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2014 NFL Draft moved to May 8-10

As had been speculated for weeks, the 2014 NFL Draft is being moved from late April to May. It will be held May 8-10 in its usual location, Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The NFL made the announcement on Tuesday but also stated that no decision has been made on the dates of the draft in 2015 and beyond.

The league also announced that there would be no significant changes in the dates of other major offseason events, including the scouting combine (Feb. 18-25, 2014), the start of the new league year and free agency period (March 11, 2014) and the league’s annual meeting (March 23-26, 2014, in Orlando, Fla.).

Newest HOFer, Dave Robinson, to announce Packers’ 2nd- & 3rd-round picks

The newest Green Bay Packers player to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dave Robinson is scheduled to announce the Packers’ second- and third-round draft picks at the 2013 NFL Draft on Friday, April 26.

The NFL has made it a tradition in recent years to have alumni of all of the league’s teams take the podium during the second day of the draft to announce his former team’s selections. LeRoy Butler and Jim Taylor have done the honors for the Packers in the past.

A linebacker in the Vince Lombardi era, Robinson was a senior committee nominee for the Hall of Fame this year and received the necessary votes for induction. He’ll be inducted at the usual ceremony in Canton, Ohio, this summer.

Robinson is the 11th Packers player from the Lombardi era to make the Hall of Fame, and the first since Henry Jordan in 1995. The last Packers player to be inducted was the late Reggie White in 2006.

Packers will pick 26th in first round of draft

The Packers will have the 26th pick in the upcoming April draft.

The four divisional-round playoff losers are slotted for the 25th through 28th picks based on reverse order of regular-season records. So the Broncos (13-3) will pick 28th and the Texans (12-4) are 27th.

The Packers and Seahawks both finished 11-5, and the tiebreaker for the draft order is strength of schedule. Green Bay’s strength of schedule — the collective winning percentage of all of a team’s opponents — in 2012 (.508) was slightly better than Seattle’s (.504), so the Seahawks will pick 25th, one spot ahead of the Packers at 26th.

The fact that the Seahawks won the head-to-head meeting with the Packers in the regular season had no bearing on the tiebreaker. The head-to-head result only would have come into play had the two teams’ strength of schedules been equal.

The same tiebreaker was used for the draft order of the losing teams in the wild-card round. The wild-card losers are slotted for the 21st through 24th picks. Indianapolis had the best regular-season record at 11-5 and will pick 24th. The other three teams — Cincinnati, Washington and Minnesota — were all 10-6. The Bengals had the worst strength of schedule (.438) and will pick 21st. Washington (.494) is next at 22nd (though the pick is owned by St. Louis via last year’s draft trade), followed by Minnesota (.520) at 23rd.

Much like the Green Bay-Seattle situation, Washington’s regular-season win over Minnesota had no bearing on the tiebreaker. Strength of schedule broke it.

Regarding the rest of the NFC North, Detroit (4-12) will pick fifth and Chicago (10-6) will pick 20th. The Bears had the best record of the 20 teams that did not qualify for the postseason and therefore will get the 20th pick.

Meet the Packers’ 2012 draft class

#53 NICK PERRY • LINEBACKER • SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Drafted: 1st Round (#28 overall)
Ht: 6-3   Wt: 265

• Story: Perry ready to take game to next level
  
• Editorial: Packers turn to USC, again, for pass rusher
  
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Perry on stage at NFL Draft
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on Perry
• Video: Def. Coord. Dom Capers on Perry
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Perry’s USC Bio

#99 JEREL WORTHY • DEFENSIVE END • MICHIGAN STATE
Drafted: 2nd Round (#51 overall)
Ht: 6-2   Wt: 308

• Story: Packers favored Worthy’s quickness
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Packers trade up for Michigan State’s Jerel Worthy
• Video: Scout Shaun Herock on Worthy
• Video: D-Line Coach Mike Trgovac on Worthy
• Video: Def. Coord. Dom Capers on the 2nd round picks
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on the 2nd round picks
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Worthy’s Michigan State bio

#29 CASEY HAYWARD • CORNERBACK • VANDERBILT
Drafted: 2nd Round (#62 overall)
Ht: 5-11  Wt: 192

• Story: The Packers defense rests with Hayward
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Packers move up again, take CB Casey Hayward
• Video: CBs Coach Joe Whitt Jr. on Hayward
• Video: Def. Coord. Dom Capers on the 2nd round picks
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on the 2nd round picks
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Hayward’s Vanderbilt bio

#76 MIKE DANIELS • DEFENSIVE TACKLE • IOWA
Drafted: 4th Round (#132 overall)
Ht: 6-0   Wt: 291

• Story: Daniels uses hustle to reach higher
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Def. Coord. Dom Capers on the 4th round picks
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on Saturday’s picks
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Daniels’ Iowa bio

#22 JERRON McMILLIAN • SAFETY • MAINE
Drafted: 4th Round (#133 overall)
Ht: 5-11   Wt: 203

• Story: Maine safety addresses need for a tackler
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Def. Coord. Dom Capers on the 4th round picks
• Video: Safeties Coach Darren Perry on McMillian
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on Saturday’s picks
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• McMillian’s Maine bio

#56 TERRELL MANNING • LINEBACKER • NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Drafted: 5th Round (#163 overall)
Ht: 6-2   Wt: 237

• Story: Manning believes he belonged at top
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: Inside LBs Coach Winston Moss on Manning
• Video: GM Ted Thompson on Saturday’s picks
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Manning’s N.C. State bio

#77 ANDREW DATKO • TACKLE • FLORIDA STATE
Drafted: 7th Round (#241 overall)
Ht: 6-6   Wt: 315

• Story: Tackle, QB give offense two for the road
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Datko’s Florida State bio

#9 B.J. COLEMAN • QUARTERBACK • TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA
Drafted: 7th Round (#243 overall)
Ht: 6-3   Wt: 231

• Story: Tackle, QB give offense two for the road
• Photo Gallery
• Conference Call Audio
• Video: McCarthy on the draft
• Coleman’s Tennessee-Chattanooga bio

Day 1 chat transcript

Click here to read the transcript of the Day 1 live chat on packers.com.

Packers get their pass rusher in Perry

The Packers got their pass rusher and he’s from USC. Can Nick Perry do for the Packers’ defense what Clay Matthews did?

Perry, a blend of power and speed who lit up the scouting combine, was made the 28th pick of the draft on Thursday night. He immediately addresses the Packers’ desperate need for a pass rusher, following a season in which the Packers were last in the league in sacks per pass play.

The Packers selected Matthews out of USC in the 2009 draft and Matthews immediately became one of the pass-rush stars of the league. The hope is that Perry’s presence will help take the focus of offenses off Matthews and allow him to get back to his pass-rush form of 2010.

Perry led the Pac-12 in sacks last year with 9 1/2, and he had 21 1/2 sacks total in his three playing seasons.  An early entry in the draft, Perry redshirted as a freshman in 2008.  As a redshirt freshman in ’09, Perry led USC in sacks with eight. A native of Detroit, Perry is listed at 6-2 1/2, 271 pounds.

Packers.com will update this story shortly.

Photos from the Packers draft room

For a look at some photos from the Packers draft room at Lambeau Field, click here.

Draft officially underway

Well, the Colts are finally on the clock and the draft is underway.  If the first three picks go as expected — QB Andrew Luck to the Colts, QB Robert Griffin III to the Redskins, and RB Trent Richardson to the Browns, the first moment of intrigue will come when the Vikings are up at No. 4.

Update: The Colts have officially taken Luck.

Another update: The Redskins have taken Griffin, again as expected.

Vikings trade down one spot

In the final hour before the start of the draft, the Minnesota Vikings have traded down just one spot, from No. 3 to No. 4, and added fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-round picks from the Browns in the process.

Cleveland is expected to take Alabama RB Trent Richardson, and even though the Browns paid a stiff price to move up just one spot, Cleveland came into the draft with the most picks — 13 — one more than the Packers. The Browns have now prevented anyone else from trading with the Vikings for the No. 3 spot and stealing Richardson out from under them.

Now, with the Vikings at 4, they’re reported to still be choosing between USC T Matt Kalil and LSU CB Morris Claiborne, and that hasn’t changed.  The Vikings also could continue trading down.  We’ll see.

The draft is set to begin in about 15 minutes.

Packers’ representation ready to go in New York

Pictured: Bryan Nehring

The Packers are stationed in both Green Bay and New York during the NFL Draft. Assistant equipment manager Bryan Nehring and assistant video director Chris Kirby serve as the club’s representatives at Radio City Music Hall, the site of the 2012 NFL Draft, in New York City. Nehring and Kirby communicate with team headquarters at Lambeau Field via a dedicated phone line. When the team is ready to make its selection, Nehring and Kirby prepare a card with the player’s name on it and deliver it to an NFL representative.