GREEN BAY, Wis. -- When last year's NFL draft concluded, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst might have been content if someone told him two of his picks would garner All-Rookie honors (including one mentioned for Defensive Rookie of the Year) and a third would be a regular starter.
But it would have been hard to imagine that happening without any significant contributions from three of his first five draft picks.
As good as the class turned out -- led by linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, the second-round pick who finished sixth in AP Defensive Rookie of the Year voting and was on the PFWA All-Rookie team, plus safeties Javon Bullard (Round 2) and Evan Williams (Round 4, PFWA All-Rookie team) -- the Packers got next to nothing from their first-round pick and two third-round picks.