B
Green Bay Packers
Nothing loud, just a tidy B for the Packers.
by GARRYR999 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 14 picks
· 4 steals
· 7 reaches
The Packers treated their own grade as gospel and everyone else's as noise, spending pick No. 88 on Cedric Gray a full 43 spots early. It does the job without flash, and the B reflects it.
Whatever else happened, they won the night they took Smith-Wade. It is not that Gray is a bad player; it is that the Packers had louder needs to answer first. Leaving edge rusher unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 25th pick they get a press-man option on the boundary at a price that makes it sweeter. The biggest hole, addressed.
Edgerrin Cooper at pick No. 46 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. A minor itch, scratched.
A premium they did not need to pay, Christian Mahogany a notch or two before his time. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A surprising call. With edge rusher, quarterback and other spots still to address, they spent Round 3, Pick 25 on Cedric Gray, a linebacker they were not short of.
A reach for Jaden Hicks in the Round 3 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
Ainias Smith at the 101st overall pick is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
They zigged when the board said zag, taking Tommy Eichenberg at linebacker with edge rusher, quarterback and other spots open.
A conviction pick on Javion Cohen at pick 135 that the board grades a round light. The roster fit checks out.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on LaDarius Henderson. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Steal is underselling it; Chau Smith-Wade at the 180th overall pick is a heist with the alarm still ringing. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
The board had cheaper options than Blake Watson at No. 203, and it noticed. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Jalen Green slid further than he should have, and the Round 6 slot is lovely value for the safety. It is more luxury than necessity; they were already set here.
They read the board right and Myles Jones was the payoff at slot 219. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy little value on Aaron Frost in Round 7, Pick 26, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.