Will Travis Frederick Be In A Packers Uniform In 2013?

By T.J. Bryce | Posted Friday, February 15

Following the Rose Bowl loss to Stanford, Travis Frederick, the Badgers starting center this past season, sort of surprised everyone by forgoing his senior season and declaring for the NFL draft. Frederick is thought of as a good prospect, but most thought he would return for his senior season. If he would have returned, he would have had the opportunity to be drafted high next year, possibly as high as the middle of the first round. But, that is all just speculation now, as Frederick is in this year's draft. So what about Travis Frederick and his NFL future?

Badgers Travis Frederick High Draft Pick?

As it stands right now, Frederick is thought of as the second best center in this draft behind Alabama's Barrett Jones. Frederick has an opportunity to jump past Jones as it became known that Jones played the national championship game against Notre Dame with torn ligaments in his leg. According to CBS Sports NFL draft experts, Frederick is currently listed as the 52nd ranked player overall in this draft, making him a late 2nd round draft choice. Frederick is one of those talents that with a good combine can fly up the boards, so his draft status may change as we head towards the draft in April.

In addition to his draft status potentially changing, there might be even more drama to this one. The Packers biggest need is a center and not just a short term answer at center. The Packers tried that this past season with Jeff Saturday and it turned into a total disaster. Saturday hung onto his starting job based on name alone, and even though it was nice to see him at the pro bowl, especially when he played one snap for the AFC so he could snap the ball to Manning one more time, he had no business being there. That is why I think that coaches and scouts should chose lineman for the pro bowl, not fans.

To make a long story short, I don't think Thompson is going to mess around with the center position again. I believe that he will spend a high draft choice on a center, perhaps his second round draft choice and the draft choice he holds in the second round as of right this moment is a late 2nd, right where Frederick is slotted to go. If Frederick holds position, this may almost be too good to be true. Thompson could snag Frederick and then Aaron Rodgers knows whose butt he's staring at for the next number of years.