Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson’s 25th best draft pick
In the run up to the 2017 NFL Draft, Lombardi Ave’s Freddie Boston and Ray Rivard will be counting down Ted Thompson‘s top 30 draft picks as Green Bay Packers general manager.
Right here you’ll be able to follow along with my list. My co-editor Freddie Boston will also be counting down his top 30. We kicked off the series earlier this week, and continue the series today.
We ranked Thompson’s top 30 draft picks of all time last year. You can find that full list here. How will it compare this year with another season to shape it?
As we count down the days to the 2017 NFL Draft, we continue today with the 25th best Ted Thompson draft pick over the past 12 years.
Enjoy …
Matt Flynn: Ted Thompson’s 25th best draft pick
When Ted Thompson drafted Matt Flynn with the 209th overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft, everyone in Packers nation was ecstatic.
At this point in his career, nobody was really sure what Aaron Rodgers was about to give to the team in the coming years, so drafting a guy like Flynn, especially in the final round, seemed like a good move.
And it turned out that way in the early going … that’s because Flynn stayed where he should have been … on the sidelines with a baseball cap on and a clipboard in his hands.
That was until the final game of the 2011 season when Flynn surprised everyone and completed 33 passes in 49 attempts, for 518 yards (a franchise record to that point) and six touchdowns (another record up to that point).
That single breakout game at the time when Flynn became a free agent led to a multi-million dollar free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
However, that deal was shortlived as he was beaten out for the starting job on the West Coast by Russell Wilson.
Flynn bounced around once again until 2013 when Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone. Thompson brought Flynn back to fill in for Rodgers and it was his play that year that helped keep the team afloat until Rodgers was able to return for the playoffs.
During his time in Green Bay in 2013, Flynn threw for 1,392 yards in nine games and helped lead the team to an improbable comeback win at Dallas that helped cement his popularity among the fans.
However, When Rodgers came back, Flynn became dispensable and was late cut during training camp.
Next: Green Bay Packers: Top 30 moments in franchise history
Flynn has been out of football since 2014, but his performance with the Packers the second time around won’t soon be forgotten.