There is conviction, and then there is this. The Packers took Braden Fiske a full 76 picks ahead of where the board had him, an overdraft steep enough that it colors the whole weekend. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
Linton at that cost is the sort of edge that compounds over a roster. The quarterback hole is the one line item this class does not answer.
Edge rusher was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job. Building through the lines is a philosophy, and they stuck to it.
Good work on the whole, with quarterback the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
R1.9
· Pick 9
· JC Latham
· OT
· rank 16
In pick 9 they get protection for the quarterback at fair value. A clean fit for the roster.
R2.9
· Pick 41
· Cooper Beebe
· OG
· rank 50
They went early on Cooper Beebe in the 41st overall pick, and the value did not follow. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R2.11
· Pick 43
· Kalen King
· CB
· rank 45
A straight-up fair deal on Kalen King at pick No. 43, value and slot in agreement. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
R3.9
· Pick 73
· Blake Corum
· RB
· rank 71
No edge and no loss on Blake Corum in No. 73; it is a wash and a sensible one. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
R3.18
· Pick 82
· Amarius Mims
· OT
· rank 84
Amarius Mims at Round 3, Pick 18 is right where the board had him, plain and simple. A need, and now a little less of one.
R4.9
· Pick 109
· James Williams
· S
· rank 123
A conviction pick on James Williams at the Round 4 slot that the board grades a round light. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R4.35
· Pick 135
· Darius Robinson
· DL-EDGE
· rank 145
Darius Robinson at the Round 4 slot jumps the queue by a touch more than is comfortable. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
R6.12
· Pick 187
· Ainias Smith
· WR
· rank 175
Ainias Smith is a better player than slot 187 suggests; smart patience, rewarded. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
R6.42
· Pick 217
· Erick All
· TE
· rank 234
The board had cheaper options than Erick All at Round 6, Pick 42, and it noticed. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Steve Linton
· LB-EDGE
· rank 182
They robbed the room for Steve Linton here, a fall nobody at the table saw coming. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R7.10
· Pick 230
· Braden Fiske
· DL
· rank 306
They reached a country mile for Braden Fiske at pick No. 230, and the board is aghast. It fills a real need, too.