C
Green Bay Packers
The Packers cashed the board's mistake on Gray: C.
by emc2feld ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 29 picks
· 8 steals
· 10 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Packers watched Joshua Gray slide 59 picks past his grade and did not hesitate.
If Williams pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. The Packers paired the rookies with proven help, Tyler Linderbaum leading the way. The dealing tilted against them, just enough to notice.
It is a win-now wager, and the future is the stake.
The verdict is a shrug for now, with the swing picks left to write the real ending.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 23rd overall pick they get a disruptor off the edge. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 24 they get a bendy edge with upside at fair value. The biggest hole, addressed.
Princely Umanmielen at Round 2, Pick 26 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Kevin Winston Jr. in slot 59 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Nothing to complain about; Tate Ratledge went a shade earlier than his grade, which is fine. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
They paid sticker price for Donovan Edwards in pick 87, and that is fine. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Circle this one: Dasan McCullough at the Round 4 slot is a fall that decides a draft. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
You do not let a linebacker like Jamon Dumas-Johnson reach No. 122 and blink. They did not. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.
Steal is underselling it; Jaxson Dart at the 123rd overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They took Collin Oliver at par in pick 124, which is nothing to complain about. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
Domani Jackson at pick No. 151 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A tidy little value on DJ Campbell in slot 153, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Maxwell Hairston. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
Dorian Strong in the 155th pick is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
No drama and no debate, Zach Rice went about where he belonged in Round 6, Pick 23. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They barely believed it either: Joshua Gray still on the board at No. 185. A need, and now a little less of one.
By-the-book stuff, Theo Wease Jr. at the Round 6 slot squarely in line with his ranking. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Hunter Wohler in Round 6, Pick 28. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Jake Briningstool at the 202nd pick is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
No edge and no loss on Bru McCoy in No. 213; it is a wash and a sensible one. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reach on Jordan James in slot 215; the board had better options right there. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Cody Simon at pick No. 216 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Tim Smith in pick 217 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It fills a real need, too.
They reached a country mile for Savion Williams at the 218th overall pick, and the board is aghast. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Shawn Murphy at the 220th overall pick is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
A big swing on Turner Corcoran at pick 221, well ahead of any board in the building. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Zane Durant in the Round 7 slot is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. The roster fit checks out.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Xavian Sorey Jr. in the 223rd pick, miles early. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Tony Grimes well ahead of where he belonged. Where it fits the depth chart is the real question.