It is the fifth season they have used the defense first coached by Ray Rhodes and later adopted with variations by Fritz Shurmur.Īnd it was the fifth draft in which Wolf's grading system and standards for reports have been used by the scouts. This is the fifth season that the Packers have used Holmgren's offense. The other four players and Holland reflect many of the Packers' abundant strengths: Wolf's skill as a trader and talent evaluator, the clear vision of the type of players Holmgren wants and the almost unrivaled continuity and job security throughout the scouting and coaching staffs. Both offensive line coach Tom Lovat and scout John Math had seen Timmerman and vouched for him. He was just about the last offensive lineman on the Packers' board. Then he made three trades in two days, picked up four extra picks and turned a tenuous situation into a bonanza.Īs outstanding as the seventh-round selection of Timmerman was, it really didn't signify much on a larger scale. One day before the '95 draft, Wolf owned the 22nd pick of the first round, two thirds and three other choices. And Holland, despite his many inconsistencies, flashes what every team desires at defensive tackle. Timmerman has been good enough and brings an appealing measure of nastiness to his game. ![]() Freeman has made enough plays to suggest he might be for real. Henderson is one of the NFL's top young fullbacks. Several scouts have marveled at how well Williams is playing. Green Bay hasn't faced a real quarterback yet, but Newsome is emerging so fast that he has a shot at the Pro Bowl. And it wasn't the case of having multiple first- and second-round choices to skew the results. The Packers, of course, were not a weak sister with positions going for the asking. That year, even the respected Dallas Morning News gave Green Bay's draft a D. Don't waste time again reading someone's post-draft grades. A sixth pick, defensive tackle Darius Holland, plays extensively off the bench and could be a starter in the future.īased on opening-day lineups, the Packers are the only team in the NFL with five starters out of the '95 draft. Then, in an overwhelming explosion of potential becoming performance, four others - linebacker Brian Williams, fullback William Henderson, wide receiver Antonio Freeman and guard Adam Timmerman - earned starting jobs. Cornerback Craig Newsome was the only starter among the 10 players chosen. Two months ago, it didn't seem so special. The '95 draft looks to be the one in Green Bay. Without the trade for and development of Brett Favre and the $17 million signing of Reggie White, the Packers probably still would be caught in the NFL undertow.Īs great as those two players are, however, every team that wins a Super Bowl usually can look back and say a specific draft was what put it over the top. Then Harlan watched from the shadows as the two men steadily built the Packers from a patsy into a heavyweight. They never did.įinally, club President Bob Harlan turned the franchise over for the first time to a football general manager, Ron Wolf, who in turn selected Mike Holmgren as coach. ![]() ![]() ![]() The other part is fitting players into the intricate web of coaches and systems that seems to change at least every other year even in the most stable of franchises.įor 25 years, the Packers blissfully kept giving away the house key to the head coach in hopes of finding the next Vince Lombardi. If the optimists are right and the Green Bay Packers really are becoming a National Football League juggernaut, their stunning harvest of talent in the 1995 draft is ample evidence of just how formidable the organization has become.įinding good players, the blueprint for building any football team, still is just one portion of the winning equation.
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