You can usually follow a front office's logic. This one is harder. The Packers spent slot 88 on Dadrion Taylor-Demerson while edge rusher, cornerback and other spots sat unaddressed.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Getting Mustapha where they did is the sort of value that quietly makes a class.
They left with running back solved and the rest of the wish list mostly ticked off.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Graham Barton
· OT
· rank 28
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get protection for the quarterback. A real need, handled.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Edgerrin Cooper
· LB
· rank 42
A straight-up fair deal on Edgerrin Cooper at the 41st pick, value and slot in agreement. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
R2.26
· Pick 58
· Javon Bullard
· S
· rank 60
A market-rate safety, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Javon Bullard. A minor itch, scratched.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Dadrion Taylor-Demerson
· S
· rank 83
A surprising call. With edge rusher, cornerback and other spots still to address, they spent pick No. 88 on Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, a safety they were not short of.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· Bucky Irving
· RB
· rank 93
They paid sticker price for Bucky Irving in the 91st overall pick, and that is fine. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R4.27
· Pick 127
· Ben Sinnott
· TE
· rank 132
Ben Sinnott in pick 127 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
R5.32
· Pick 168
· Malik Mustapha
· S
· rank 153
They read the board right and Malik Mustapha was the payoff at No. 168. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
R6.29
· Pick 204
· Daijun Edwards
· RB
· rank 205
No edge and no loss on Daijun Edwards in Round 6, Pick 29; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R6.41
· Pick 216
· Emani Bailey
· RB
· rank 209
Emani Bailey in slot 216 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R7.23
· Pick 243
· KT Leveston
· OT
· rank 238
A tidy little value on KT Leveston in the 243rd overall pick, a step better than break-even. It fills a real need, too.
R7.31
· Pick 251
· Ethan Driskell
· OT
· rank 249
They took Ethan Driskell at par in Round 7, Pick 31, which is nothing to complain about. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.