D
Green Bay Packers
A costly weekend of dealing drags the Packers to a D.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 32 picks
· 5 steals
· 13 reaches
Call it belief, call it a gut call, but Michael Jurgens at pick 255 is 91 spots clear of consensus, and that is the headline.
If one pick saves this weekend, it is Wilson. The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close.
The veteran additions, Jalen Thompson chief among them, give the class a floor the rookies alone would not.
The verdict is not kind, and fairly so; this class has a hill to climb.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 20 they get a press-man option on the boundary. The biggest hole, addressed.
Darius Robinson at the 36th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Payton Wilson in No. 58 is fair value, right on his grade. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Kingsley Suamataia in slot 68. It fills a real need, too.
Mike Sainristil slid further than he should have, and the 88th overall pick is lovely value for the cornerback. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Jaden Hicks in pick No. 92 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Zak Zinter at No. 103 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Ray Davis. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They paid sticker price for Cedric Gray in pick 110, and that is fine. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Beaux Limmer in the 126th pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
By-the-book stuff, Ben Sinnott at pick No. 127 squarely in line with his ranking. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Good price on Isaac Guerendo in slot 134, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A straight-up fair deal on Jaylin Simpson at the Round 5 slot, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
The board fumbled Luke McCaffrey all the way to the 169th overall pick, and they scooped it up. The roster fit checks out.
Joe Milton III at Round 5, Pick 34 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Value said wait; Tanor Bortolini in pick 171 says they were not listening. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jordan Jefferson in the 172nd overall pick is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Tykee Smith in No. 175 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
They took Tip Reiman at par in the 181st pick, which is nothing to complain about. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Somehow Johnny Wilson was still sitting there in pick No. 190, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A need, and now a little less of one.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. at the Round 6 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
No edge and no loss on Curtis Jacobs in slot 195; it is a wash and a sensible one. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Logan Lee at pick 202 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Trevin Wallace in pick No. 208 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
Trey Taylor at slot 219 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They talked themselves into Sam Hartman at the Round 7 slot, and the board did not agree. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jalen Sundell at the 239th pick is a conviction pick that outran the value. A need, and now a little less of one.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jowon Briggs. It fills a real need, too.
Matthew Jones in No. 246 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Omar Brown well ahead of where he belonged. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They reached a country mile for Trajan Jeffcoat at slot 253, and the board is aghast. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A wild overpay on Michael Jurgens in the Round 7 slot, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.