F
Green Bay Packers
The Packers reached for Williams and never recovered. Grade: F.
by PackerFan99999 ·
2024 NFL Draft
· 18 picks
· 2 steals
· 7 reaches
When the story of this class is written, it opens with James Williams at the Round 4 slot, a reach of 47 spots that the board flatly disagrees with.
Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. It is not that Kinchens is a bad player; it is that the Packers had louder needs to answer first. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.
Spend now, pay later; the math only works if this class delivers.
The verdict is harsh because the weekend was, and there is little to argue.
Pick-by-Pick
By-the-book stuff, Braden Fiske at No. 36 squarely in line with his ranking. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
They took Tyler Nubin at par in the 40th pick, which is nothing to complain about. A minor need, but a need all the same.
Keon Coleman in pick 41 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
A reasonable price with a little left over, Mike Sainristil in the 58th overall pick. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
Cooper Beebe at slot 67 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Kris Abrams-Draine at pick No. 78 is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went safety with Kamren Kinchens while clear needs at edge rusher and tight end sat open.
A tidy little value on Patrick Paul in the Round 3 slot, a step better than break-even. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending No. 100 on Cole Bishop with edge rusher and tight end unsolved.
They left a pile of value on the table to take James Williams this early at pick No. 126. Not urgent, but hardly pointless.
Luke McCaffrey in Round 5, Pick 7 is fair value, right on his grade. It fills a real need, too.
Tahj Washington in slot 169 is early enough to raise a brow, if not a full objection. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
They talked themselves into Joe Milton III at the 187th overall pick, and the board did not agree. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Dillon Johnson at the 197th pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Good things come to war rooms that wait, and Kalen King at the 202nd pick is the proof. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
A market-rate offensive lineman, with the board and the slot shaking hands on KT Leveston. The roster fit checks out.
A premium they did not need to pay, Frank Crum a notch or two before his time. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
Michael Barrett at pick 255 nudges the ledger their way without any fuss. Nice player, but the depth chart did not need him here.