We are under 10 days away from Day 1 of the NFL Draft. It’s an exciting time for NFL fans who get a glimpse at potentially the future of their franchise. For Packers fans, this is the first time in a long time where there’s a whiff of unpredictability with the draft as well as drafting higher than they have in years. Brian Gutekunst will be managing his first draft as he takes over for Ted Thompson. We have no idea what to expect, but like with every draft season, a sexy pick for the Packers developed through the media and Packers fans. That pick is Derwin James from Florida State.

There are a host of names that could be selected with the 14th pick but seems like James is the guy that people want to peg towards the Packers. We talked about him on Daily Tap yesterday as one of the three guys to be considered in the 14th spot along with Denzel Ward and Harold Landry. James is receiving a ton of love from the local media from Zach Kruse at Packerswire.com to Pete Dougherty of Packersnews.com in the last day or so. Dougherty went to suggest that if the Packers want James they may need to trade up to 10 or 11 to get him. With his highlight reel and abilities, my guess is fans will latch on to James in the next nine days.

How many times have the Packers actually taken or got the ‘sexy’ pick for them? It’s hard to know that without sifting through copious amounts of draft data, but it’s not often. The only two that come to mind are Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Datone Jones. Many people pegged Green Bay to take those players before the draft process, and they, in fact, did select those players. Some thought Kenny Clark would be a Packer which also happened a few years back. The draft is a crapshoot though. I learned a long time not to get my hopes up on one player. Are there players I would like to see Green Bay avoid? Yes, of course. (Hello, Marcus Davenport). But do I also realize I have zero idea what’s going on in Gutekunst’s war room.

We’ll see if James ends up donning the Green and Gold next Thursday night.

Charlie.