D-
Green Bay Packers
Grand theft in the Round 7 slot: the Packers steal Ward and grade out a D-.
by emc2feld ·
2025 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 8 steals
· 5 reaches
Every so often the board makes a mistake, and the Packers were there to profit. Cam Ward, the No. 87 name on the board, should have been long gone before Round 7, Pick 24. Too much went sideways, and the D- is the honest tally.
Powell-Ryland has a lot of ground to make up just to look fairly priced. The trade table is where this weekend went wrong.
The tight end spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, tight end very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 23 they get a home-run threat at receiver at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
In the 24th pick they get a disruptor off the edge, outstanding value to boot. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
In pick No. 26 they get a ballhawk on the outside at fair value. Exactly the need they had to hit.
In the Round 1 slot they get a wrecking ball inside. A clean fit for the roster.
Steal is underselling it; Quinshon Judkins at slot 55 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Sonny Styles at the 87th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Jaxson Dart slipping to pick 119 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Nice patience on Wyatt Milum, who had no business lasting to No. 120. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Shilo Sanders in No. 151 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
Jack Nelson at the 183rd overall pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. It fills a real need, too.
Lander Barton in the Round 7 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Cam Ward at pick 216 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Zane Durant this early at slot 218. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
They reached into another round for Antwaun Powell-Ryland, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
They paid sticker price for Zy Alexander in the 222nd pick, and that is fine. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Malik Spencer well ahead of where he belonged. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cody Simon at pick No. 224 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.