B+
Green Bay Packers
The Packers let Simpson fall into their laps, and walked away with a B+.
by Pack a Day 1 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 4 steals
· 3 reaches
The board owed the Packers one, and it paid up: Jaylin Simpson, the No. 151 name on the board, sitting there at the 203rd pick like a gift left on the doorstep. The bottom line is a respectable B+.
The dealing alone would carry a lesser class. They will need Jones to outplay his draft slot in a hurry to justify it.
A whole weekend of picks and quarterback is somehow still a want. The Smith pick is fine in a vacuum, less so with quarterback, tight end and other spots still on the board.
Bottom line, more hits than misses and a roster nudged the right way.
Pick-by-Pick
In the 30th overall pick they get a rangy last line of defense. More want than need.
They took T.J. Tampa at par in the Round 2 slot, which is nothing to complain about. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Kris Jenkins at pick No. 57 is money in the bank, a edge rusher taken below his worth. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
Christian Haynes slid further than he should have, and the 89th pick is lovely value for the offensive lineman. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A curious use of pick 91. Quarterback, tight end and other spots needed the pick; a safety in Tykee Smith did not.
No edge and no loss on Audric Estime in slot 93; it is a wash and a sensible one. They walked in needing this and walked out with it.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on Blake Fisher. It fills a real need, too.
Of all the spots to shop, they chose safety. Malik Mustapha in Round 4, Pick 25 leaves quarterback, tight end and other spots for later.
By-the-book stuff, Cedric Gray at pick No. 135 squarely in line with his ranking. A minor need, but a need all the same.
They paid sticker price for Roger Rosengarten in the 177th overall pick, and that is fine. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They barely believed it either: Jaylin Simpson still on the board at the Round 6 slot. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
A tidy little value on Christian Jones in Round 6, Pick 29, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Matthew Jones at the 217th pick is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A need, and now a little less of one.
They stopped a slide they were happy to see, landing Jawhar Jordan in No. 219. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Joshua Cephus this early at pick 220. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
No drama and no debate, Eric Gentry went about where he belonged in slot 246. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.