Harvin to Seattle?

Today, it became official that Percy Harvin has been traded from the Minnesota Vikings to the Seattle Seahawks for a first round pick, a seventh round pick and possibly another selection depending on how things shake out. At the moment, both teams likely think they made out like bandits in the deal. Both teams certainly have the the potential to reap huge rewards from this move, but this loses sight of the most important question: How does this impact the Packers?

The fact that he's out of the division is both a positive and negative for the Packers. On the one hand, Harvin is a dangerous threat and one of the most versatile players in the NFL. Not facing him twice a year is a good thing for the Packers. On the other hand, he is a volatile head-case who has as much potential to destroy a team as he does to help them win games. Harvin's departure leave room for the Vikings to go after a consistent and non-destructive threat at the receiver position. I can't express how depressing it would be to see Greg Jennings wearing purple. It wouldn't be as bad as seeing Brett Favre in purple, but it would still be pretty bad.

On the other hand, if Minnesota is not able to successfully replace Harvin, they would be down to one weapon on offense. Granted, Adrian Peterson is one hell of a weapon, but he wasn't enough for the Vikings last year and I don't expect that to change.

There is one other aspect of the trade that makes me nervous as a Packers fan. The Vikings actually got a good deal for Harvin. First round picks don't get traded all that often these days. The fact that they got that plus one or two more draft picks is amazing, especially considering Harvin is a perpetual malcontent. Could this mean that the team has finally gotten some level of competence making player decisions for them? Let's hope not.

What about the situation that Harvin was traded into? It's pretty clear that he is in a better situation that he was in. That disappoints me because I dislike seeing head-case, ego-driven players get what they want, but that's beside the point. If the trade works out for Seattle, Packer fans could expect the Seahawks and the 49ers to beat up on each other even more over the next couple of years.

Then, of course, there's the value proposition. The Seahawks overpaid. Maybe they had to in order to get the elite receiver that they needed, but they overpaid. I don't know if Seattle just thinks that they are limited to getting people off of Minnesota's scrap-heap, but they would have done well to expand their horizons in this case. They overpaid for a receiver who is as likely to destroy their locker room as he is to win them games. With as good and as young as Seattle's team is, I don't think they were wise to take that risk.

On the other hand, it could work, and then nobody would fault them for the risk or the high price. Time will tell.

Time to Invest in a Running Back?

Modern Conventional wisdom is that running backs are not worth first round draft picks.  Generally, I'm on board with that conventional wisdom.  The Packers are in an unusual situation, however.  During the last couple of seasons, no combination of words scared me more as a Packers fan than "3rd and short."  The Packers were not good at stopping opposing offenses in short yardage situations, and the offense certainly did not have a reliable running back for most of the season.

That said, the Packers would do well to take a long hard look at Alabama running back Eddie Lacy if he's still available in the first round.  At least, that's what a number of mock drafts are saying.  The Packers have not had an reliable every down back since Ryan Grant was taking hand-offs from Brett Favre, and we've seen what a revolving door that position has been in the past couple of years.  Frankly, the position is a mess and it is in desperate need of players with defined roles.

Lacy could be the every down back the Packers have been lacking.  He could actually turn "3rd and short" into a strength, or at least not something that makes Packer fans cringe and Aaron Rodgers throw.  I don't know that anybody else on the roster currently has the durability and skill set to be an every down back.  Sure, there are some potential guys, but nobody that really gets you excited.

The other issue is that the offensive line was a mess last year as well.  It's difficult to say how much of the problem was the running backs and how much was from the line.  Certainly, the line needs to be addressed, but I think that it's time that the Packers invest in the running back position.  I don't know if Ted Thompson got lucky when he stole Ryan Grant from the Giants, or if he really knew something, but clearly the ensemble cast approach hasn't been working these past couple of years.

Running back by committee is the trend in the NFL these days.  It works well and it keeps guys fresh.  It seems to work best, however, when there is one guy who takes the lead.  Nobody on the current roster has shown the ability to carry the load over the course of a season.  DuJuan Harris certainly looks like he could be a fantastic compliment, but I don't know if he can be a lead guy.  Lacy could be that lead guy.  If the Packers take a shot on him late in the first round, even I couldn't complain about Ted Thompson not giving Montee Ball a second thought.

Admittedly, most of the mocks I've seen out there have the Packers taking a linebacker or an offensive lineman, which would not be bad moves by any stretch of the imagination, but it's been long enough since the Packers have had a consistently reliable ground game that you would have to give Lacy some strong consideration.