Somewhere a scout is still blinking. The Packers spent pick 168 on Joe Milton III, a name the board had a full 31 spots lower.
They lost the exchange badly enough to drag the whole class down. It is not that Trotter Jr. is a bad player; it is that the Packers had louder needs to answer first. The wide receiver spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at.
Add it up and it is a weekend the front office will hope everyone forgets, wide receiver very much included.
Pick-by-Pick
R2.18
· Pick 50
· Kamari Lassiter
· CB
· rank 40
Value with a capital V on Kamari Lassiter in pick 50, a genuine coup. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
R2.19
· Pick 51
· Edgerrin Cooper
· LB
· rank 42
Edgerrin Cooper is a better player than the 51st overall pick suggests; smart patience, rewarded. A minor need, but a need all the same.
R2.26
· Pick 58
· Javon Bullard
· S
· rank 60
They paid sticker price for Javon Bullard in Round 2, Pick 26, and that is fine. It thickens a room that could stand to be thicker.
R2.32
· Pick 64
· Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
· LB
· rank 59
The needs board was loud and they turned it down, spending the 64th pick on Jeremiah Trotter Jr. with wide receiver, tight end and other spots unsolved.
R3.10
· Pick 74
· Cooper Beebe
· OG
· rank 76
Cooper Beebe in No. 74 is fair value, right on his grade. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
R3.20
· Pick 84
· Gabriel Murphy
· DL-EDGE
· rank 88
No edge and no loss on Gabriel Murphy in pick No. 84; it is a wash and a sensible one. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
R3.25
· Pick 88
· Trey Benson
· RB
· rank 96
Trey Benson at No. 88 is a conviction pick that outran the value. Top of the wish list, and they did not leave without it.
R3.28
· Pick 91
· Javon Foster
· OT
· rank 121
A big swing on Javon Foster at the Round 3 slot, well ahead of any board in the building. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
R4.23
· Pick 123
· Tykee Smith
· S
· rank 147
A curious use of Round 4, Pick 23. Wide receiver, tight end and other spots needed the pick; a safety in Tykee Smith did not.
R4.25
· Pick 125
· Jarrian Jones
· CB
· rank 149
Jarrian Jones in pick No. 125 is a bet on their own eyes over everyone else's grade. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
R4.30
· Pick 130
· Marist Liufau
· LB
· rank 148
Of all the spots to shop, they chose linebacker. Marist Liufau in slot 130 leaves wide receiver, tight end and other spots for later.
R4.32
· Pick 132
· Malik Mustapha
· S
· rank 153
The eyebrow-raiser of the weekend. They went safety with Malik Mustapha while clear needs at wide receiver, tight end and other spots sat open.
R5.32
· Pick 168
· Joe Milton III
· QB
· rank 199
A wild overpay on Joe Milton III in the 168th pick, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
R6.26
· Pick 201
· Nathan Thomas
· OT
· rank 208
Nathan Thomas at pick 201 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.
R6.44
· Pick 219
· Frank Gore Jr.
· RB
· rank 224
Frank Gore Jr. in No. 219 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.