D-
Green Bay Packers
The Packers bled value on every deal, hence the D-.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 8 steals
· 8 reaches
Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Packers spent pick 245 on Baylor Cupp, a name the board had a full 113 spots lower.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. Leaving running back unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
Spending an early pick on linebacker with running back open is the decision the grade keeps circling back to. The Simpson pick alone nudges the whole weekend up a notch.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get a potential shutdown corner at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
Graham Barton is a better player than slot 41 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Payton Wilson at the 58th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went linebacker with Junior Colson while clear needs at running back sat open.
They barely believed it either: Jaden Hicks still on the board at No. 86. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A offensive lineman of that caliber at pick No. 88 is the definition of value, full stop. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They jumped the gun on Ben Sinnott, taking him earlier than his grade liked. It fills a real need, too.
Nice patience on Roger Rosengarten, who had no business lasting to the Round 4 slot. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Khyree Jackson at Round 4, Pick 10 is money in the bank, a cornerback taken below his worth. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
By-the-book stuff, Brenden Rice at the 123rd overall pick squarely in line with his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Cedric Gray at linebacker with running back open.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending pick 127 on Malik Mustapha with running back unsolved.
A big swing on Khristian Boyd at No. 169, well ahead of any board in the building. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Joe Milton III in pick No. 181 says they were not listening. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A top-tier cornerback at a bargain, Jaylin Simpson in pick No. 188, plain and simple. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A clean, defensible pick in the 189th overall pick with a little surplus value in Sione Vaki. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
A straight-up fair deal on Nathaniel Watson at the 202nd pick, value and slot in agreement. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Eyabi Okie-Anoma in Round 6, Pick 44 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Jaylan Ford in slot 220 lands just on the right side of the ledger. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.
Jowon Briggs at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A wild overpay on Baylor Cupp in No. 245, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jalen Sundell in pick 246 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A real head-scratcher, Hayden Hatten in Round 7, Pick 35 is miles ahead of his ranking. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.