Updated: April 10, 2003, 11:03 AM ET

Packers need a QB,
Lions need Rogers

Green Bay has to find Brett Favre's heir apparent, while Detroit will have a hard time doing better than Charles Rogers in the first round.

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Jr. By Mel Kiper Jr.
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MAILBAG | March 28

Q: It has been stated that the search is on in Green Bay for the eventual replacement for Brett Favre. However, the Packers' run defense was abysmal and needs to be improved, and I think E.J. Henderson of Maryland is a fantastic inside linebacker and could have an immediate impact. Do you agree, and is there any way that the Packers would use their first-round pick to help their defense instead of trying to find a future starting quarterback? -- Matthew Junemann, Milwaukee, Wis.

MEL: The Packers certainly could do that, but they have more problems in the front seven than just the linebacker position. Green Bay has used first-round picks on guys like Jamal Reynolds (10th overall) and Torrance Marshall, who never panned out, and the question is whether the Packers want to once again look at problems they couldn't rectify in previous drafts. Is one player going to get that defense back to a level that can help the Packers get to the Super Bowl? I don't think so.

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