D+
Green Bay Packers
The Packers drew a line under the quarterback search with McCarthy: D+.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 25 picks
· 7 steals
· 11 reaches
The Packers did not so much draft Omar Speights as overpay for him, 83 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. They have staked the next five years on J.J. McCarthy, which is the only story that really matters here. Wallace falling to them is the kind of break a good board is built to catch.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, J.J. McCarthy at Round 1, Pick 25 squarely in line with his ranking. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nice patience on Graham Barton, who had no business lasting to the 41st pick. It fills a real need, too.
The board had Edgerrin Cooper higher than pick No. 58, and the linebacker fell to them anyway. A minor itch, scratched.
They paid sticker price for Cole Bishop in the Round 3 slot, and that is fine. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A market-rate running back, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Ray Davis. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
Ben Sinnott in No. 91 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. The roster fit checks out.
A big swing on Mohamed Kamara at No. 92, well ahead of any board in the building. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Circle this one: Khyree Jackson at slot 126 is a fall that decides a draft. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A straight-up fair deal on Malik Mustapha at the 128th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
They went early on Kitan Oladapo in the Round 4 slot, and the value did not follow. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Beaux Limmer in pick No. 144 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They barely believed it either: Isaac Guerendo still on the board at the 160th pick. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Steal is underselling it; Elijah Jones at Round 5, Pick 27 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Dallin Holker slid further than he should have, and pick 169 is lovely value for the tight end. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
They will replay Caedan Wallace at pick No. 170 for years; that is how good the value is. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
No drama and no debate, Jordan Travis went about where he belonged in the 175th pick. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Nothing to complain about; Ryan Flournoy went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They paid a round early for Jaylan Ford in No. 202, more than the board wanted. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Trey Taylor. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Dylan McMahon at pick 219 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Jowon Briggs well ahead of where he belonged. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Omar Speights at the Round 7 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
A wild overpay on Jarrett Kingston in the 246th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Jaylon Carlies at No. 248 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.
Hayden Hatten in the 255th overall pick is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.