B
Green Bay Packers
The Packers won the weekend at the trade table. Grade: B.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 6 steals
· 5 reaches
If confidence were a draft strategy, the Packers would have aced it. Tanor Bortolini at slot 154 is 33 spots clear of where he belonged.
The trade ledger is the best part of the whole weekend. Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Grable. The Packers indulged a want in Gray while a need in edge rusher and running back stayed open.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th overall pick they get an island corner at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They paid sticker price for Payton Wilson in pick No. 52, and that is fine. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
No drama and no debate, Braden Fiske went about where he belonged in pick 59. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Max Melton at the Round 3 slot is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Cedric Gray while clear needs at edge rusher and running back sat open.
Taking Patrick Paul in the 91st pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
The board fumbled Zak Zinter all the way to No. 123, and they scooped it up. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
James Williams in Round 4, Pick 26 is fair value, right on his grade. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Tanor Bortolini. A need, and now a little less of one.
A slide stopped in pick No. 169, with Kitan Oladapo worth more than the price. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Cornelius Johnson at the 188th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They let Jordan Jefferson come to them and pounced at pick 196. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Trey Knox in slot 202 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
No edge and no loss on Caedan Wallace in the 209th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. The roster fit checks out.
Curtis Jacobs in the Round 6 slot is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Sam Hartman in Round 7, Pick 25 is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They will replay Tylan Grable at the 254th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid up for C.J. Hanson at pick No. 255 when waiting would have done the job. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.