A-
Green Bay Packers
The Packers turned the phones into found money: A-.
by gerald-grayhotmailcom ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 34 picks
· 25 steals
· 3 reaches
The Packers did not so much draft Rylie Mills as overpay for him, 72 picks clear of his grade. It sets an uneasy tone for the weekend. A near-flawless weekend of work, and a A- to cap it.
Smith at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. The Wilson pick reads as want over need, and the roster will feel it at quarterback and interior defensive lineman.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through quarterback.
Add it up and few war rooms did better this weekend, JC Latham and all.
Pick-by-Pick
In Round 1, Pick 19 they get a long-term starter on the line. A clean fit for the roster.
No drama and no debate, Javon Bullard went about where he belonged in pick No. 20. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
They robbed the room for Rome Odunze here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. It fills a real need, too.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at the 46th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Taliese Fuaga in the 48th overall pick, plain and simple. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Circle this one: Terrion Arnold at slot 50 is a fall that decides a draft. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board fumbled Emeka Egbuka all the way to slot 55, and they scooped it up. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
A slide stopped in pick 62, with Jonathon Brooks worth more than the price. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
T.J. Tampa in the 76th overall pick should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Darius Robinson. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Nice patience on Amarius Mims, who had no business lasting to pick No. 93. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Payton Wilson at linebacker with quarterback and interior defensive lineman open.
Dominick Puni is a better player than No. 109 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A need, and now a little less of one.
Fair-plus on Audric Estime, a quiet win that adds up over a draft. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
A tidy bit of business in No. 114, where Bucky Irving graded well above the range. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Value said wait; Antwaun Powell-Ryland in pick 121 says they were not listening. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A surprising call. With quarterback and interior defensive lineman still to address, they spent the Round 4 slot on Beau Brade, a safety they were not short of.
Somehow Brenden Rice was still sitting there in slot 126, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Hard to square with the roster. With positions of obvious need still on the board, Danny Stutsman adds a linebacker and leaves quarterback and interior defensive lineman untouched.
A linebacker of that caliber at Round 5, Pick 2 is the definition of value, full stop. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
They barely believed it either: Khyree Jackson still on the board at the 145th pick. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Reuben Fatheree II at pick No. 156 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
You do not let a safety like Cole Bishop reach the 160th pick and blink. They did not. A want dressed up as a pick, at a spot they had covered.
Jamon Dumas-Johnson at the Round 5 slot is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. They added to a strength when a need was still open elsewhere.
They reached a country mile for Rylie Mills at slot 175, and the board is aghast. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Taking Jack Nelson in the 181st overall pick is close to grand larceny; an offensive lineman that good had no business lasting this long. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They will replay Ty'Ron Hopper at pick 187 for years; that is how good the value is. Pure best-available; the position was not exactly begging.
Miyan Williams at No. 201 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
BJ Mayes in pick No. 202 is the kind of fall that makes a whole class. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Ainias Smith in Round 6, Pick 42 is a gift, value that borders on unfair. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Steal is underselling it; Cam Hart at Round 6, Pick 43 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Somehow Bru McCoy was still sitting there in slot 219, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They will replay Bryson Nesbit at pick 230 for years; that is how good the value is. The roster fit checks out.
Carson Steele at pick No. 244 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.