This past April, former Packer great Leroy Butler walked onto the stage at Radio City Music Hall and announced the selection of the future of the Packers defense: Jerel Worthy.

The Packers took Worthy with the 51st pick of the draft, which raised eyebrows in Packer Nation. Worthy came with a lot of baggage, the same type of baggage from which Ted Thompson normally avoids. While playing at Michigan State, the defensive end developed a reputation for being lazy and taking plays off.

After being drafted Worthy embraced his reputation by saying “I take plays off just like everyone else,” which made many cringe. There were also criticisms of his play. Many scouts said Worthy didn’t possess the ability to shed the offensive lineman and work in space. But with the right coaching staff I feel all of this can be fixed.

Through training camp I haven’t heard much from Worthy other than that he is a high energy player who has treated every play like it was an in-game situation. That last sentence signifies that the man has started to change his ways.

I think that Worthy is the key to getting this defense back into championship  form. I’ll even go out on a limb and say Worthy is the next great Packer defensive lineman.

Worthy plays with a mean streak, and this is what this defense has been missing. If Worthy can put his energy and attitude into playing football then I believe he will fill the hole left by Cullen Jenkins.

In college, Worthy took on a lot double teams. This allowed his defensive mates to take advantage and penetrate the backfield. This fact alone should bring a smile to Clay Matthews and BJ Raji’s faces.

He doesn’t need to be an immediate All-Pro defensive end this season, he just needs to have enough of an impact to make his defensive mates better. Worthy possesses something that CJ Wilson, Mike Neal, and Jarius Wynn don’t seem to have: aggressiveness.

Worthy will get his chances to show his abilities with Anthony Hargrove serving an eight game suspension. If he stays healthy he could start making his impact in week 1.

During Thursday’s preseason game against the Browns, and the remaining two games,  keep your eye on #99 as he starts to get acclimated to the game.

The summer of Opposite Ted continues as Ted Thompson has dipped into the free agent market to pluck running back Cedric Benson.

The official reports from various media outlets confirmed Friday that Benson was in Green Bay for a visit on Friday and that a contract signing was completed today.

Many in Packer Nation were up in arms with this decison, some saying that Benson is nothing but a headache and the Packers would be better off just striking a deal with former Packer Ryan Grant. While Benson is better known for his events off the field rather than on the field, I feel he is a better option than Grant at this point in both of their careers.

Grant, who made some great plays while with the Packers seemed to really tail off after his ankle injury in the ’09 opener against the Eagles.

Now you could say Grant didn’t have enough attempts to even be a great runner being in the Packers pass-happy offense. I believe Grant had plenty of attempts to flourish last year, but he seemed like he couldn’t find the holes when they were open.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 Grant excelled at finding the hole and bursting through it. Another telling point about Grant is the fact that it’s not only the Packers who haven’t had interest – there are 31 other teams who see the same thing Ted Thompson does. I believe Benson brings a nice set of tools to this offense.

Packer fans will remember Benson as the former Chicago Bear who was lazy and really couldn’t run all that well. That Benson seemed long gone when he suited up for his second season with the the  Cincinatti Bengals in 2009, rushing for 1,251 yards and six touchdowns.

Benson has turned into a tough downhill runner as he has matured. That presence of a violent runner is what the Packers have been missing these last two years. There were times last year where the team couldn’t convert on third and 1 or fourth and 1. The Packers short yardage man was mainly John Kuhn, so when he came in everyone knew why he was in there and who was getting the ball.

With Benson the Packers could put both in and surprise the defense with the ball carrier, because Benson has the ability to get that 1 yard.

I feel Green Bay is the right place for Benson to be and stay out of trouble. He’s been in trouble with every team he’s been with, but those teams didn’t have strong veteran leaders in the locker room.

Guys like Woodson, Rodgers, and Driver among others should keep Benson in line.

Let’s relax before we condemn Benson coming here to Green Bay, Ted Thompson knows what he’s doing and I’m sure once again he’ll prove most of us wrong.

Donald Driver, a fan favorite, will be a detriment to the 2012 Green Bay Packers. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

In addition to winning a Super Bowl championship and a Hall of Fame induction every NFL players dream is to be successful and retire with the team in which he entered the league. For Donald Driver this dream will most likely come true, but I don’t think it should.

Life has been good these past two years for Driver. The 37-year-old receiver has won a Super Bowl championship and a Mirror Ball Trophy, awarded to the winner of TV’s Dancing With The Stars. He also restructured his contract, and took a pay cut to stay with the team he loves.

The dilemma is that the Packers, with Driver, will have six receivers, which is normal for the team as they often use all six at one time. Normally teams don’t carry seven receivers on the final roster because of depth needs at other positions. It wouldn’t make sense for the Packers who are loaded at receiver, and thin at offensive line and defensive backfield.

I understand Driver is a fan favorite, and personally he is one of my favorite players, but in the end I believe in what’s right for the team. Ted Thompson should indeed cut ties with Driver before the season starts. This will be a difficult thing to do, because Driver is having without a doubt one of his best camps as a pro, but keeping him will only hold the Packers back.

There are two reasons Driver should be cut: Diondre Borel and Tori Gurley.

Borel and Gurley came to the Packers as undrafted free agents in 2011, and both showed flashes of talent during last year’s preseason. Gurley is more of a possession receiver who has that ability to get the jump ball in the back of the end zone – something of which Aaron Rodgers is a big fan.

Gurley also proved his loyality to the team when during the 2011 season he was offered a pro contract by the Minnesota Vikings. He declined the offer to stay on the Packers practice squad, in hopes of making it to the pro roster. Gurley has shown so far during training camp that he is ready for the next level.

Borel, a former college quarterback, possesses great speed with good hands. With Borel there is also the opportunity for gimmick plays if McCarthy wants to confuse opponents. Borel could be a capable fourth or fifth starter in the future, but he may never get his chance.

Driver could very well have a great season, but Borel and Gurley could potentially have great seasons as well, on other teams. Sometimes you just have to let go of the fan favorite to see what you have behind him. As Packers fans, we all know about that.