D-
Green Bay Packers
The phones sank the Packers this weekend: D-.
by emc2feld ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 23 picks
· 3 steals
· 14 reaches
The Cody Simon selection is the head-turner. The Packers reached 196 spots for him, and it will define how this weekend is remembered. Put together, it is a D-.
The dealing is the wound this class cannot quite close. The Gabriel pick is the one they will point to when this weekend is judged.
Edge rusher was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. The weekend tilted hard toward the defense.
In the end, a class the front office will want to grow past quickly.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 23 they get a premier pass rusher. The biggest hole, addressed.
In pick 24 they get juice off the edge at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
They reached into another round for Trevor Etienne, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jacobee Bryant at slot 87 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Oscar Delp at the 103rd overall pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
J. Michael Sturdivant slipping to pick No. 120 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They barely believed it either: Dillon Gabriel still on the board at Round 5, Pick 7. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They jumped the gun on Alfred Collins, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Armand Membou in the Round 5 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Andrew Mukuba at the 153rd pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. It adds depth where they could use a little.
A reach for Xavian Sorey Jr. in the 185th overall pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Eugene Asante in slot 207 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Good price on Dorian Strong in pick No. 209, a hair ahead of his grade with no real quibbles. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
By-the-book stuff, Theo Wease Jr. at No. 213 squarely in line with his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
They paid a round early for Khordae Sydnor in the 214th pick, more than the board wanted. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Trikweze Bridges at the 215th overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Keeshawn Silver. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Nick Jackson at pick 217 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Jack Nelson at Round 7, Pick 26 is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
This one needs a full-page explanation: James Brockermeyer in the Round 7 slot, miles early. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Value said wait; Thomas Fidone II in No. 222 says they were not listening. It fills a real need, too.
They talked themselves into Cody Simon at pick No. 223, and the board did not agree. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
Chantz Williams in Round 7, Pick 32 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.