Boards are made to be trusted, and the Packers shredded theirs for Matthew Jones. He came off 39 spots early, and the room will hear about it.
If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. The Smith pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with edge rusher, quarterback and other spots still on the board. They banked enough surplus on Bullock to cover a lot of smaller sins.
They went 4 of 8 on their needs, which is most of what a draft is for.
A workmanlike haul that should hold up just fine.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.25
· Pick 25
· Amarius Mims
· OT
· rank 21
In Round 1, Pick 25 they get a building block for the line at fair value.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· T.J. Tampa
· CB
· rank 38
A reasonable price with a little left over, T.J. Tampa in the 41st pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R2.25
· Pick 57
· Calen Bullock
· S
· rank 47
Calen Bullock at No. 57 is the sort of value that quietly wins a weekend. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Christian Mahogany
· OG
· rank 80
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Christian Mahogany at slot 88 is the proof. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· Tykee Smith
· S
· rank 97
They bypassed pressing needs at edge rusher, quarterback and other spots to take Tykee Smith, a safety that was not the priority.
R4.25
· Pick 125
· MarShawn Lloyd
· RB
· rank 130
A straight-up fair deal on MarShawn Lloyd at the 125th overall pick, value and slot in agreement. The biggest hole on the depth chart just got a whole lot smaller.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· Kamal Hadden
· CB
· rank 138
They took Kamal Hadden at par in the 135th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
R6.28
· Pick 203
· Matthew Jones
· OG
· rank 242
They reached into another round for Matthew Jones, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.42
· Pick 217
· Jawhar Jordan
· RB
· rank 209
Jawhar Jordan at No. 217 is money in the bank, a running back taken below his worth. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Joshua Cephus
· WR
· rank 239
A swing that ignored the value entirely, Joshua Cephus well ahead of where he belonged. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
R7.26
· Pick 246
· Trey Wedig
· OT
· rank 269
A real head-scratcher, Trey Wedig in pick No. 246 is miles ahead of his ranking. The roster fit checks out.