B
Green Bay Packers
The Packers fleeced the room on the phones and earned a B.
by emc2feld ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 19 picks
· 0 steals
· 10 reaches
There is conviction, and then there is this. The Packers took Donovan Jennings a full 37 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend.
The phones were where this weekend was really won. They covered a lot of ground and still skipped wide receiver, which is a strange place to end up.
The Gray pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at wide receiver and tight end. They went 6 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
All told, a solid class that does its job everywhere but wide receiver.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get an anchor for the offensive line at fair value.
A market-rate linebacker, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Edgerrin Cooper. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Javon Bullard at pick 58 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
No edge and no loss on MarShawn Lloyd in the 88th overall pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A want over a need in the 98th pick: Cedric Gray adds a linebacker while wide receiver and tight end keeps waiting.
Mohamed Kamara in slot 104 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No drama and no debate, DeWayne Carter went about where he belonged in No. 107. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Malik Mustapha at safety with wide receiver and tight end open.
Kitan Oladapo at the 138th overall pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Jordan Travis at pick 166 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Khristian Boyd at the 168th pick is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They went early on Ty'Ron Hopper in Round 5, Pick 33, and the value did not follow. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They jumped the gun on Kalen King, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A big swing on Joe Milton III at pick No. 194, well ahead of any board in the building. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Jacob Monk in the 202nd overall pick, miles early. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A reach for Trey Taylor in pick 219; a little patience would have been rewarded. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Evan Williams in slot 237 lands just on the right side of the ledger. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Trente Jones in the Round 7 slot is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Donovan Jennings at No. 255 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A need, and now a little less of one.