Grade the Packers Draft

[Leader]

5 minutes ago, NFLGURU said:

 He's got tools that will contribute this year.  I just don't think he'll get the targets many are thinking he'll get.   Definite weapon though.  

He should. The guy's got skills.

Use. Them.

[Tperk]

1 minute ago, Leader said:

He should. The guy's got skills.

Use. Them.

225 targets have left the building with DA17 and MVS gone. Watson should see 75-100 targets this year at a minimum.

[Leader]

3 minutes ago, Tperk said:

225 targets have left the building with DA17 and MVS gone. Watson should see 75-100 targets this year at a minimum.

I have no idea of the numbers.........I'm just saying getting this kid the ball wont involve intricate route running or complex "learning curves" from the get go - and he'll be just as fast at the get go as he is today.

So....use him.

[Arthur Penske]

30 minutes ago, wgbeethree said:

In all fairness if someone posted a mock 3 months ago that went exactly like the draft did there is absolutely ZERO chance it would have been well received and you can't convince me otherwise.

Arguably the best WR in the league and a second for an ILB and an FCS wide receiver is a trade 99% of this board would crap all over if it was any other team.

I gave it the C. I hate it other than the OL picks.

How can you hate pairing Wyatt with Kenny and co?

Edited May 1, 2022 by Arthur Penske

[R T]

If Watson has 35-40 catches and 600 yards, it will be a very successful season for him. Thinking more than that probably isn't very realistic.  

[A2j1m]

Q. Walker - B

- It was unexpected for me and I was a bit upset but I see why we did it. Olave and Burks were gone. I like the idea of more speed at LB. I've been asking for this for years now. Glad we noticed that speedy LBs make your defense great.

D. Wyatt - A+

- Terrific pick. He is 24 but with us in win now mode, we get a polished, ready day 1 DT who is and will become an elite run stopper in this league.

C. Watson - B+

- I love this kids athletic skill set, I just see a few years of development and I just worry Rodgers will struggle not having that true No.1 guy to throw to. Olave, Jameson, Wilson were the guys I see has day 1 guys who are ready and can easily be 1k yards 8TDs guys. I do think Watson has the potential to be the best of this class and thats why i give him a B+ maybe A- grade. Theres a chance though that hes nothing more than MVS and trading 2 2nds for that is worry some.

S. Ryhan - A+

- One of my favorite Olineman in the draft and I think can come in right away and start for us or at least finish the year as the starter. Adding him with Bak and Jenkins gives us the potential of thee best Oline in football. With us being run heavy, we need a top line.

R. Doubs - B

- Solid pick really. I dont see anything that excites me and has me thinking he's going to be our future Adams but I do think he could be a solid No2 guy alongside Watson. Was very consistent in college, so I like that.

Z. Tom- B

- I actually really really like Tom, I just wish we went ahead and looked into a Saftey because we don't have much depth and Amos and Savage are really the only guys i'd trust. Amos in contract year has me thinking he wont be here next year. Nick Cross and Kerby Jones went off the board so maybe they just didnt see anyone of value. Idk I just worry because I saw S as our biggest need on defense outside of run defense.

K. Enagbare- B-

- Great value here but when I watched his film I didn't really see much of anything that makes me think hes going to be good. He was projected alot higher so maybe there's something there that i'm just not seeing. 

 

As far as our 7th rd picks, I think we did ok. I dont know much about them to give a grade.

 

Overall I say we had a solid B+/ A- draft. Only way I would give an A or A+ was if we got Wilson or Jameson and addressed a saftey before rd 5. I like what we did though and super excited to watch this defense next year and excited to see how Watson develops. I dont think we've ever really had someone of his skill set on this team before. Like I think we will finally get to see KR and punt return touchdowns haha

[Scoremore]

1 minute ago, R T said:

If Watson has 35-40 catches and 600 yards, it will be a very successful season for him. Thinking more than that probably isn't very realistic.  

Thinking 65 targets 800 yards.  That's around 4 targets a game.  Don't think that is out of the question.  Kid is going to get playing time right away.  There is no #1 or #2 ahead of him like rookie WR's in the past.  It's out of necessity.  He'll also be our primary deep threat.  So his yards per catch is going to be high.  Probably low balling his yardage total actually.  Packers have never been in this position before.  So you have to dispense with the old rules. 

[PossibleCabbage]

1 minute ago, A2j1m said:

As far as our 7th rd picks, I think we did ok. I dont know much about them to give a grade.

If "what an NFL team does in the 7th round" in any way shapes or informs one's opinion of the draft, that's a strong indicator of severe misconceptions about the draft.

[A2j1m]

29 minutes ago, Leader said:

I have no idea of the numbers.........I'm just saying getting this kid the ball wont involve intricate route running or complex "learning curves" from the get go - and he'll be just as fast at the get go as he is today.

So....use him.

I see a lot of end arounds. Maybe quick screens with Lazard ahead blocking for him and maybe 1-2 deep balls. Then ofc he should be our return guy, as I hope he is because with his speed and abilty in the open field we can get good field possession on some drives. He's just a very verstaile weapon, yeah he has some flaws but over time I truly think he can become a top WR in this league. He can become our Deeboo Samuel

[{Family Ghost}]

Walker - C -- Just don't see this pick being good value at #22.  

Wyatt - A -- We've needed a top flight DT prospect for quite some time, and to land one at #28 is pretty astounding.

Watson - B -- I think the sky is the limit for the player, but the Packers gave up too much value wise when it comes to trade chart.  I'm not opposed to Gute going up and getting his guy, but once they failed to acquire him at #32 .. the price should have dropped at #34 since you lose a year from player control.  

Rhyon - B -- Could be an A if can stick at T, drops to a B if he projects best to guard.  Solid pick either way .. just felt we really needed a OT.

Doubs - B -- Not a bad pick at all, just would have liked someone in the tier right above him. We'll have to see how he looks in training camp, but based off what little knowledge I have of the guy it seems like a solid pick.

Tom - B -- I'm not sure where he will be playing or what role he will have.  It seems like a very solid pick here, but as someone mentioned above I really wanted to see another safety added to the mix.  Big dropoff coming if Amos or Savage is out to injury.

Enagbare - A -- I suppose this guy has enough flaws to warrant a fall on draft day, but almost every source out there had him as a 2nd - 3rd round selection prior to the draft.  I think the 40 time hurt him, but that should have been baked into most of the pre draft grades.  This seems like a potential steal.

Carpenter/Ford/Walker/Toure - B -- Carpenter & Ford seemed kind of blah, but Walker & Toure seemed like a little better value.  Walker was a 2nd -3rd round pick in many circles .. seems that he has some maturing to do and will need some good coaching.  If it works out I think he can play in this league.  Toure has some skills .. it will be interesting to see if he can climb high enough to make the roster.  

All told .. Packers Grade - B+  Good solid draft.  

[NFLGURU]

1 hour ago, Scoremore said:

Thinking 65 targets 800 yards.  That's around 4 targets a game.  Don't think that is out of the question.  Kid is going to get playing time right away.  There is no #1 or #2 ahead of him like rookie WR's in the past.  It's out of necessity.  He'll also be our primary deep threat.  

I figure Cobb, Lazard and Watkins (until he gets hurt) will see many of the targets.  Does Amari Rodgers make a jump?  I think Watson will see selective targets as he inprocesses through the Rodgers trust factory. I dont think Watson is going to be a go to guy but he'll get his shots through the season.  

Edited May 1, 2022 by NFLGURU

[Gopackgonerd]

If Rodgers and Watson don't stumble in training camp getting on the same page i could see him getting 600-800 yards easily. But i have a hunch Lazard is gonna get majority if the targets early on

[cannondale]

Why do I get the feeling that if the Packers took Pierce instead of Watson, fans would be happier ? Will probably be a decent pro, but he has no outstanding qualities other than he apparently said something nice about Green Bay.

[Leader]

5 minutes ago, cannondale said:

Why do I get the feeling that if the Packers took Pierce instead of Watson, fans would be happier ? Will probably be a decent pro, but he has no outstanding qualities other than he apparently said something nice about Green Bay.

I would have liked Pierce as the WR2 from this draft.....just didnt break that way....and I'm glad Gute didnt run the risk of waiting around to 53 to draft the first WR. 
Hindsight and revisionist history are a staple of draft considerations.

[Chili]

I was watching the tape for all three Georgia linebackers and I have to admit that Channing Tindall is the one that I initially liked the most. He pops on tape, I love his closing burst to the ball carrier. However I soon realised he was never blocked, he was free to go downhill and I also did not see any coverage plays

With Walker we do see him shedding blocks with ease and we do see him drop into coverage as well as going downhill. He's far more versatile and with his physical gifts I'm actually not surprised he was drafted first out of the three. The draft is about what you will do in the NFL, not what you did in college.

Dean has excellent tape but the reality is he is far too small. Linebackers this small rarely succeed in the NFL. I thought he might have potential as a S/LB hybrid as he showed some coverage highlights - this is where he will likely transition to in the NFL.

With that in mind i'm not as disappointed drafting Walker with our first round pick. With the WRs gone i'm not sure who else we could've taken at that pick. Maybe we tried to trade down but was unable to. I'm thinking Strange, Cine, Linderbaum, Wyatt, Kalaftis would've been the other contenders for that pick - they all feel like Packers type players. I've always wanted the Packers to draft a bigger and athletic linebacker anyway so I suppose I should be happy. C+

With our next first round pick Wyatt seems to be the most obvious choice. Perhaps a WR would've been taken here but it seems clear that the next tier of WRs would be available in the 2nd round freeing us up to pick a different position instead. This was a much needed boost to our DL. A-

For the 2nd round I was happy with any one of Pickens, Watson, Pierce and Thornton. We all knew there was a possibility of a trade up but none of us was sure who it would be for. I'm delighted with Watson despite losing that extra 2nd round pick. The 2nd round represented our very last chance to land a starting WR and with a bare WR room Gute could not afford to let the board fall to him as he has done in the past, he had to be proactive. This was the moment we HAD to make sure we nabbed the best WR on the board. Thankfully Gute did just that. It was a necessary move by Gute and he hand picked his guy rather than picking whoever was left.

I concede it's possible Gute over-estimated when the run of WRs was going to be, Gute thought early 2nd but instead it happened much later in the middle. I'm sure seeing Pierce drafted at our old 2nd round slot riled up some Packers fans! 🤣 If we didn't trade up then yes there might've been a possibility of us drafting Pierce and getting one of Goedeke, Sam Williams, Cam Taylor Britt or Drake Jackson, but there was no guarantees. As we see later in the draft Gute recovered nicely from passing on some of those players so props to Gute for that. Whilst not perfect execution, as we traded up for someone worthwhile and not some random dude which leaves you scratching your head I will give this an B+

With many of the top OL off the board landing Rhyan was an excellent get. He was a Packers OL threshold guy and a OT who can move to guard. Great hair game, what not to like. A+

At this point in the draft I was fairly confident we would start thinking about double dipping at OL and WR considering the amount of viable players still on the board. Sure enough it happened with Romeo Doubs. I watched his highlights prior to the draft and there were alot of things to like including his level of production. I really liked Shakir and he was available but he just wasn't the right profile of WR for the Packers. Looking around seeing who was taken after us I couldn't see anyone that caught my eye but that speaks to my lack of knowledge of the later round draft prospects. Well it filled an important need and added depth so I will give it an A-

The double dip happened again and this time we drafted OT Tom. everyone on this forum knew he was a very real candidate to be drafted by us. He's a smart, versatile OL who also fitted the Packers thresholds. People noted similarities to Jenkins and that got everyone going. Sure enough...he was drafted. That was probably the MOST predictable late round Packers OL prospect in a while. It was appropriate too because I think this was using Corey Linsley compensatory pick. I had my eye on Waletzko because we needed more tackle types rather than guard types but he's nowhere near as versatile so Tom will do very nicely. A+

The 5th round was going to be the last time we draft somebody until the 7th so we needed to get this right. It honestly could've been anybody, TE, S, CB, EDGE, RB. We actually traded down to gain an extra 7th round pick much to my disappointment because I was hoping to get back a 6th round pick, mainly to selfishly keep the draft interesting. I thought TE and EDGE was completely milked dry at that point but drafting Enagbare, an EDGE peaked my interest. Why him? He didn't run well at all. A closer look I realised he compared well with Drake Jackson and Sam Williams (both top30 visit) in terms of some of the testing numbers. There were all similar height/weight but Emagbare had a superior sized hands, arm length and wingspan. His vert was much better or equal to those guys but his broad and agility numbers were somewhat worse. All those guys were basically alternative versions of Z.Smith so i'm not surprised we targeted that profile. In terms of college production he was a little behind statistically but not by a huge amount so there's some potential there. So basically what Gute did knowing he missed out on Jackson and Williams with the Watson trade up he could find a similar player later with slightly inferior numbers. He scraped the bottom of the barrel and managed to find something. I bet Dominque Robinson was in play for us but we traded down and he was taken right before our pick. It will be interesting to see how Enagbare turns out. B+

Finally the 7th round and this was where our top30 visits came into play. In fact 6 of our 11 draft picks were top30 visits. I thought before the draft we needed a S/LB hybrid for sub packages as Burks left in FA. I knew it wasn't a position that the Packers highly prioritised and as soon I saw Tariq Carpenter on the list of top30 visits I figured he was probably the guy they wanted for that particular role and sure enough he was drafted with the first of our four 7th round picks. Jonathan Ford was the very last of the big bodied DL available. His college production was pathetic, his athleticism was mediocre, his draft bio was not good reading and despite all that they still felt it was worth taking a flyer on him . He's a good looking 335lbs guy so he really should be making more of an impact. I don't think we will keep more than 5 DL so I do expect him to be cut. I did not expect us to triple dip at both OT and WR but indeed this is exactly what we did. First was Rasheed Walker, the starting LT at Penn State. For many people he was mocked many times in the 3rd/4th round so what happened? I guess we will find out eventually. He is another Packers threshold OL and gave me what I wanted, additional OT depth. Lastly we drafted Samori Toure who i'm assuming is a Will Fuller type WR with very good college production, nice to find that all the way down in the 7th. We always wanted that type of WR and now we've got it. At this point in the draft there's no right or wrong picks, everything is pretty much for depth and special teams. 3 out of 4 players with decent to good college production, size and athleticism I will give it an A-

 

OVERALL GRADE: B+