Now that we’ve had well over a week and a half to analyze and over-analyze the performance of Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson at the 2006 NFL Draft, it’s time to assess the damage.

Here’s what went down on day one:

Round 1, Pick 5: A.J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State

Thompson kicked off the draft with a big surprise: he didn’t screw up. He selected A.J. Hawk, considered by most scouts to be the “safest” of any of the top prospects.

The selection of the hard-hitting linebacker came despite a late push by the local newspapers for Thompson to draft Maryland tight end Vernon Davis because of his potential play-making ability.

Picking Hawk proves either that Thompson isn’t as bad at his job as he once had me believing or that he simply can’t read. Either way, I’m glad.

Adding Davis to an already deep tight end core of Bubba Franks, Donald Lee and David Martin would have made no sense at all. When your team has an aging Hall of Fame quarterback looking to put together one last Super Bowl run before he retires, you have to draft for need over potential. Ted Thompson did that.

Oh, and if you thought the Packers should draft a quarterback, you’re mistaken.

Round 2, Pick 36 … no, 37 … wait, 47?

Here’s where things started getting messy. The Pack traded away their original 36th pick to New England for more selections later in the draft. With that pick, the Patriots took Chad Jackson, widely regarded as the best wide receiver in the draft.

Then the Packers traded for pick 37 from Denver in exchange for disgruntled wide out Javon Walker. As if all that wasn’t enough, they traded the newly acquired 37th pick for more picks later on.

They ended up drafting Boise State O-lineman Daryn Colledge with the 47th pick and Western Michigan receiver Greg Jennings with number 52. Sigh.

Colledge and Jennings are a little raw, but they’ll turn out. My biggest problem was the whole Walker scenario.

I think it was addition by subtraction shipping him to the Broncos, but I was hoping for a lot more than a second-rounder.

Also, I can’t understand why the Packers didn’t grab Jackson with the 36th pick if they knew they were going to be sending their star receiver out of town with the next pick. All in all, I was just glad to see the Packers get out of the round in one piece.

Round 3, Pick 67: Abdul Hodge, LB, Iowa

Steal of the draft. I thought Hodge was just as good (if not better) than former college teammate Chad Greenway, whom the Vikings took in the first round. I’m already campaigning for the Hodge-Barnett-Hawk combo next season.

Round 3, Pick 75: Jason Spitz, G/C, Louisville

Spitz will improve the Packers O-line for one reason: he’s not Will Whitticker.

After a crazy day one, things hardly settled down on day two. Thompson wheeled and dealed his way from seven original picks to 12. The new faces include TCU WR/KR Cory Rodgers, Boston College CB Will Blackmon, Furman QB Ingle Martin, Nevada OL Tony Moll, Texas A&M DT Johnny Jolly, Fresno State S Tyrone Culver, and NW Missouri State DT Dave Tollefson.

Final Grade: It’s ridiculous to even try and grade the draft this early, but why not? A+++. My expectations were low, so it was nice to see the Packers improve in some areas. This team isn’t all that far off from 10 wins … or a Super Bowl.

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