D+
Green Bay Packers
The Packers answered their biggest question with McCarthy. Grade: D+.
by Human ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 22 picks
· 6 steals
· 6 reaches
The Packers torched the value chart for Akheem Mesidor, taking him 51 spots sooner than anyone had him slotted.
The trade table is where this weekend went wrong. Whatever J.J. McCarthy becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. They banked enough surplus on Harris to cover a lot of smaller sins.
Bottom line, they will be counting on several picks to beat their grades.
Pick-by-Pick
In the Round 1 slot they get a franchise quarterback at fair value. It fills the loudest need on the roster.
Xavier Worthy at No. 35 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A clean, defensible pick in pick 37 with a little surplus value in Taliese Fuaga. The roster fit checks out.
A market-rate cornerback, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Josh Newton. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at the 48th pick is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
Patrick Paul at pick No. 52 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Value said wait; Zak Zinter in the 57th pick says they were not listening. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Blake Corum is a better player than No. 62 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Princely Umanmielen at slot 71 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the edge rusher. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
A premium they did not need to pay, Christian Mahogany a notch or two before his time. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
By-the-book stuff, James Williams at pick 106 squarely in line with his ranking. It adds depth where they could use a little.
Roman Wilson at Round 4, Pick 7 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A straight-up fair deal on Raheim Sanders at the 120th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
The board had Joe Milton III higher than pick No. 140, and the quarterback fell to them anyway. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A real head-scratcher, Bryce Foster in pick No. 149 is miles ahead of his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Byron Murphy II at the 167th pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. A need, and now a little less of one.
Steal is underselling it; Ainias Smith at pick 185 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. It fills a real need, too.
Jestin Jacobs in the Round 6 slot lands just on the right side of the ledger. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
A tidy bit of business in slot 217, where Jalen Catalon graded well above the range. Hard to map this one onto the depth chart at all.
They went early on Michael Trigg in the 219th overall pick, and the value did not follow. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Tre Harris at Round 7, Pick 8 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Akheem Mesidor at No. 233 is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.