Here's what Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers had to say tonight after Green Bay selected two defensive players in the first round, nose tackle B.J. Raji of Boston College with the No. 9 pick and linebacker Clay Matthews III of USC with the No. 26 pick:

Q: Is Raji a kid who can become a Hampton, Wilfork?

Capers: Well, I think that he has the physical tools that you look for to hopefully be a dominant guy inside. A guy with that type of size and athletic ability, you know, it's a combination that you're always looking for, and those guys many times don't come around real often that have size strength and movement. We felt good about B.J.'s size, obviously, and his movement ability with his size. I think he can not only play the run inside, but I think he gives you some flexibility in terms of being able to do some things in the pass rush department too. A lot of times you see, the bigger linemen like that, they play on first and second down and they come out on third down. It'll be interesting to see how he does, but we think he might have some capabilities of staying in there and playing on third down.

Q: Did you push hard for this pick?

Capers: "Well, I think it's a very important position in the 3-4. To me, it's where everything starts on defense, is your ability to stop the run. If you can't stop the run, it's going to be a long day. If you're calling defense and you can't stop the run, it's always second and five, second and six, then it takes you out of a lot of the things that you like to do. So the things that we'll do will be based on trying to stop the run first, and what kind of job we do on that will determine a lot of our success. And we like what BJ brings in terms of adding to that."

Q: But did you influence it?

Capers: "Well, I don't know if I influenced it at all. After watching him work out at the combine, I felt that he was a rare guy. I liked his movement, his size and movement, I enjoyed the interview that we had with him at the combine. When you watch him, he's not just necessarily a guy who sits in there and eats up blocks. I think he's a guy that you can stunt and move and some of those things, which is rare for a guy that size."

Q: Are Raji and Pickett an ideal rotation?

Capers: "I think what this does is give us great flexibility. Because I think Ryan Pickett can play any one of the three positions, just like I think Raji can play any one of the three positions. So in my mind, nothing makes you better than competition at a position, so I think we just created a real competitive situation and it'll be interesting to see how it works out once we get on the field, go through our OTAs. You normally come out of the OTAs with a certain opinion on people, but I also know that you've got to be cautious. Because many times over the years, guys' stock goes up or goes down when you put those pads on, and this is a game you play with pads on. So I'm excited about having him. And I'm also excited about Ryan Pickett being able to play more than one position. It's a frustrating feeling if you run out of guys with size in there, and all of a sudden you've got to stunt these guys all the time. That normally doesn't work that well."

Q: Is it tough to evaluate a 4-3 guy to play in a 3-4 defense?)

Capers: "Not really. Over the years, you're normally evaluating players, the skill set I think is the same, what you see them do in a 4-3, 3-4. You know that the big guys have to play blocks and use their hands and not get knocked off the ball, and play good leverage football, keep their pads down, those type of things. Over the years, you're normally if you're a 3-4 team, you can evaluate a lot of 4-3 players projecting how they would fit in. Maybe the toughest position is the outside linebacker position, because it involves a lot more pass coverage. And you're normally taking a 4-3 defensive end who's been a rusher and trying to figure out how he can drop."

Q: Does BJ remind you of any other players?

Capers: "I don't know that he reminds me of any one particular athlete. I think some of the better nose tackles in the league right now, Vince Wilfork is one of the better ones. There's a number of big guys, Casey Hampton at Pittsburgh, those are two guys I can think of that have been taken in the first round and have been very productive players for excellent defenses."

Q: Is this pick at all a commentary on Justin Harrell's readiness to contribute in your system?

Capers: "Not really. Justin is working hard, I think we're pleased with where he's at in terms of his work. You know, I can't speak for the last couple years here with Justin, I know the injury factor. But I can tell you this, that I went into his workout at Tennessee, and I came away from there thinking he could be a 3-4 defensive end. He looked kind of like the build, the classic what you look for in a 3-4 defensive end. This will be an interesting offseason and training camp for Justin, because I told all the guys, we're going to take what we see from Day 1, everybody's forming their own identity in our mind from this point moving forward."

Q: What do you make of Raji's stamina and work ethic?

Capers: "I don't think it's an issue. Obviously, any type of guy that size, I think you've got to be smart with all your defensive linemen really. To me, the most exhausting skill on the football field is rushing the passer, so I think that you always have to have in mind how you're going to rotate guys to keep them fresh. That might have as much to do with how many downs he plays as anything, you don't want to wear those guys out. That's why hopefully you have guys that can sub in and keep guys fresh. I don't think it's an issue."

"I don't think so. Any time you get a guy that size, you're always going to have to stay on top of their weight. But I don't think it's going to be an issue."

Q: Is he a possible starter right away?

Capers: "That's hard to say. We like, certainly, his skill and all that. It's a big transition when you come in. We think he has the size, the athletic ability and the intellgence to commit and make the transition. But we're going to have to wait and see once he gets in here. You don't want to anoint anybody until they get in here because some guys, it takes a little longer than other guys. But we think that he has the qualities, OK, we'll give him a chance. We'll see how he comes in and competes."

Q: But that's the idea, right?

Capers: "Certainly, we sure are. I know one thing, we just got a lot better in terms of competition at the position. And I think that'll raise the level of everybody at that position."