5 Green Bay Packers draft picks way worse than Jordan Love
By Todd Welter
Jamal Reynolds | Defensive End | Green Bay Packers 2001 first-round pick
Ron Wolf was the legendary general manager who traded for Favre and signed Reggie White.
His drafts were so good that he turned around a morbid franchise into a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Even a legend makes mistakes.
Wolf admitted his last first-round pick as Green Bay Packers general manager was a big one. It was an even bigger mistake than Terrell Buckley, his first-ever pick for the Packers.
The Packers traded up from the 17th pick in the first round to take Reynolds at No. 10.
Reynolds’ knees turned out to be such a problem that he only played 18 games in three seasons. He recorded just three sacks.
Reynolds was going to be a slimmer disruptive force like White. Instead, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, drafted in the fifth round the year before, became the next great Packers’ pass rusher.
Reynolds’ selection was a surprise as the belief was Wolf really wanted to select linebacker Dan Morgan. Sherman, who was taking over general manager duties after the draft, wanted Reynolds.
Morgan went on to have a decent career for the Carolina Panthers.
The reason this was a really bad pick was the Packers passed on players that could have helped Favre reach another Super Bowl during the Sherman era.
Wide receivers Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne were still on the board. Running backs Deuce McAllister and Michael Bennett were available.
Defensive tackle Ryan Pickett, who ended up signing with the Packers in free agency a few seasons later, was also available.
The player drafted at the 17th pick happened to be Steve Hutchinson. He went onto a Hall of Fame career. That is another reason the Reynolds pick was a disaster.