B-
Green Bay Packers
A respectable, level-headed haul for the Packers: B-.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 6 steals
· 9 reaches
The move everyone will second-guess came early. The Packers reached some 97 spots for Jaylon Hutchings, and value like that does not grow back. Solid and sensible more than spectacular: a B-.
On value alone, Ford makes the weekend a net positive. The Williams pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher still on the board. For all the activity, edge rusher went untouched, which is hard to explain.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but edge rusher.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a sticky cover corner. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Nice patience on Graham Barton, who had no business lasting to No. 41. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Payton Wilson at the 58th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
Mike Sainristil slid further than he should have, and pick No. 88 is lovely value for the cornerback. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Dadrion Taylor-Demerson at Round 3, Pick 28 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A reach for Zak Zinter in slot 94; a little patience would have been rewarded. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They paid sticker price for Javon Foster in No. 113, and that is fine. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Somehow Max Melton was still sitting there in the 114th pick, and they pounced on premier cornerback value. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Isaac Guerendo at the 116th overall pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking James Williams at linebacker with edge rusher open.
No drama and no debate, Ben Sinnott went about where he belonged in pick 130. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They read the board right and Kitan Oladapo was the payoff at Round 5, Pick 29. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Joe Milton III. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They did well to land Malik Mustapha in the Round 6 slot, just ahead of his grade. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Cornelius Johnson in the 202nd overall pick. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Jalen Sundell at the Round 6 slot is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A need, and now a little less of one.
Fair-plus on Nathaniel Watson, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
They paid a round early for Tylan Grable in Round 6, Pick 44, more than the board wanted. The roster fit checks out.
They talked themselves into Evan Anderson at No. 228, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Daijahn Anthony at the 236th pick squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A reach on Kimani Vidal in pick 245; the board had better options right there. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
No edge and no loss on Tyler Owens in slot 250; it is a wash and a sensible one. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
De'Corian Clark at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It fills a real need, too.
Jaylan Ford in pick No. 256 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached a country mile for Jaylon Hutchings at Round 7, Pick 39, and the board is aghast. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.