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GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Head coach Mike McCarthy still plans to appease Clay Matthews by showcasing the defensive star at outside linebacker next season. Packers general manager Ted Thompson validated McCarthy's decision early in the offseason by starting the team's final day of the NFL Draft with the fourth-round selection of promising inside linebacker Blake Martinez.
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"Clay prefers to play outside. I don't think that's a big secret," said Eliot Wolf, Green Bay's director of football operations. "So, anytime we can add someone inside that helps facilitate that, it's a good thing."
The 6-foot-2, 237-pound Martinez, who led Stanford in tackles each of the last two seasons, received high marks from the Packers' decision-makers. They say he's an every-down player, especially in passing situations despite some pre-draft concerns about his coverage abilities.
"I think Blake is going to be a good player for us," said Sam Seale, the Packers' scout for the West region. "I think he's a smart guy, he can set a defense. To me, I just thought he was a big, physical guy and we needed guys that are physical on the inside with the smarts to set up the defense."
Wolf downplayed what had the appearances of a need-based pick, considering the Packers' projected starters at inside linebacker before the draft were Sam Barrington and Jake Ryan. Barrington is coming back from an ankle injury that cost him all but one game last season, and Ryan was shaky as a front-line player down the stretch.
"We always like to add good players," Wolf said of Martinez. "I don't think it was as big of a need as some members of the media like to say it is. We did have a Pro Bowl inside linebacker (Matthews) last year that everyone seems to forget about. But, adding a good player is always good."
McCarthy also was noncommittal about how things will shake out at linebacker with Matthews and others as the offseason workouts ramp up the next six weeks.
"I think this is a fluid situation," McCarthy said. "Obviously, Martinez comes in here and gives us a guy that's played a lot of football."
The pick of Martinez near the end of Round 4 with the 131st overall choice Saturday afternoon came about 15 hours after Thompson made a curious selection. The Packers took Utah State outside linebacker Kyler Fackrell in the third round at No. 88 overall.
Though a high draft pick, Fackrell can't be considered starting material right away. Green Bay presumably plans to go with the dynamic duo of Matthews and 36-year-old Julius Peppers at outside linebacker after Matthews started every game at inside linebacker last season.
Fackrell's forte as a pass rusher, however, gives the Packers a long-term insurance policy on the outside. Peppers is entering the final season of a three-year deal.
What's more, Wolf indicated Saturday that the team has parted ways with veteran Mike Neal, an unrestricted free agent who remains unsigned. Neal, a defensive end-turned-linebacker, started all but one game last season for the Packers and had four sacks.
Thompson, though, didn't rule out a return for Neal, the team's second-round draft pick in 2010.
"I wouldn't characterize it like that," said Thompson, when asked whether the club was moving on without Neal. "There's a lot of different things that can happen during the course of an offseason that would change things. So, I wouldn't be strong enough to say that."
--What turned out to be an abbreviated draft for the Packers, who selected only seven players and didn't have a pick in the seventh round for the second straight year, also replenished depth on their offensive and defensive lines.
They took Northwestern defensive end Dean Lowry six spots after selecting Martinez.
On the opening night of the draft Thursday, Green Bay chose UCLA defensive tackle Kenny Clark with the 27th pick.
Clark and Lowry will be part of a revamped defensive line. Veteran nose tackle B.J. Raji announced in March he was taking a leave of at least a year from football. The Packers also had to prepare for not having young defensive tackle Mike Pennel at the start of next season because of a four-game suspension imposed by the NFL office for a violation of its substance-abuse policy.
"It's a big man's game," McCarthy said Saturday. "When you get into a season, you look at challenges that you have during the season, you have to make sure you take care of things up front."
The same philosophy applies to the offensive line, where Thompson might have been looking beyond the 2016 season when he selected the tackle duo of Indiana's Jason Spriggs and Stanford's Kyle Murphy.
Green Bay has three starting offensive linemen heading into the final year of their contracts: left tackle David Bakhtiari, right guard T.J. Lang and Pro Bowl left guard Josh Sitton.
Thompson and others in the personnel department were so enamored with Spriggs, a four-year starter at left tackle in college, that the Packers traded up nine spots in the second round to take him 48th overall.
"I think it was just a chance to take a really good player we liked," said Brian Gutekunst, the team's player personnel director. "I don't know if we look that far ahead all of the time. He was just a guy we really liked. The opportunity presented itself to go up, and we took it."
Green Bay took Murphy, who started at both tackle spots for Stanford, with its last pick in the sixth round at No. 200.
--With the dynamic Jordy Nelson and 2015 third-round draft pick Ty Montgomery back in the fold after their notable leg injuries last year, the Packers didn't need another wide receiver.
Thompson, however, gave quarterback Aaron Rodgers another potential contributor in the passing game with the fifth-round selection of California's Trevor Davis.
No one was more excited about the pick than Davis, who said Rodgers is his favorite quarterback. Like Rodgers, Davis is a Bay Area native. The rookie wideout is eager to finally meet Rodgers after following the star quarterback's career at Cal and then with the Packers.
"Just knowing that they have such a great quarterback is amazing for a receiver like me," Davis said.
Davis will have his work cut out to get on the field with Rodgers. Green Bay's depth chart at receiver already includes Nelson, Montgomery, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jeff Janis and Jared Abbrederis.
Davis' best shot for breaking through to win a roster spot will be as a kick returner. He flourished in a dual role the last two seasons at Cal with rare speed, getting timed as fast as 4.37 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Davis returned two kickoffs for touchdowns as a junior.
McCarthy said the 6-1, 188-pound Davis also will have a shot to return punts.
"Anytime you can get a weapon in the fifth round, I think you have to try to do that," Wolf said. "He was still sitting there on the board, and we were fortunate enough to pick him."
A closer look at the Packers' picks:
--Round 1/27 -- Kenny Clark, DT, 6-3, 314, UCLA
The first interior defensive lineman selected by the Packers in the first round since B.J. Raji was taken No. 9 in 2009 will incidentally be expected to replace Raji. The veteran nose tackle announced in March he's done playing football for at least a year. The 20-year-old Clark will be utilized right away on early downs for his run-stopping attributes but showed last season with six sacks that he can be disruptive in passing situations.
--Round 2/48 -- Jason Spriggs, T, 6-6, 301, Indiana
In the words of Brian Gutekunst, the team's player personnel director, "We liked him a lot." No wonder general manager Ted Thompson was moved to trade up nine spots and give away two draft picks to snag the coveted Spriggs, a four-year starter with an appealing combination of size, grit and quickness. Spriggs isn't locked in at his natural spot of left tackle, though a battle with potential 2017 free agent David Bakhtiari may be looming.
--Round 3/88 -- Kyler Fackrell, LB, 6-5, 245, Utah St.
Even with the inclination to get defensive star Clay Matthews back to his preferred position at outside linebacker after he toiled inside last season, the Packers invested a high pick in another edge rusher. The rangy Fackrell excelled as a playmaker in his three years as a starter. He provides insurance for a position group that includes 36-year-old Julius Peppers and likely won't have Mike Neal, who remains unsigned as a free agent.
--Round 4/131 -- Blake Martinez, LB, 6-2, 237, Stanford
A tackling machine in the middle of Stanford's 3-4 defense, leading the Cardinal the last two seasons with a combined 243 stops. Touted as a ready-made, every-down player by Packers brass, he'll have an opportunity at the outset to compete for a lead role at inside linebacker that would allow Matthews to slide back outside.
--Round 4/137 -- Dean Lowry, DE, 6-6, 296, Northwestern
An overachiever who may have been a reach midway through the draft, but those calling the shots for Green Bay like his upside. They are enamored with his versatility to play all along the defensive line and his proven ability to blow up plays behind the line of scrimmage, though he's unrefined as a pass rusher.
--Round 5/163 -- Trevor Davis, WR, 6-1, 188, California
An already-deep receiver group stands to be more competitive in the coming months with the addition of the speedy Davis, whose 40 time has been in the mid-4.3 range. Davis' best asset coming in is his prowess as a kick returner, running back two kickoffs for touchdowns his first season with Cal in 2014 after he transferred from Hawaii.
--Round 6/200 -- Kyle Murphy, T, 6-6, 305, Stanford
A developmental prospect who's not being pegged to one position after he started at right tackle as a junior and then left tackle last season. Murphy was a better run blocker than pass protector for the Cardinal, so his future may rest at guard.
