B
Green Bay Packers
The Packers worked the phones like thieves and earned a B.
by TitletownUSA ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 27 picks
· 16 steals
· 7 reaches
The rest of the league had time to spare on Jordan Strachan; the Packers did not wait, grabbing him 100 spots ahead at Round 7, Pick 25. It nets out to a B, which feels about right.
However the rest shakes out, Carson at that price is a win they earned. They won the margins on every swap, and it adds up fast. They went 8 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
Trading back for volume was the quiet throughline of their weekend.
In short, they left a little better than they arrived, which is the whole idea.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 31 they get protection for the quarterback at a price that makes it sweeter. A real need, handled.
The board had Graham Barton higher than pick 36, and the offensive lineman fell to them anyway. A need, and now a little less of one.
Kool-Aid McKinstry at the 50th pick is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Payton Wilson at par in the 53rd overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
A straight-up fair deal on Zach Frazier at pick No. 60, value and slot in agreement. The roster fit checks out.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Cole Bishop in the Round 2 slot, miles early. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Michael Hall Jr. at pick 69 jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Trey Benson at slot 78 is a conviction pick that outran the value. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
They barely believed it either: Ja'Lynn Polk still on the board at the 91st pick. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A cornerback of that caliber at pick No. 93 is the definition of value, full stop. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
A big swing on Nelson Ceaser at No. 105, well ahead of any board in the building. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
Brenden Rice in the Round 4 slot should not have been possible, and that is the whole point. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Ben Sinnott at the 124th overall pick is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Caelen Carson at Round 4, Pick 26 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Blake Fisher at slot 128 is the proof. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Steal is underselling it; Cedric Gray at pick 134 is a heist with the alarm still ringing. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Value with a capital V on Johnny Wilson in No. 142, a genuine coup. It fills a real need, too.
Sataoa Laumea in pick No. 148 is a bargain the rest of the room will envy. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Circle this one: Christian Jones at the 159th overall pick is a fall that decides a draft. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
Jordan Jefferson at the Round 5 slot is the pick scouts circle, and not in a good way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
Logan Lee at Round 5, Pick 33 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They robbed the room for Kitan Oladapo here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. A want more than a need, though you can never have too many.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Hunter Nourzad in Round 6, Pick 1. The roster fit checks out.
They did well to land Curtis Jacobs in No. 202, just ahead of his grade. They doubled down on a strength rather than a need.
Taking Joe Milton III in the 219th overall pick is close to grand larceny; a quarterback that good had no business lasting this long. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
The board screamed and they did not listen, reaching into the next round for Jordan Strachan. A fine player at a spot low on the priority list.
KT Leveston is a better player than pick 255 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.