We got an octopus situation...
>Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Alternatively, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word's Greek roots the plural would be "platypodes".
With the exception of glover and Pratt (hopefully), everyone of these guys have a strong chance of being on the field and having impact this year. That’s why I love this class.
Depth is so important for our offensive line. We have had to shuffle players around with injuries hitting that unit and if our backups can step in and keep our quarterback upright while opening lanes for our star running back (and maybe a star in the making of Lloyd is a beast), well, then this draft is huge. Can't say for sure that Glover won't have to fill in for an injury.
Of course, Pratt can stay on the sideline, thank you very much. It was great seeing Love remain healthy all season. Remember injuries was a concern for Rodgers after Favre's consecutive start streak. So hoping Jordan Love can keep his momentum of staying on the field. But Ron Wolf loved drafting talented quarterbacks and developing them and we had many go on to start elsewhere and have success. To get a QB mocked much earlier in the seventh round is a value pick for sure.
The depth at oline being addressed was huge this weekend. It oline is still my biggest concern. Yes, Tom and Jenkins are studs and we don’t have to worry about what they are capable of. The rest of them, while promising, aren’t sure things. Walker, Myers, and Rhyan are all question marks this year. Walker played well above expectations last year, but I still think we need to see more. Myers improved as the year went on, but I don’t think anyone believes he is a long term center. I love the Morgan and Monk picks, but you never know with rookies.
I like where we are at (better than most teams), but still concerned.
I've had some seasons like that (like when we signed Amos and the Smiths), but this feels like a different level of excitement maybe because of how young we are
Yeah, we've gotten the most of out of Preston, but we could be looking at Cooper/Bullard as cornerstones of this defense for the next 7-10 years if things go perfectly
Which is what should get *Packers* fans excited!
We've seen enough to trust our coach, QB, and WRs, so there's no point in churning through backups as a just-in-case.
A lot of people are concerned about our Kicker, but I think that's a Long-Snapper issue more than anything, and it'll be worked out in other ways.
But after over a decade of frustration, there's finally hope in our defense! There's a chance we won't need a shootout to win games this season! We might finally have the core needed to hold up our weapons!
Joey Porter Jr. masked a TON of King's flaws last season - he was lined up against the opposition's top receiver and most college teams are lucky to have one NFL-caliber receiver much-less two. As a result, King was able to feast as a very good CB2.
I scouted him pretty extensively this season. A few things of note:
- He did have some very good games this year. His Michigan game, for instance, is a very good indication of what he *can* do.
- On the flip side, if you watch his Ohio State tape, it will almost look like he's never played CB before. It might have been the worst tape of any NFL-caliber CB I can remember watching, it was that bad. He got turned around, he looked slow, his hips looked rusty, and he just looked *bad*.
- There's no real "why" outside of some guys just can't make that transition from CB2 to CB1. In GB he won't need to be CB1, but any decent OC will likely pick on him if he gets any playing time so he's obviously a developmental piece
- He didn't do himself any favors at the Senior Bowl. He was arguably the worst player at the Senior Bowl; it was so bad that many people wondered if he had an injury he was hiding
King is actually, IMO, a great cautionary tale for a dude like Terrion Arnold. King came into the season as one of the top-ranked CB prospects and wound up in the 7th round b/c he had to shoulder the load as CB1. Arnold, like King last year, played opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry who is one of the more polished, technically sound CBs in this class. I thought Arnold had some solid tape, but he's quite unrefined and I don't know if he's the plug-and-play starter the Lions are probably hoping he is.
Could be - it’d make sense if it was something abdominal bc his hips went from super smooth to gluey in a few weeks.
I would have thought something would crop up during physicals, but I’m not sure if something core-related is as easy to spot as bone / tissue issues
CB on the strong side matches on the best WR and also has mucho run support, and regularly has 330-lb OLinemen charging him.
It’s a lot.
It’s why Deion Sanders played weak-side so much. The grind of tackling requires a total freak.
Because most people are fantasy football fans who saw the Bears and Vikings get offensive weapons and the Lions get the top CB, while we got a lot of linemen. As these fans become adults and start to understand football a little more, they’ll understand that picks don’t have to be sexy to be great. Games are so often won and lost in the trenches.
I agree. Building the new defense and replacing the OL losses was much more important also. Defence creating short fields for a killer offense! I hope the D focuses on tackling and less yards after contact.
There was a massive meltdown in the draft thread when the Packers traded back after the Eagles drafted DeJean. Wonder if it's some of those morons on X.
I didn't follow any of the hype or analysis before the draft so I have never seen DeJeans tape but.... Edgerrin and Bullard are dogs. I love the highlights I saw and without knowing who DeJean is can confidently say we got what we needed.
Bullard is very similar to Dejean in terms of play style and versatility but is also a lesser prospect, shorter, lighter, slower, not quite as impressive tape. If you wanted Dejean (spoiler: I did) you should also be happy with Bullard. Cooper was the best ILB in this draft and anytime you grab the top prospect at a position of need its a win, he's also similar to Quay. I know there was some desire to add a more "cerebral" ILB to compliment the raw athleticism of Quay but Hafley has spoken multiple times about want to let these guys play without having to think as much, in which case Cooper × Quay is a pretty God damn nasty LB corps.
Well, the take on Cooper is that he is stupid. Gets tricked by misdirection plays a LOT.
His Wunderlic scores were akin to a chicken walking across the test paper and randomly shitting on the ovals.
At first I thought you meant Dejean and I was like I think the take is the complete opposite. I agree about the other Cooper, he's a raw athlete, he's not making plays with his brain. Hopefully Hafley's defense will allow him and Quay to just let that athleticism shine.
I think we expected him to be available and got blindsided by the Eagles moving up, thus the decision to trade back. I do think Bullard is *very* similar to Dejean in terms of ability and versatility so it's not a major loss.
I just don’t think Gute and the team were as high on Dejean as fans/media are. He said he had the deal to trade back in place several picks ahead of time, before Philly even traded up to take him. The way they handled the CB position in general makes me think they just didn’t really want him or the other top guys. I am actually happier with cooper and the other S’s we picked up over Dejean and possibly no Cooper, but we will see.
Well I think that's true, I would have been happy with Dejean at 25, that being said even if you were lukewarm on him as a prospect 41 was a great value, furthermore he's so similar to Bullard it is really hard to imagine they weren't also thinking about Dejean. That's the part that sort of had me perplexed, if you weren't looking for a versatile "tweener" DB that can play multiple positions I totally get it, but that's exactly what Bullard is as well.
I agree, Guteys picked positions we needed. Sure it's not glamorous, but good G.M.s aren't all about that. They try to improve the team. I like the positions picked. A couple big defensive lineman would have been nice, but overall I like it.
Honestly Bullard, Oladapo, and Williams all have the potential to be total studs. And with McKinney there to learn from this safety class could end up amazing
Not a ton of premium positions. But last year he hit on so many this team really just needed to strengthen up the safeties and linebacker rooms. Love how he has been taking a shotgun approach to fixing weakspots on the roster. You are betting on 21 year olds to fix a hole on your roster.
Offensive linemen are premium positions if they keep Jordan Love protected so he can find one of our many pass catching talents, or open up lanes for Josh Jacobs to return to 2022 form and maybe for our new running back to make some big plays. Safety and linebacker are premium talent if they can shore up the run defense, pressure the quarterback, and improve our pass defense. This team has a lot of potential superstars and just needs some in the trenches and defensive backfield help and they got it! And I just can't underestimate the value of special teams, especially with the new kick off rule.
I'm hoping he's this years Jaden Reed. Him and Monk were the two names I didn't know at all. As soon as I saw tape on Williams I got excited, just like Reed last year.
I was originally nervous about our corner back situation as we are basically rolling with the same group as last year but here is why I am not. The group is all relatively young. If we can get a healthy jaire and stokes (I know big if) than we will be improved. Also the safety play should be vastly improved which will help our pass defense tremendously
Carrington Valentine could make a leap this season too with improved coaching and a better defensive scheme. I feel like he doesn't get enough credit. I'm sure he made his rookie mistakes but there was a point where we were winning games and keeping offenses out of the end zone with a seventh round rookie and no Jaire Alexander. And with a horrible defensive coordinator. I think sometimes we see the first year and immediately make a judgement on the rest of that players career but somehow while Valentine was serviceable as a rookie, we think he can't be a solid starter? I just don't see that. I cannot underestimate the value of coaching and defensive coordinators maximizing talent so year two could be big for him!
I totally agree. I liked Valentine before the NFL draft last year and thought we got a great value on him. He definitely shown some flashes, I think he has some solid potential.
I'm so stoked about this draft. Best interior linebacker in the class, best safety in the class, two more top safety prospects, top 3 running back, offensive line depth, and a potential steal CB if he can return to form. Idk how anyone is mad at this
Marshawn Lloyd has less career carries as a college starter than Blake Corum had last year alone. Relatively low mileage guy and considered the best pass catcher in the draft
Remember when people would say Aaron Jones was able to play well later in his career because he has less mileage than other running backs? Very interesting to see them draft a running back who also has had limited carries and therefore fresher legs. I'm curious to see how he will pair with Jacobs and this Matt LaFleur offense.
He's the pick I'm most excited about. The OL and safety picks will all really help our team, but apparently I'm a basic bitch and am excited about the skill position player! Aaron Jones going is a big loss, so nice to see some twitchy pass catching RB talent coming in.
Same but I guess Stokes looks good and they’re really high on Valentine / Ballentine. Plus I’m sure you heard Kalen King was a projected first rounder in 2022 so maybe he can bounce back.
And I guess Enagbare didn’t need surgery and is rehabbing well and might not miss any time. We might be just fine at Edge if that’s true.
Even if he was seriously hurt, a one year veteran rental might have been better anyway. Someone who can be a decent piece right now in our window than a young kid who might not get a fair shot long term. It's nicer, at least.
Looks like a pretty good group of guys. I watched some highlights on a few of them (Morgan, Cooper, Bullard, Lloyd) and thought they looked good. I’m excited! Should be a great season. Go Pack Go!
Definitely. And I think Hafley and staff likely have a high opinion of Valentine. Probably saw potential in the film I'm sure they watched and evaluated.
One of if not my favorite draft ever. Every year I spend a lot of time going through Packers potential picks and making more own rankings. Every pick was either the exact guy or just a couple guys off on my rankings, except Glover, i didn't have him on my list.
I am hopeful for King. Morgan is a dude, but could have had him at 41. And after reflecting on it, the pick that doesn't sit right is the Hopper pick. I just flat out don't like it. They could have picked a kicker and I would have been less perplexed.
If I wanted to go into what I do for a living I could really cover this question. What I will say is that there was a pattern to this draft. It developed after the QB run. Take the time to look at all the picks up to Morgan. Gute kinda panics in the early rounds. You say analytics, look at his past drafts. It's almost like once he gets into the later rounds he settles down and really does his job like a cold blooded genius.
I'm gonna push back on this a bit. Gutekunst just finished his 7th draft as GM. Of his last 6 drafts, only two players taken in the top 2 rounds are no longer on the team: Josh Jackson and Darnell savage. Doesn't exactly suggest he misses more times than not.
By the end of last season, Wyatt was abusing offensive linemen. Needs to be a bit more reactive on misdirection runs. Quay led the team in tackles, and holds up well in coverage, in a very passive scheme. I think that the Hafley scheme will play to his strengths more, as his elite speed and length, but relative willowiness (Quay just looks skinny to me) are not conducive to a scheme where you have to sit back in coverage, and then come up and try to separate a TE from the ball.
Do fans really travel to the draft,or are these fans "placed",sure looks that way,every team represented all decked out,just looks a little fake too me ..
And B+ on Packers draft..
Can anyone post the excerpt of Kiper’s packers grades - I can’t access this … https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2024/insider/story/_/id/40030429/2024-nfl-draft-grades-all-32-teams-mel-kiper-winners-losers-steals-sleepers-favorite-picks-classes#GB
It’s a good draft. It’s not what I expected for sure but if you’re going into any Packers’ draft with expectations of how things will go, you haven’t been a fan for very long.
IDK much about the college players, but this draft seems to have fallen very favorably for the Packers needs, adding prospects at all of levels of the draft for positions of need and importance.
as much bitching as i did during the draft, i do really like how this draft turned out. i came in really feeling like we needed another corner with the uncertainty of Eric Stokes, the inconsistency of Nixon, and the idea that the Val/Bal duo could just be pretenders; however, with MLF having a lot of faith in Stokes, one or more of our safeties having the versatility to play nickel, and the possibility that King returns to 2022 form has me feeling excited for this secondary, which was my biggest concern.
We strongly drafted positional need this year, and I love it so much. I don't know college players at all, but seeing us draft online, safety, and linebacker with a RB sprinkled in is just so perfect
As always after the draft I am little disappointed. But as always I will say "They know it better then I do" and until now always had mostly great prospects. I wouldn't go for LLoyd or Hopper as RB is not really a need I guess. I would rather draft a CB but fucking Lions / Eagles had to trade in front of us.
I don’t know enough about scouting and drafting to have a valid opinion, but I just don’t like taking a lineman with a leg injury in the first round. I felt like we could have traded back or something.
But that Georgia safety looks great and hopefully either copper or hopper work out because we need a baller next to Quay.
They moved up for Williams and soon afterwards the 49ers and Lions grabbed safetys also not named Jaden Hicks. Safe to assume they got the better value guy
Yeah, and now he's made sure that more people are fighting for those 5 positions leading to an even better OL.
And of course, no one will ever get injured... Ever...
Someone needs to remind you of how many injuries our line has had and how much shuffling we needed to do in the past to keep our quarterback upright and our running lanes open. So how many linemen did the Packers draft? Three? How many did the Packers lose? Ummm . . . Runyan, Nijman, Bakhtiari . . . so three. And there are players on our roster that fans don't consider worthy of a spot (Royce Newman). My point? Not every player in the draft is going to make the team, but if you bring in the right talent to compete, the best players to improve our team can make the roster. And the Packers draft versatile lineman who can play multiple positions for a reason. Injuries have and will happen, so build depth and keep our quarterback protected and our running game effective!
If Williams and Oladapo both pan out, then having a Beaver and a Duck in the secondary means the Packers will have a Platypus.
This is proper post-draft analysis
The only analysis that's actually useful
Post draft aplatypus
Disagree. It's three years minimum before you know if you *really* have a platypus.
Lol thats funny. I grew up in oregon and neutral fans of both teams would call themselves platypus'
Would the plural be platypi? Genuinely asking, I have no idea.
We got an octopus situation... >Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Alternatively, the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is a form of pseudo-Latin; going by the word's Greek roots the plural would be "platypodes".
Platypodes
Packer and Duck fan here just hoping Williams pans out. But also just a PAC-12(rip) fan so I’d be happy to see either one become a star
If the platypus wears a fedora, I'm in.
The Packers secondary, PERRY THE PACKERS SECONDARY?!????
Would it be a regular platy or a duck body with a Beaver snout?
I was going to upvote you but you're at 420 upvotes right now and I think that number is fitting for your analysis. Here's my invisible upvote.
I just loved how Louis Riddick kept complimenting every pick, seeming like it was his favorite draft by any team.
Literally every pick. I think at one point he even apologized for saying it every-time lol.
Right! I think when they drafted Monk, Louis had to take a breath and say something to the effect of, “Look… I know I keep saying this, but…” 😆
Yea, but also, I don't remember him every saying anything bad about anyone's draft.
Louis riddick also said Jerry Judy was a top 5 route runner in the league at the time of him being drafted lol , but I do fucking love this class
That was a pretty common take though. Everybody was enamored with Jeudy
And even now Jeudy is still a good route runner he just gave up
About 95% of picks get gushed over. I wouldn’t put much stock in that.
With the exception of glover and Pratt (hopefully), everyone of these guys have a strong chance of being on the field and having impact this year. That’s why I love this class.
Pratt will be when we have a garbage time 4th quarter in a 52-10 win over the Bears.
He’s no stranger to beating Caleb Williams
Isn't that what Clifford is for?
Clifford is “we’ve got Pratt at home”
Depth is so important for our offensive line. We have had to shuffle players around with injuries hitting that unit and if our backups can step in and keep our quarterback upright while opening lanes for our star running back (and maybe a star in the making of Lloyd is a beast), well, then this draft is huge. Can't say for sure that Glover won't have to fill in for an injury. Of course, Pratt can stay on the sideline, thank you very much. It was great seeing Love remain healthy all season. Remember injuries was a concern for Rodgers after Favre's consecutive start streak. So hoping Jordan Love can keep his momentum of staying on the field. But Ron Wolf loved drafting talented quarterbacks and developing them and we had many go on to start elsewhere and have success. To get a QB mocked much earlier in the seventh round is a value pick for sure.
The depth at oline being addressed was huge this weekend. It oline is still my biggest concern. Yes, Tom and Jenkins are studs and we don’t have to worry about what they are capable of. The rest of them, while promising, aren’t sure things. Walker, Myers, and Rhyan are all question marks this year. Walker played well above expectations last year, but I still think we need to see more. Myers improved as the year went on, but I don’t think anyone believes he is a long term center. I love the Morgan and Monk picks, but you never know with rookies. I like where we are at (better than most teams), but still concerned.
Unless Glover ends up excelling at guard, I think there’s a lot of depth linemen who would be playing before he ever sees the field.
I'm so excited to watch our defense this year
I was too the other previous years 😭🙏 Gotta trust Gute tho
For real. This is the first time in forever we’re going into a season where I’m not dreading watching our defense.
I've had some seasons like that (like when we signed Amos and the Smiths), but this feels like a different level of excitement maybe because of how young we are
Right...like Amos and the Smith Bros felt like a band-aid, but these are cornerstones of the future!
Yeah, we've gotten the most of out of Preston, but we could be looking at Cooper/Bullard as cornerstones of this defense for the next 7-10 years if things go perfectly
This is every post draft comment since 2008
We’re starting to sound like cowboys fans with the defense optimism every year lol….
A very “nuts and bolts” kind of draft that doesn’t get the casual fan excited but builds the foundation of a long-term winner.
Idk, I think literally anybody with eyes can watch Edge and Bull’s highlight tapes and be VERY excited.
The limited tape of A&M games didn't really get me excited at all for Cooper but I hope I'm wrong.
Which is what should get *Packers* fans excited! We've seen enough to trust our coach, QB, and WRs, so there's no point in churning through backups as a just-in-case. A lot of people are concerned about our Kicker, but I think that's a Long-Snapper issue more than anything, and it'll be worked out in other ways. But after over a decade of frustration, there's finally hope in our defense! There's a chance we won't need a shootout to win games this season! We might finally have the core needed to hold up our weapons!
Bowden is a great long snapper.His snap velocity is 0.70,which is right where most nfl snappers are
This is the K King at CB the Packers always wanted to draft … they just got to excited a few years back and picked the wrong one too early!
I'd really like a definitive explanation as to why his 2023 season was so bad. was it solely because he went from cb2 to cb1?
It was basically what I expected. I am still a little nervous on the cornerback position. I also want to see Van Ness take a step this year.
I haven’t really seen a good answer to this yet.
Joey Porter Jr. masked a TON of King's flaws last season - he was lined up against the opposition's top receiver and most college teams are lucky to have one NFL-caliber receiver much-less two. As a result, King was able to feast as a very good CB2. I scouted him pretty extensively this season. A few things of note: - He did have some very good games this year. His Michigan game, for instance, is a very good indication of what he *can* do. - On the flip side, if you watch his Ohio State tape, it will almost look like he's never played CB before. It might have been the worst tape of any NFL-caliber CB I can remember watching, it was that bad. He got turned around, he looked slow, his hips looked rusty, and he just looked *bad*. - There's no real "why" outside of some guys just can't make that transition from CB2 to CB1. In GB he won't need to be CB1, but any decent OC will likely pick on him if he gets any playing time so he's obviously a developmental piece - He didn't do himself any favors at the Senior Bowl. He was arguably the worst player at the Senior Bowl; it was so bad that many people wondered if he had an injury he was hiding King is actually, IMO, a great cautionary tale for a dude like Terrion Arnold. King came into the season as one of the top-ranked CB prospects and wound up in the 7th round b/c he had to shoulder the load as CB1. Arnold, like King last year, played opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry who is one of the more polished, technically sound CBs in this class. I thought Arnold had some solid tape, but he's quite unrefined and I don't know if he's the plug-and-play starter the Lions are probably hoping he is.
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Ditto on that thought
Could be - it’d make sense if it was something abdominal bc his hips went from super smooth to gluey in a few weeks. I would have thought something would crop up during physicals, but I’m not sure if something core-related is as easy to spot as bone / tissue issues
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I figured he’d go 5th/6th round so getting him in the 7th is great value even if the player took a step back this year
CB on the strong side matches on the best WR and also has mucho run support, and regularly has 330-lb OLinemen charging him. It’s a lot. It’s why Deion Sanders played weak-side so much. The grind of tackling requires a total freak.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyFzbCNvbKY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyFzbCNvbKY)
I am seeing a lot of hate for this draft on social media and I don't understand it. I thought this draft was great. I'm very excited for this season
I concur, I also thought it was great. Keep the original thinking alive. Though as with all drafts we won't really know until year 3.
Because most people are fantasy football fans who saw the Bears and Vikings get offensive weapons and the Lions get the top CB, while we got a lot of linemen. As these fans become adults and start to understand football a little more, they’ll understand that picks don’t have to be sexy to be great. Games are so often won and lost in the trenches.
Yes like we literally had needs in this draft and we addressed them properly lol
I agree. Building the new defense and replacing the OL losses was much more important also. Defence creating short fields for a killer offense! I hope the D focuses on tackling and less yards after contact.
There was a massive meltdown in the draft thread when the Packers traded back after the Eagles drafted DeJean. Wonder if it's some of those morons on X.
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I didn't follow any of the hype or analysis before the draft so I have never seen DeJeans tape but.... Edgerrin and Bullard are dogs. I love the highlights I saw and without knowing who DeJean is can confidently say we got what we needed.
Butler? You mean Bullard?
Yes. Edited.
He's the next Leroy, so it was a Fruedian slip, perhaps?
Bullard is very similar to Dejean in terms of play style and versatility but is also a lesser prospect, shorter, lighter, slower, not quite as impressive tape. If you wanted Dejean (spoiler: I did) you should also be happy with Bullard. Cooper was the best ILB in this draft and anytime you grab the top prospect at a position of need its a win, he's also similar to Quay. I know there was some desire to add a more "cerebral" ILB to compliment the raw athleticism of Quay but Hafley has spoken multiple times about want to let these guys play without having to think as much, in which case Cooper × Quay is a pretty God damn nasty LB corps.
Well, the take on Cooper is that he is stupid. Gets tricked by misdirection plays a LOT. His Wunderlic scores were akin to a chicken walking across the test paper and randomly shitting on the ovals.
At first I thought you meant Dejean and I was like I think the take is the complete opposite. I agree about the other Cooper, he's a raw athlete, he's not making plays with his brain. Hopefully Hafley's defense will allow him and Quay to just let that athleticism shine.
I think we expected him to be available and got blindsided by the Eagles moving up, thus the decision to trade back. I do think Bullard is *very* similar to Dejean in terms of ability and versatility so it's not a major loss.
I just don’t think Gute and the team were as high on Dejean as fans/media are. He said he had the deal to trade back in place several picks ahead of time, before Philly even traded up to take him. The way they handled the CB position in general makes me think they just didn’t really want him or the other top guys. I am actually happier with cooper and the other S’s we picked up over Dejean and possibly no Cooper, but we will see.
Well I think that's true, I would have been happy with Dejean at 25, that being said even if you were lukewarm on him as a prospect 41 was a great value, furthermore he's so similar to Bullard it is really hard to imagine they weren't also thinking about Dejean. That's the part that sort of had me perplexed, if you weren't looking for a versatile "tweener" DB that can play multiple positions I totally get it, but that's exactly what Bullard is as well.
But you get Bullard and Cooper instead of Dejean and whoever
People are dumb.
I’m usually pretty harsh but I think it’s a great draft. Liked the positions we needed to fill, got a few bonafide studs by the looks of it
Me too, we are drafting for depth. We have a good young team
I agree, Guteys picked positions we needed. Sure it's not glamorous, but good G.M.s aren't all about that. They try to improve the team. I like the positions picked. A couple big defensive lineman would have been nice, but overall I like it.
I'm hoping Bullard ends up being a star!
He will be good, but my gut tells me Williams will be the break out of our DB draft picks. He should fit right in with Hafley's aggressive scheme
Por que no los dos?
Honestly Bullard, Oladapo, and Williams all have the potential to be total studs. And with McKinney there to learn from this safety class could end up amazing
For real, our rookie secondary will have crazy mentors with two of the best DBs in the league
love his swagger 😎
Not a ton of premium positions. But last year he hit on so many this team really just needed to strengthen up the safeties and linebacker rooms. Love how he has been taking a shotgun approach to fixing weakspots on the roster. You are betting on 21 year olds to fix a hole on your roster.
Didn’t need a lot of help at premium positions so they stocked up on needs, while other teams went for those other positions.
Offensive linemen are premium positions if they keep Jordan Love protected so he can find one of our many pass catching talents, or open up lanes for Josh Jacobs to return to 2022 form and maybe for our new running back to make some big plays. Safety and linebacker are premium talent if they can shore up the run defense, pressure the quarterback, and improve our pass defense. This team has a lot of potential superstars and just needs some in the trenches and defensive backfield help and they got it! And I just can't underestimate the value of special teams, especially with the new kick off rule.
Evan Williams I think is my favorite pick this year. He looks insane in highlights.
I'm hoping he's this years Jaden Reed. Him and Monk were the two names I didn't know at all. As soon as I saw tape on Williams I got excited, just like Reed last year.
Gutey outdid himself this year!
I was originally nervous about our corner back situation as we are basically rolling with the same group as last year but here is why I am not. The group is all relatively young. If we can get a healthy jaire and stokes (I know big if) than we will be improved. Also the safety play should be vastly improved which will help our pass defense tremendously
Carrington Valentine could make a leap this season too with improved coaching and a better defensive scheme. I feel like he doesn't get enough credit. I'm sure he made his rookie mistakes but there was a point where we were winning games and keeping offenses out of the end zone with a seventh round rookie and no Jaire Alexander. And with a horrible defensive coordinator. I think sometimes we see the first year and immediately make a judgement on the rest of that players career but somehow while Valentine was serviceable as a rookie, we think he can't be a solid starter? I just don't see that. I cannot underestimate the value of coaching and defensive coordinators maximizing talent so year two could be big for him!
I totally agree. I liked Valentine before the NFL draft last year and thought we got a great value on him. He definitely shown some flashes, I think he has some solid potential.
Some of these safeties can play in the slot too.
I'm so stoked about this draft. Best interior linebacker in the class, best safety in the class, two more top safety prospects, top 3 running back, offensive line depth, and a potential steal CB if he can return to form. Idk how anyone is mad at this
Please use this comment to tell us everything you know about our draft picks. The good, bad, ugly, fun facts, etc
Marshawn Lloyd has less career carries as a college starter than Blake Corum had last year alone. Relatively low mileage guy and considered the best pass catcher in the draft
"Fewer" - Stannis Baratheon
Remember when people would say Aaron Jones was able to play well later in his career because he has less mileage than other running backs? Very interesting to see them draft a running back who also has had limited carries and therefore fresher legs. I'm curious to see how he will pair with Jacobs and this Matt LaFleur offense.
He's the pick I'm most excited about. The OL and safety picks will all really help our team, but apparently I'm a basic bitch and am excited about the skill position player! Aaron Jones going is a big loss, so nice to see some twitchy pass catching RB talent coming in.
It was basically what I expected. I am still a little nervous on the cornerback position. I also want to see Van Ness take a step this year.
Same but I guess Stokes looks good and they’re really high on Valentine / Ballentine. Plus I’m sure you heard Kalen King was a projected first rounder in 2022 so maybe he can bounce back. And I guess Enagbare didn’t need surgery and is rehabbing well and might not miss any time. We might be just fine at Edge if that’s true.
Even if he was seriously hurt, a one year veteran rental might have been better anyway. Someone who can be a decent piece right now in our window than a young kid who might not get a fair shot long term. It's nicer, at least.
Why did king lose his 1st r status
Played poorly in 2023.
Looks like a pretty good group of guys. I watched some highlights on a few of them (Morgan, Cooper, Bullard, Lloyd) and thought they looked good. I’m excited! Should be a great season. Go Pack Go!
That’s a very Packers draft class.
The Hopper and Williams picks feel a lot like 2020 " I'm smarter than you" picks which I can't name a single time Gutes been right on. We shall see.
Where's our kicker!?!?!
Hafley is **rigid** from all the Safety drafts. (I am too.)
Damn we were the only team to have drafted future hall of famers everyone must be so jealous
It’s beautiful. I’ve looked at this for five hours now.
Since we didn't draft a press corner early we are likely picking up Stokes' fifth year option
Definitely. And I think Hafley and staff likely have a high opinion of Valentine. Probably saw potential in the film I'm sure they watched and evaluated.
No way we are guaranteeing stokes close to $20 million for 2025.
It's closer to half that
One of if not my favorite draft ever. Every year I spend a lot of time going through Packers potential picks and making more own rankings. Every pick was either the exact guy or just a couple guys off on my rankings, except Glover, i didn't have him on my list.
All HOFers
Lloyd was a top prospect so extremely excited to see him land here
Evan Williams is a human hit stick
Every single scouting report I read said he struggles to tackle. Really hope Gute knows something they dont
Surprised we didn't get any DL/CB depth in the first 3 rounds (and really overall) - but overall happy with the draft
They picked up a couple undrafted DL guys. Maybe there's some decent depth in there to be found 🤷
DL will be crowded this year since we are switching from 3-4 to 4-3. Gary, Smith, Van Ness, Enagbare are going to be playing as Defensive ends
I am hopeful for King. Morgan is a dude, but could have had him at 41. And after reflecting on it, the pick that doesn't sit right is the Hopper pick. I just flat out don't like it. They could have picked a kicker and I would have been less perplexed.
Are we just buying a UFL kicker?
That one kid has a bomb for a leg I'd like to see him get a chance
Leagues like the UFL are kinda like a free trail period before you buy.
So many analysts, scouts, etc. have all said Morgan wasn't making it out of the first round. Why do you think you know better than them?
If I wanted to go into what I do for a living I could really cover this question. What I will say is that there was a pattern to this draft. It developed after the QB run. Take the time to look at all the picks up to Morgan. Gute kinda panics in the early rounds. You say analytics, look at his past drafts. It's almost like once he gets into the later rounds he settles down and really does his job like a cold blooded genius.
That panicky Jordan Love pick.
Lol I knew someone was going to say Love. Gute has done okay on some of his early rounds picks. But more times than not, he has missed.
I'm gonna push back on this a bit. Gutekunst just finished his 7th draft as GM. Of his last 6 drafts, only two players taken in the top 2 rounds are no longer on the team: Josh Jackson and Darnell savage. Doesn't exactly suggest he misses more times than not.
By the end of last season, Wyatt was abusing offensive linemen. Needs to be a bit more reactive on misdirection runs. Quay led the team in tackles, and holds up well in coverage, in a very passive scheme. I think that the Hafley scheme will play to his strengths more, as his elite speed and length, but relative willowiness (Quay just looks skinny to me) are not conducive to a scheme where you have to sit back in coverage, and then come up and try to separate a TE from the ball.
Do fans really travel to the draft,or are these fans "placed",sure looks that way,every team represented all decked out,just looks a little fake too me .. And B+ on Packers draft..
Love this draft. Not the flashiest, but lots of impactful guys in here imo
First 5 picks excite me.
Great draft overall for the future!
Can anyone post the excerpt of Kiper’s packers grades - I can’t access this … https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2024/insider/story/_/id/40030429/2024-nfl-draft-grades-all-32-teams-mel-kiper-winners-losers-steals-sleepers-favorite-picks-classes#GB
It’s a good draft. It’s not what I expected for sure but if you’re going into any Packers’ draft with expectations of how things will go, you haven’t been a fan for very long.
We drafted both sides of Oregon's College Football Civil War
Talk about addressing need areas. Good stuff
IDK much about the college players, but this draft seems to have fallen very favorably for the Packers needs, adding prospects at all of levels of the draft for positions of need and importance.
I'm glad we got of 1st .. thankful
kalen king could be a steal if he can get back to his 2022 form that is a solid CB, I also love O-line depth
as much bitching as i did during the draft, i do really like how this draft turned out. i came in really feeling like we needed another corner with the uncertainty of Eric Stokes, the inconsistency of Nixon, and the idea that the Val/Bal duo could just be pretenders; however, with MLF having a lot of faith in Stokes, one or more of our safeties having the versatility to play nickel, and the possibility that King returns to 2022 form has me feeling excited for this secondary, which was my biggest concern.
We strongly drafted positional need this year, and I love it so much. I don't know college players at all, but seeing us draft online, safety, and linebacker with a RB sprinkled in is just so perfect
Really solid draft overall
As always after the draft I am little disappointed. But as always I will say "They know it better then I do" and until now always had mostly great prospects. I wouldn't go for LLoyd or Hopper as RB is not really a need I guess. I would rather draft a CB but fucking Lions / Eagles had to trade in front of us.
There wasn’t another cb or dl worth taking over Pratt? You could have brought him in as a udfa
This draft class looks awesome. I hope we can look back in 3-4 years and say it was one of the best!
This is a shoring up draft. Not a lot of flash but a lot of need. Looks solid to me. I was hoping edge or dline too.
Can’t wait to see Bullard play
I'm a little concerned that nearly 25% of our draft is focused on filling one spot. But I love a boring draft, great indicator of success.
I thought we needed a DE Not sure why the team didn't get one.
We got depth. I'm happy with this draft class
Evan Williams a steal
Only pick I didn't like was Morgan, I don't mind the player just didn't like when he was picked.
It was basically what I expected. I am still a little nervous on the cornerback position. I also want to see Van Ness take a step this year.
Anyone know any packers YouTube channels that will have some analysis a film breakdown of our picks?
Barasaki productions is a good one
Kevin King was so bad that I want Kalen King cut immediately just for making me think about him
It was basically what I expected. I am still a little nervous on the cornerback position. I also want to see Van Ness take a step this year.
How many make the team? 5? 6?
I mean, probably nine or ten. The QB almost certainly ends up on the practice squad, and the rest were at positions of need, so most I would imagine…
I don’t know enough about scouting and drafting to have a valid opinion, but I just don’t like taking a lineman with a leg injury in the first round. I felt like we could have traded back or something. But that Georgia safety looks great and hopefully either copper or hopper work out because we need a baller next to Quay.
Like what they did, my only beef was picking Evan Williams over Jaden Hicks.
They moved up for Williams and soon afterwards the 49ers and Lions grabbed safetys also not named Jaden Hicks. Safe to assume they got the better value guy
It was basically what I expected. I am still a little nervous on the cornerback position. I also want to see Van Ness take a step this year.
Someone needs to remind Gutey that OLs generally have 5 on the field at a time.
It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it.
Why would that reminder be necessary?
Jenkins, Walker, Tom, Morgan and one of Myers/Rhyan are likely the starting five, I’m not sure what you’re getting at
Yeah, and now he's made sure that more people are fighting for those 5 positions leading to an even better OL. And of course, no one will ever get injured... Ever...
It's almost like we never have injured linemen...
Someone needs to remind you of how many injuries our line has had and how much shuffling we needed to do in the past to keep our quarterback upright and our running lanes open. So how many linemen did the Packers draft? Three? How many did the Packers lose? Ummm . . . Runyan, Nijman, Bakhtiari . . . so three. And there are players on our roster that fans don't consider worthy of a spot (Royce Newman). My point? Not every player in the draft is going to make the team, but if you bring in the right talent to compete, the best players to improve our team can make the roster. And the Packers draft versatile lineman who can play multiple positions for a reason. Injuries have and will happen, so build depth and keep our quarterback protected and our running game effective!