The Power Sweep

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Ranking Ted Thompson's Fifth Round Picks

The fifth round of the draft is like a garage sale that’s about ready to end: the pickings are getting slim, but there are still good finds to be had. You may have to dig through a pile of old socks and discarded tupperware lids, but if you’re a little bit lucky, you might find that working NES with a copy of The Legend of Zelda. Here’s how Ted Thompson has fared.

Way Better Than We Thought

  • Corey Linsley - 2014
  • Micah Hyde - 2013

Both Linsley and Hyde had their limitations coming out of college, but both turned out to be steals in their own right. Linsley is among the NFL’s better centers, and Hyde held the secondary together last year. Buffalo may have overpaid, but Hyde’s skills shouldn’t be scoffed at either.

Added Value

  • Andrew Quarless - 2010
  • Brett Hundley - 2015
  • Marshall Newhouse - 2010

World beaters? No. Valuable when they’re used in a way that fits them the best? Absolutely, especially in the cases of Quarless and Newhouse.

Quarless was never a great tight end, but he was certainly serviceable. Meanwhile, most of Newhouse’s struggles came from being asked to do too much. He probably should have been a guard from day one.

Hundley, for his part, will probably be traded for a much higher pick some day. If that’s not a good return on a fifth round pick, I don’t know what is.

Useful in Their Own Way

  • Trevor Davis - 2016
  • Jared Abbrederis - 2014
  • Josh Boyd - 2013
  • Quinn Johnson - 2009

Each of these players has or had the ability to be more than serviceable in a specific set of circumstances. You can make a living in the NFL being good at one thing, and these players prove it.

It’s Not You, It’s Us

  • Terrell Manning - 2012
  • D.J. Williams - 2011
  • Jamon Meredith - 2009
  • Breno Giacomini - 2008
  • David Clowney - 2007

None of these players ever seemed to really find their fit in Green Bay, but several went on to varying levels of success with other teams. Any problems, therefore, seem to be less with the individual player and more with the decision to try to make them fit in Green Bay in the first place.

Oh Yeah! I Remember Him!

  • Ingle Martin - 2006
  • Tony Moll - 2006
  • Junius Coston  - 2005
  • Michael Hawkins - 2005

Mentioning these names out of context probably wouldn’t do much for you, but if you were told they were drafted by the Packers, that might ring a bell.

Except for Ingle Martin. You have no reason to forget Ingle Martin.