2020 Packers Draft... 'A 1,001 ways for fans to confess that they are still butt-hurt that the Packers drafted a QB instead of a WR'.

[vegas492]

Well, you kindda gotta wait 3 years to grade a draft class, right?  So let's take a look at 2020, as they've now played for 3 years.  I'm not going to go into a "redraft" with hindsight who should have been taken.  I'm just looking at who was picked, where, and the production they've had.  You all can debate who should have been picked.  LOL!

1.26.  Jordan Love, QB.  The best grade I can give this pick is a D-, if I cannot give it an I for Incomplete.  I feel it is hard to have an incomplete after 3 seasons in the NFL, but Jordan Love could be the guy that earns that I.  He was pretty, uh, terrible as a rookie.  Sure there was covid, but bad is bad and he was bad.  Now, I feel like he's made some good strides since then and this year he looked completely different when he had to play a few snaps.  He still could be the future of the QB position in GB, or he could be traded and we start over.  We've hashed it out over and over on him.  There are reasons you can find to be optimistic about him, or skeptical about him.  And to me, both sides are correct.  My final grade....Incomplete.  If pressed to give a grade, D-.

2.62.  AJ Dillon, RB.  Quadzilla.  I love the guy.  He's played with some kids (at a birthday party) in our kindda neighborhood.  Lots of great stories about him as a person up in Door County.  But as a player?  3 years, 419 carries, 1815 yards.  64 receptions, 540 yards.  16 total TD's.  His hands have impressed me.  He runs tough.  But are those stats good enough for a round 2 RB?  One that is still time sharing with an elite back?  While I do love the guy, and I am happy that he is on the team, I have to say that I'm not sure that this is a great use of a second round pick.  And he's no "lock" to get a second contract from GB.  My final grade....C+.

3.94.  Josiah DeGuara, TE/HB.  Who?  That's what I said when we drafted him.   After 3 years, he's carved out a role in the offense as a lead H-back.  We don't really throw to him.  39 for 371 and 2 TD's.  While I think he's fine, again, I don't think this was a good use of a third round pick.  Basically we took a blocking fullback in the third round.  Maybe part of that is due to our QB not looking for him, but he's been underwhelming.  My final grade....D+.

5.175.  Kamal Martin, ILB.  Not really sure what exactly happened to him, but he looked like he flashed greatness a few times...and incompetence other times.  So bad he was released after starting some games as a rookie.  Now, he's a 5'th round pick.  I would have liked to see him get through his rookie deal as at least a backup, but that didn't happen.  My final grade.....C-.

6.192.  JRJ.  Jon Runyan Jr, OL.   I remember liking this pick.  We got bloodlines and a guy who played in the cold at Michigan.  What could go wrong?  Well, nothing did.  He's been a starter for while.  Hasn't taken a step forward, but he is a quality starting guard.  You can win with him.  You do hope to be better than him, but if he's your weak link, you are okay.  And let's be fair, he's played both LG and RG and has held up fine at each spot.  And this was a 6'th round pick.  You can't ask for much more out of a 6'th round pick. My final grade.....A.

6.208.  Jake Hanson, OL/C.  Didn't know who he was when we drafted him.  Can't tell you with certainty if he is still on the roster.  Can tell you that he must be smart and look good with just a helmet on.  Because the coaches loved him this past season.  And anyone with eyeballs could see that the man cannot play at this level when the pads go on.  Even as your last lineman on the bench, you gotta hope to be better than him.  My final grade.....D+.

6.209.  Simon Stepaniak, OL.  All I remember about him is that he was hurt or he had a chance.  Well, that lottery ticket didn't hit at all.  My final grade.....F.

7.236.  Vernon Scott, S.   We like to take some bigger safeties, late, right?  Like all of them, I thought he had a chance, and he's had chances and I want to say he hasn't been awful and maybe he's gotten a few specials snaps in there.  For a 7'th round pick, my final grade......C+.

7.242.  Jonathan Garvin, OLB.   Another lottery ticket.  Sure looks the part.  I want to say he was young with a good athletic profile.  Has not put it together yet.  Also...he's still on the team (I think) and he's gotten some snaps every year.  My final grade....B.  

In summary....I remember this draft.  The covid draft.  I remember thinking man, MLF looks thrilled with his first three picks.  He's going to be able to do what he wants to do now.  And?  I don't think that has been the case.  This is a largely disappointing draft.  

My final overall grade.....D.

The only saving grace is that this grade can still go up if Love starts and looks competent.  And maybe Dillon has a jump forward left in him.

What do you think?  Am I too critical or not critical enough?

 

[15412]

Agree with most all except for Martin getting a C-, I go D- at best and I don't know a grade can be given to the Love pick.  Incomplete but if pressed a solid B based on the concept of development and trusting the Packer war room prospect analysis.  Got to stay true to your board.

[hitnhope]

The most impactful player we got was Dillon.   A backup running back that other teams get close to the same production without investing a 2nd round pick.

Love = F ;  No impact over the entire rookie contract on a team that was 13-3 and should have been trying to get over the hump to win a SB.  Not Love's fault for this grade.  Gute picked him 3 years too early.

Runyan = C+ ;   He has started a lot of games, but really isn't very good.   Players like him are available.   That said players like this are the shortfall of Gute's drafting.  He doesn't get enough contributors.  Especially above replacement level contributors. A player like Sitton or Lange is an A.  A player like Runyon is still a C+ IMO.

The rest of the grades I agree with except for Kamal Martin. He did nothing and should be a D or D-.

My overall grade would be an F.  This draft did little to nothing to help the Packers overall.   It is the kind of draft that bad teams have.

[PackFan13]

How he still has a job after this nightmare draft is the real shocker. So bad and we were so close. Going to go down as one of the worst in Packers history.

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by PackFan13

[Cousin Eddie]

3 minutes ago, PackFan13 said:

How he still has a job after this nightmare draft is the real shocker. So bad and we were so close. Going to go down as one of the worst in Packers history.

 

You cannot say for sure until we know how Love pans out. Could go down as one of the worst or one of the best. How Love pans out will determine how good or bad this Draft was. Period. 

[PackFan13]

13 minutes ago, Cousin Eddie said:

You cannot say for sure until we know how Love pans out. Could go down as one of the worst or one of the best. How Love pans out will determine how good or bad this Draft was. Period. 

Love needs to be all pro for multiple years for it to begin to be worth it. Horrific draft philosophy and took out the advantage of drafting a young QB, them being on a relatively cheap contract the first 5 years.

It'll never be one of the best. Love will never be Rodgers level or even Favre level. We were a game away and have had nothing but a solid guard and decent RB help in the time they were drafted.

The Dillon pick is nearly as shocking as the Love pick. Gute is in over his head and has the most leeway in the league since we don't have an owner. Imagine drafting a back up QB, RB in the first two rounds when it's your strongest position. Jerry Jones would have spit in his face at the notion.

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by PackFan13

[Cousin Eddie]

19 minutes ago, PackFan13 said:

Love needs to be all pro for multiple years for it to begin to be worth it. Horrific draft philosophy and took out the advantage of drafting a young QB, them being on a relatively cheap contract the first 5 years.

It'll never be one of the best. Love will never be Rodgers level or even Favre level. We were a game away and have had nothing but a solid guard and decent RB help in the time they were drafted.

The Dillon pick is nearly as shocking as the Love pick. Gute is in over his head and has the most leeway in the league since we don't have an owner. Imagine drafting a back up QB, RB in the first two rounds when it's your strongest position. Jerry Jones would have spit in his face at the notion.

 

So you can see into the future? You know for a fact Love will not be great? Are you Nostradamus? Tell me what the next winning lottery numbers will be then.

 

You obviously don't like Gute no matter what he does. Is your first name Eliot?

[vegas492]

41 minutes ago, hitnhope said:

The most impactful player we got was Dillon.   A backup running back that other teams get close to the same production without investing a 2nd round pick.

Love = F ;  No impact over the entire rookie contract on a team that was 13-3 and should have been trying to get over the hump to win a SB.  Not Love's fault for this grade.  Gute picked him 3 years too early.

Runyan = C+ ;   He has started a lot of games, but really isn't very good.   Players like him are available.   That said players like this are the shortfall of Gute's drafting.  He doesn't get enough contributors.  Especially above replacement level contributors. A player like Sitton or Lange is an A.  A player like Runyon is still a C+ IMO.

The rest of the grades I agree with except for Kamal Martin. He did nothing and should be a D or D-.

My overall grade would be an F.  This draft did little to nothing to help the Packers overall.   It is the kind of draft that bad teams have.

I actually agree with you on Dillon, though I can't help but wonder what those stats would be if we used him more....

Love...again, I agree.

Runyan, for where he was picked in the draft was an A.  I take round/pick into account.

Kamal Martin started games as a 5th rounder and was being talked about as a "steal" when in camp.  Then something went really, really wrong.  I put his score higher because he was just a 5'th round pick.

This is going to be one of the worst Packer draft classes in a long time, unless Dillon breaks out and Love proves to be the future at QB.  And honestly, it's getting a little late for Dillon.

[Toddfather]

22 minutes ago, PackFan13 said:

Love needs to be all pro for multiple years for it to begin to be worth it. Horrific draft philosophy and took out the advantage of drafting a young QB, them being on a relatively cheap contract the first 5 years.

It'll never be one of the best. Love will never be Rodgers level or even Favre level. We were a game away and have had nothing but a solid guard and decent RB help in the time they were drafted.

The Dillon pick is nearly as shocking as the Love pick. Gute is in over his head and has the most leeway in the league since we don't have an owner. Imagine drafting a back up QB, RB in the first two rounds when it's your strongest position. Jerry Jones would have spit in his face at the notion.

 

Obviously there is no factual way to argue this but.... Some line of thinking might conclude drafting Love helped set the fire under 12's *** that brought him back to back MVPs 😁. Anyways, I agree how Love pans out is going to be the biggest factor in grading this draft. 

[vegas492]

38 minutes ago, Cousin Eddie said:

You cannot say for sure until we know how Love pans out. Could go down as one of the worst or one of the best. How Love pans out will determine how good or bad this Draft was. Period. 

Love can be a 10 year starter at QB and it still wouldn't push this draft class to an A in my book.  But, it would certainly move the needle.

At the time of the draft, I remember thinking that I hated the first three picks.  But MLF was beaming with joy.  Like he got "his" guys for "his" system.  I was convinced that they would play at a high level.

And we got a RB who isn't good enough to be a bell cow, though he's built like it.  And a blocking H-back who isn't even looked at in the passing game.  And a QB who was taken too early.

I can defend the front office on a lot of things, but this is a poor draft class so far.

[vegas492]

6 minutes ago, Cousin Eddie said:

So you can see into the future? You know for a fact Love will not be great? Are you Nostradamus? Tell me what the next winning lottery numbers will be then.

 

You obviously don't like Gute no matter what he does. Is your first name Eliot?

You don't have to see into the future to see that this class was very meh.  And you don't need to see in to the future to realize that we wasted the rookie QB contract.

The one saving grace that I did not mention, and should have is this...

The play of #12 after the selection of Love.  I'm not going to include that in a draft grade, but obviously that selection lit a fire under #12.

Edited February 27, 2023 by vegas492
I now hate myself for not reading Toddfather's post first.

[Cousin Eddie]

2 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

Love can be a 10 year starter at QB and it still wouldn't push this draft class to an A in my book.  But, it would certainly move the needle.

At the time of the draft, I remember thinking that I hated the first three picks.  But MLF was beaming with joy.  Like he got "his" guys for "his" system.  I was convinced that they would play at a high level.

And we got a RB who isn't good enough to be a bell cow, though he's built like it.  And a blocking H-back who isn't even looked at in the passing game.  And a QB who was taken too early.

I can defend the front office on a lot of things, but this is a poor draft class so far.

I didn't like the draft either and I'm highly skeptical, but it's too early to judge. IF Love has a hall of fame career and wins a superb owl or more, then it is absolutely an A+ draft. 

[MacReady]

This draft took a Lombardi away from the Packers.

[vegas492]

5 minutes ago, Cousin Eddie said:

I didn't like the draft either and I'm highly skeptical, but it's too early to judge. IF Love has a hall of fame career and wins a superb owl or more, then it is absolutely an A+ draft. 

HOF career.  Wins at least one title.

Hmmm.  Certainly that is now an A+ selection.

And QB being the most important player....and being that the selection took major stones....I can go as high as an A.

I can do an A+ if Dillon ALSO becomes our lead back and rushes for 1,100 yards or more in 3 straight seasons at some point and time....just not on the X-Box or Playstation.

Do we have a deal?

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by vegas492

[Brit Pack]

Ohhh this draft hurts the most!!! I don't think I have ever loved a player more than Justin Jefferson and I was wanting us to trade our 3rd rounder to move up and get him. To see the Vikes draft him just crushed me. I've never been the same again