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In this
file photo, Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm rolls out
during a college football game against Cincinnati in
Cincinnati. Brohm is a top prospect in the upcoming 2008 NFL
football draft.
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GREEN BAY - As if trying to fill
Brett Favre's shoes wasn't tough enough, Aaron Rodgers now must try
to do so with a highly regarded rookie quarterback right behind him.
After trading out of the first round
of the NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers took Louisville quarterback
Brian Brohm with the second of their three second-round picks
Saturday.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson
said the team made it clear to Brohm that he's coming in to learn
the position as a backup. And Thompson didn't feel it was necessary
to call Rodgers right away to reassure him that his job was safe.
"He'll be fine," Thompson
said. "Aaron's a pro. He knows this is his gig now."
Of course, that won't stop Brohm from
trying to compete.
"I'm just going to keep going
about my business and work as hard as I can and let the coaches make
those decisions," Brohm said. "All I can do is go in there
and learn the playbook, do the best job that I can do to show the
coaches what I have."
The Packers passed on a pair of
chances to get a much-needed insurance policy at quarterback and
still managed to come away with one.
Green Bay traded out of the first
round and took a wide receiver, Kansas State's Jordy Nelson, with
the second-round pick they received along with a fourth-rounder from
the New York Jets.
Brohm, who returned to Louisville
despite projections that had him going in the first round last year,
wasn't as impressive as a senior but still wasn't expected to last
deep into the second round.
Thompson said he considered taking
Brohm with the pick they used on Nelson, and said the Packers tried
to trade up throughout the second round to get Brohm. But Brohm slid
all the way to the 56th pick, and the Packers grabbed him.
"It was a long wait, but I'm
just excited to be in the NFL, to be a Green Bay Packer, kind of
excited and relieved," Brohm said. "I'm just pumped up and
fired up right now."
The Packers then took Auburn
cornerback Patrick Lee with their final second-round pick, the 60th
overall selection.
Although Brohm could quickly become a
fan favorite if Rodgers struggles to fill in for Favre — who
retired last month but continues to hint that his decision might not
be 100 percent firm — Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers is
confident in his place on the team.
"Aaron's fine," McCarthy
said. "He knows how we feel about him, he knows what his role
is on our football team, and he'll be given every opportunity to be
successful here."
Saturday wasn't all bad news for
Rodgers. He did get a new receiver.
Thompson stuck firmly to his draft
philosophy earlier in the day by trading down and taking Nelson, an
All-American for the Wildcats last season.
Thompson believes in trading down to
acquire more picks and isn't afraid to take the player he and his
staff deem the best available — even if the player isn't a
household name and doesn't fill an immediate need.
Wide receiver appears to be one of
the Packers' best-stocked positions. But defensive tackle was a
strength last year and that didn't stop Thompson from using his
first-round pick on a player at that position, Tennessee's Justin
Harrell.
Thompson's conservative philosophy
earned him jeers last year from the Packers faithful gathered for a
draft party at Lambeau Field. And his decision to trade down and
take a receiver apparently didn't go over very well this year.
"I'll be darned if they didn't
boo me again a little bit," Thompson joked. "I'm going to
have to quit going down there."
Packers wide receivers coach Jimmy
Robinson said he wasn't surprised that the team would use its first
pick on a position where the team already has considerable talent.
"We're looking for great
football players, and guys that are good people," Robinson
said. "And whatever position it happens to be, if we feel like
that's one on the board that's there at the time we pick, that's
certainly not my call but that's what Ted does."
Nelson doesn't have overwhelming
speed, but has good size for a receiver — 6-foot-2, 217 pounds —
and can run for yards after the catch, a critical part of the
Packers' offense.
"I know they have a good crew, a
core group of receivers, and I'm just looking forward to working
with those guys and hopefully mesh and become one of the best
tandems in the league," Nelson said.
Nelson ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51
seconds at the NFL scouting combine, making him a step slower than
the NFL's elite receivers. Packers scout Lenny McGill conceded that
Nelson's timed speed is "probably average," but said that
won't stop him from making plays.
"When you're 6-2 and as big as
this kid is, I think 4.5 is good enough speed," McGill said.
"The one thing about him is he lined up in the Big 12
conference against pretty good competition, and week in, week out,
the kid made plays."
After taking Brohm, the Packers tried
to address a long-term need with the selection of Lee, who wasn't a
full-time starter until last season but has shown an ability to play
the bump-and-run coverage used by Green Bay's defense.
"He's a tough guy,"
Thompson said. "He likes to play bump-and-run. I think he's
going to fit well with what we try to do on defense in terms of
putting these guys in lockdown situations."
Oh, and one last thing: Did the
Packers field any trade offers for the rights to Favre?
"No," Thompson said,
chuckling.
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