GREEN BAY — In the end, the 2008 NFL draft wasn't all that different than Ted Thompson's previous three as Green Bay Packers general manager.

He added nine players, the fewest Thompson has added in his four drafts but not by much (11 in 2005, 12 in 2006 and 11 last year).

He executed five trades (giving him 14 in four years), though for the first time he actually traded up after eight years (five in Seattle, three in Green Bay) and 10 backward-moving, draft-day deals (including Saturday's move out of the first round).

And he bolstered a variety of positions — though seven of the nine players are on offense, that wasn't by design, Thompson said — including several (quarterback, tight end, offensive line, cornerback) of glaring need and one (wide receiver) that really wasn't.

The difference is in the challenge that faces this year's class of Kansas State wide receiver Jordy Nelson, Louisville quarterback Brian Brohm, Auburn cornerback Patrick Lee, Texas tight end Jermichael Finley, Wake Forest defensive end Jeremy Thompson, Central Florida guard Josh Sitton, Louisville tackle Breno Giacomini, LSU quarterback Matt Flynn and San Diego State wide receiver Brett Swain.

For unlike it was for Thompson's 34 previous draft picks, the Packers' roster is significantly harder to make after three years of replenishing depth and last season's 13-3 finish.

"We think as a group this is a very good group," Thompson said Sunday night. "But the bar has been raised, and it will be more difficult."

Day 2 began with Finley, a redshirt sophomore who turned 21 last month and might have had a shot at being a first-round pick in 2009 had he spent another year at Texas. Instead, he likely will be the Packers' No. 2 tight end behind starter Donald Lee.

"With his youth, I think his best days are ahead of him," tight ends coach Ben McAdoo said. "I think he can really develop into a good player in this league."

After taking Finley, the Packers traded the 113th overall pick to the New York Jets — who had given Green Bay that pick to move up to No. 30 in the first round Saturday — along with a fifth-rounder (No. 162 overall) to move up to No. 102 and take Jeremy Thompson, whose older brother Orrin spent four games on the Packers' active roster and the rest of last season on the practice squad.

Normalcy returned on the trading block after that, though, as Green Bay moved back nine spots and into the fifth round with a trade at No. 128 with the St. Louis Rams. The Packers then took the No. 137 pick they got from the Rams and moved back 13 more slots as part of a deal with NFC North rival Minnesota.

By the end of the fifth round, the Packers had added Sitton at No. 135 (a compensatory pick Thompson couldn't trade), Giacomini at No. 150 and two extra seventh-round selections. Sitton will compete with the bevy of guards on the roster, while Giacomini, a converted tight end, might someday prove to be a suitable replacement for right tackle Mark Tauscher.

"(Those) two kids are very, very competitive players," offensive line coach James Campen said of Sitton and Giacomini. "They will go to the whistle — and beyond. They're tough, they hustle to get downfield, they finish blocks. They are both high-energy, tough people. And they'll bring that type of attitude in the offensive line unit."

In the seventh round, Thompson grabbed Flynn, who led LSU to the national title in his only year as their starter, and Swain, whom the Packers discovered while scouting San Diego State quarterback Kevin O'Connell, a third-round pick by New England.

"Sometimes on the second day you're really scrambling, but today we felt like we had guys rated (highly) that weren't going, and we were surprised," Thompson said. "Sometimes we're (asking ourselves), 'What does everybody else know that we don't know?' "

Thompson then sent his final pick of the day, No. 237, to New Orleans for the Saints' sixth-round pick next year.

"Quite frankly, we could have had a lot more picks," Thompson said of the number of trade-backward offers he received. "But I think there's a point where you reach diminishing returns.

"We feel good right now. I think these guys are going to help the team. They're good investments in the team both in the short haul and the long term. So we felt like it came together pretty good.

"All in all, I think we picked good players that are going to be on our team and are going to be good players here for a number of years to come."

It just won't be easy for them.