Packers Lock Down Bulaga, Bring Full Team to Training Camp

The Green Bay Packers signed rookie offensive tackle Bryan Bulaga to a five-year deal on Friday morning. The deal is worth $14.75 million over those five years, with $8.76 million in guaranteed money.

With training camp kicking off this morning, the Packers have all of their players, including all seven draft picks, under contract. (Last year B.J. Raji didn't sign until 2 weeks of camp were over.

“It’s important for young players to be in camp on time," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said during his pre-training camp news conference on Friday. “The practice time, the meeting time, those are days you just can’t get back. You see it time and time again when players miss because of contract negotiations, they fall behind.”

NFL Draft Day 1: Packers Take Bulaga

With the 23rd pick of the 2010 NFL Draft the Packers selected Bryan Bulaga, an offensive tackle out of Iowa. This pick was a steal, as Bulaga was slated to be a top-ten draft pick.

"We were a little surprised that Bryan was still available, and we felt like it was a very good value pick for us," Packer General Manager Ted Thompson said. "He's the real deal, I think."

Bulaga stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs in at 314 pounds. Stated simply: he's a beast.

Bulaga earned first team Big Ten honors last year as a junior, and was also selected as the Big Ten offensive lineman of the year.

This pick will hopefully help solidify the Packer offensive line that was shaky at many times last season. With offensive tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher both entering their 11th seasons in the NFL, the added depth Bulaga brings could be vital.

The Packers now have two young offensive tackles (J.T. Lang, last year's 4th round selection, being the other) who will likely take over Tauscher and Clifton's tackle positions at some point in the future.

"What I want to accomplish is be a successful starter on an offensive line for an organization," Bulaga said. "I want to be able to play good football for a very long time and be beneficial to an organization, to have an organization want to want me there for a long time."

Rounds 2 and 3

Tonight rounds 2 and 3 of the draft will take place. The Packers will most likely be looking to draft a linebacker or defensive back. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the Pack take a running back in the 3rd round.

Here are some picks to watch for tonight:

Taylor Mays - S, USC

Sergio Kindle - DE/OLB, Texas

Navorro Bowman - LB, Penn State

Sean Lee - LB, Penn State

Daryl Washington - LB, TCU

Jerome Murphy - CB, South Florida

Toby Gerhart - RB, Stanford