B+
Green Bay Packers
Larceny in pick No. 202 lands the Packers a B+, Simpson and all.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 20 picks
· 9 steals
· 8 reaches
You build a draft on nights like this. Jaylin Simpson had no business being available in slot 202, and the Packers did the only sane thing and turned in the card. No fireworks, but a solid B+.
If Mustapha pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Every deal seemed to tilt their way, which is not luck.
A whole weekend of picks and wide receiver is somehow still a want. The Solomon pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with wide receiver still on the board.
In sum, a sensible class that nudges the roster the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
They read the board right and Cooper Beebe was the payoff at the Round 2 slot. It fills a real need, too.
Junior Colson in slot 62 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
They paid sticker price for Patrick Paul in Round 2, Pick 31, and that is fine. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They took Dominick Puni at par in pick 87, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
Nice patience on Kris Abrams-Draine, who had no business lasting to the 91st overall pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Beaux Limmer in the 97th pick is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. The roster fit checks out.
MarShawn Lloyd in pick No. 115 should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Kitan Oladapo at No. 124 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A curious use of pick 126. Wide receiver needed the pick; an OLB-EDGE in Javon Solomon did not.
Mohamed Kamara in the 127th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Tommy Eichenberg at linebacker with wide receiver open.
A reach for Dallin Holker in slot 133; a little patience would have been rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the Round 4 slot on Malik Mustapha with wide receiver unsolved.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Joe Milton III well ahead of where he belonged. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reach on Fabien Lovett in the 171st overall pick; the board had better options right there. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
James Williams in No. 172 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
A cornerback of that caliber at pick 202 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They barely believed it either: Cody Schrader still on the board at the Round 6 slot. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
The board fumbled Trente Jones all the way to pick No. 245, and they scooped it up. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
The board had cheaper options than Trey Taylor at slot 255, and it noticed. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.