5 Green Bay Packers draft picks way worse than Jordan Love

Justin Harrell | Defensive Tackle | Green Bay Packers 2007 first-round pick

Ted Thompson’s first two number one picks were Rodgers and A.J. Hawk. He took a big swing in the 2007 NFL Draft when he selected Harrell with the 16th pick in the first round.

Thompson missed badly on this pick.

Harrell came into the draft with a history of injuries. At the same time, Harrell had a tremendous upside. The injury issues followed Harrell into the NFL, and he could never stay on the field.

Harrell played in just 14 games during three seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He registered just 27 tackles and no sacks.

This was also an impactful miss as the Packers made a surprise run to the 2007 NFC Championship Game. Harrell was not available to help in that run.

While Donald Lee had a fine season at tight end, the Green Bay Packers could have used Greg Olsen to play alongside Lee.  He was one of the players the Packers passed on. Olsen fell to the Chicago Bears in the first round and had a fine career with the Bears, Carolina Panthers, and Seattle Seahawks.

Brett Favre could have used another weapon at tight end as Bubba Franks’ career was in decline. Franks only played eight games that year.

Also, imagine the Packers having Olsen long-term. He could have been paired up with Jermichael Finley, who was taken by the Packers in the fourth round in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Packers could have that tight end duo to go along with a wide receiver corp of Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, and Donald Driver for a couple of seasons.

Instead, the Green Bay Packers had 14 games of minimal production from Harrell.