If confidence were a draft strategy, the Packers would have aced it. Stefon Thompson at Round 6, Pick 28 is 35 spots clear of where he belonged. Nothing here to lose sleep over; call it a B-.
On value alone, Watson makes the weekend a net positive. They will regret leaving wide receiver for another day if the season turns on it.
They went 6 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
In sum, a sturdy weekend with one asterisk, the wide receiver spot they never got to.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Amarius Mims
· OT
· rank 22
In slot 25 they get a blindside protector. A real need, handled.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Bralen Trice
· DE-EDGE
· rank 37
Bralen Trice in Round 2, Pick 9 is fine work, a shade of surplus and no downside. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· T'Vondre Sweat
· DL
· rank 60
By-the-book stuff, T'Vondre Sweat at pick 57 squarely in line with his ranking. A need, and now a little less of one.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Marist Liufau
· LB
· rank 86
Marist Liufau in No. 88 is fair value, right on his grade. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· Zak Zinter
· OG
· rank 95
Zak Zinter in the 91st overall pick is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R4.25
· Pick 125
· Kris Abrams-Draine
· CB
· rank 120
Kris Abrams-Draine in pick No. 125 lands just on the right side of the ledger. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· James Williams
· S
· rank 134
James Williams at pick No. 135 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Useful body for a position without much behind the starter.
R6.28
· Pick 203
· Stefon Thompson
· OLB-EDGE
· rank 238
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Stefon Thompson. A pick in search of a role on this roster.
R6.42
· Pick 217
· Kenny Logan Jr.
· S
· rank 210
A clean, defensible pick in No. 217 with a little surplus value in Kenny Logan Jr.. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Taulia Tagovailoa
· QB
· rank 227
A reach for Taulia Tagovailoa in the Round 6 slot; a little patience would have been rewarded. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R7.26
· Pick 246
· Blake Watson
· RB
· rank 226
The board fumbled Blake Watson all the way to the 246th pick, and they scooped it up. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.