumored To Consider: Everybody but Justin Harrell, DT, Tennessee

What We Said At The Time: "Why exactly did the Packers draft this guy?"

What Harrell Did: He was inactive for the first month of the season as he struggled to get in shape, but Harrell eventually played in nine games, had two starts, and registers 16 tackles (no sacks). And the two starts came in Week 16 and 17 because Ryan Pickett was out with an injury.

As the Green Bay Post Gazette's Tom Pelissero noted last week:

"But Harrell's regular-season totals ... have to be considered at least somewhat disappointing for a 16th overall pick who began training camp with his name alongside Pickett's atop the depth chart.

By comparison, 13 of the 15 players selected ahead of Harrell started at least eight games as rookies; the only player who played in or started fewer games was training-camp holdout quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1 overall pick by Oakland."