B
Green Bay Packers
The Packers let White fall into their laps, and walked away with a B.
by gerald-grayhotmailcom ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 17 picks
· 9 steals
· 6 reaches
The best pick of the weekend was also the simplest. The Packers watched Ricky White slide 59 picks past his grade and did not hesitate. More right than wrong, and a B to match.
The cost of the Gillotte reach is exactly the players who went right after him. They will answer for taking linebacker early while tight end and interior defensive lineman went begging. Leaving tight end unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall.
All told, a draft that does its job without fuss, and there is real value in that.
Pick-by-Pick
In No. 12 they get a blindside protector, and a steal at that. A real need, handled.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the 39th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. It fills a real need, too.
T.J. Tampa at Round 2, Pick 29 is a first-round grade at a bargain-bin price, no notes. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
They barely believed it either: Jordan Morgan still on the board at slot 76. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
By-the-book stuff, Rod Moore at the 77th pick squarely in line with his ranking. A quiet depth add at a thin-ish spot.
A reach for Braelon Allen in pick 87; a little patience would have been rewarded. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Tommy Eichenberg in pick No. 89 is a reach so steep the board needed a second look to believe it. Depth more than a fix, but depth they can use.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose linebacker. Junior Colson in the Round 4 slot leaves tight end and interior defensive lineman for later.
Somehow Ja'Lynn Polk was still sitting there in the Round 4 slot, and they pounced on premier wide receiver value. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
A want over a need in the 123rd pick: Tykee Smith adds a safety while tight end and interior defensive lineman keeps waiting.
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Ashton Gillotte well ahead of where he belonged. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
They will replay Dylan Laube at the 166th overall pick for years; that is how good the value is. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Joe Milton III this early at Round 5, Pick 31. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Zy Alexander at No. 189 is daylight robbery; nobody expected him to last. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
A reach on Darius Robinson in pick No. 190; the board had better options right there. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A top-tier offensive lineman at a bargain, Jack Nelson in pick 217, plain and simple. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Ricky White at pick No. 236 is the steal of the weekend, a first-round talent at a bargain-bin price. The roster fit checks out.