Grade the draft

[MaximusGluteus]

Jayden Reed was actually my favorite receiver in my pre-Combine scouting but I wrote him off to GB after he weighed in at 183 and his RAS wasn't super high.  I really like the guy and the way he plays.

I also like Grant DuBose a lot but wasn't sure if Gute would draft a WR from a smaller school (obviously Christian Watson is from a small school but he is an anomaly because he's an absolute freak amongst freaks), so that was pretty cool.

I'm not as high on Dontayvion Wicks but hopefully he finds his 2021 form and can be a solid player.

[Packerraymond]

We've added Enagbare, Wyatt, LVN, Wooden, Brooks to that front 7 group in 12 months. 

I don't like to grade out drafts pick by pick, but in a year short on draftable players, we added 11 guys I thought were pretty safely draftable players. That's an accomplishment. 

[Striker]

F for failing to draft Luke Wypler and Schoonmaker to with Lukas Van Ness and Luke Musgrave.

But seriously, seems like a solid B+/B draft.

[PackFan13]

I love the idea of the draft. I was big on needing to use 2 of the top 3 picks on pass catchers. Van Ness always seemed like the most likely pick if he was there. I'm onboard with both the position and player. I liked Kincaid over JSN but knew it would require trading back as it was was too high at 13 for our regime. I'm reluctantly handing in the same card for Van Ness while simultaneously texting Dalton "I'm sorry-it's not you, it's me"   Can't complain with Van Ness at 13 and props for getting 13 for 15 swap. ( I wont entertain trade backs)

I'm disappointed we didn't get any of the top 2 tiers TE's for me (1-Kincaid, tier 2 LaPorta, Mayer, Washington). Washington seemed to be off our board due to medicals. I wanted a trade up to get our guy simliar to Watson last year. I'd trade Musgrave and Kraft for LaPorta or Mayer (would have cost more than a 2nd and 3rd to move up to the bottom of the first for Kincaid) then snag a guy like Whyle later. I realize this is all hindsight and can see the appeal of both Musgrave and Kraft, hope they both wear gold jackets a get multiple rings on the packers)

I had no idea about Reed but i'm hopeful that it works out as that type of player was badly needed to our WR room. Hated to see Mingo go a few picks earlier but I trust Gute. The second round WR is the packers speciality, I'm glad he seems to be righting the ship on that. I don't think he's near the player Watson is but adds a needed element. Nice to pick up a few picks in the process too. (Sydney Brown was an interesting option given our love of freaks and a need at safety) 

Wooden in the 4th makes sense, I won't pretend to know **** about him but love adding to the D Line. 

Clifford I wasn't aware of but am shocked by the pick after reading about him. My co-worker is a Penn St alum and couldn't believe he was drafted so he was giving me **** instantly. 

DLine / WR / Kicker (meh)  and 4 lotto tickets at positions of need. Can't complain about much there.  Gute doubled his pass catchers record from 3 to 6. I'm glad he realized both rooms needed talent badly. No ILB in the first or RB in the second. Love to see it.  B

I'd say he deserves a spotted cow or two tonight or as I learned in Green Bay it's known as...

 

 

[CWood21]

I'd give this draft a solid B+.  It felt like the Packers were consistently hitting doubles.  It isn't sexy that they weren't home runs, but they also weren't striking out either.

[HighCalebR]

Im excited. Wish there wasnt a 3 month break now until real things happen. I think we matched need with value pretty well. I think they got their guy more often than settling for the last of a group. 

I dont think barry can have any excuses to not turn in a quality defense, vets in key spots with a healthy youth injection to depth. i think the O is in a solid, while inexperienced, position to grow. Very interested to see how the young tackles go into year 2. 

Looking forward to this season more than i was the previous one, though i have lower expectations. Its an interesting time to be a fan. See if we cant rise to be the cream of the crop.

 

[Gopackgonerd]

Gotta look more into the later round guys but overall I feel like we filled a lot of holes in this draft.

I mean when you look at what we had before the draft in the TE room. I feel like that was some good work there by Gute, just completely revamp that room. 

Musgrave is a raw player but the upside is there with his speed and receiving ability, his blocking is raw but he is a willing blocker, just needs to put on more strength there. I feel like the packers just really are counting on him being our field stretcher over the middle because he seriously can move. Needs to work on pushing forward after he makes contact, but I think we will get him there as he gains more strength. Kraft looks to be our Gronkian pick, love his game as well, big lumbering guy that can plow through defenders and blocks pretty well. Feel like we got the full package with him, not amazing receiver but he isn't bad either, and opposite of Musgrave he can break tons of tackles. 2 different players but we desperately needed some new blood in that room with different styles and we accomplished that.

Looking at LVN, I mean some people didn't like it but it makes a ton of sense. 1 he is a premium position, 2 Gary isn't probably going to be ready for the start of the season, and 3 Preston's probably final year. You can't have enough pass rushers and we needed to improve there with and without Gary on the field. LVN never started but produced a lot as a player, he's very versatile which is going to help a ton rushing the passer deploying a ton of combinations of players to keep the rotations fresh. I think he looks the part as a pass rusher inside and out and he has great closing speed to the QB. Not worried about his bench because he won with power a lot in college and guys usually put on strength in the NFL anyways. Gary, Clark, LVN, and Preston and probably Wyatt in some formations on the field all at once is going to be fun to watch.

Reed a lot of people thought was a reach but I still love him in the slot role, we really didn't have that guy for a while besides like Cobb but, Cobb wasn't his younger self anymore. He's small but really he plays a lot bigger than he is, his QB was underthrowing a lot and to his benefit showed he can make contested catches. Also I like his feet for route running. LaFleur is gonna have some fun with him.

Getting 2 DL with pass rushing ability in the later rounds is  pretty insane too. Didn't watch much of Wooden/Brooks besides highlights but you can tell they really want to sure up the pass rush. Probably what kills Barry's defense the most is when we can't get there with 4. If there was anywhere the defense needed help to combat Barry's scheme it was pass rush.

Getting a QB/K in the later rounds is whatever, I mean I'm not gonna piss and moan about where they were drafted, we needed bodies there. Maybe it's a hot take but I dont think Backup QBs are really that valuable. It's very rare one comes in and saves a season, usually if your QB1 goes down the season is a dud anyways. Doubt we were gonna find a guy that could compete with Love if he doesn't pan out. I still wonder if we'll get a vet when all is said and done. Kicker I mean Crosby is on his way out as well and in the 6th it's not horrible value. Overall it doesn't move the draft up or down for me.

Overall i feel like this is a B+ draft, you pretty much accomplished what your needs were besides Saftey, which Amos is still a possibility. Also don't sleep on Rudy Ford, he was really good for us last year. Jury is still out on Savage but I'm fine with it being our weakest position group atm on D. 

I just love we got Pass rush help and weapons for Love to develop with. The rooms are more filled out now and I feel more confident in them before we came into the draft adding 6 guys. Gotta expect at least 2 or 3 to work out, if we can get 2 I'll be pretty happy.

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Gopackgonerd

[ReasonablySober]

My big hope going in was a double dip in TEs. I figured it would have to come in the first two rounds, so the fact that they got two favorites in two and three was always going to make this an A for me. I'm extremely excited for the offense going forward. 

[beekay414]

I am drunk. I am drunk on IGWT. IGWT to the fullest. Gutey is god.

[Arthur Penske]

 

[wgbeethree]

A bunch of athletic pass rushers and pass catchers early.  Seems like what we need. 

High upside players/RAS guys later.

No idea if it works but I'm down with the reasoning. 

B

[Smidgeon]

1 hour ago, Arthur Penske said:

 

Oh no!

Thus much praise means the class is doomed (I hope not).

Boom or bust class with many swings at the plate. 

Last year, I was iffy on the first rounders but loved the potential of the rest. This year, LVN wasn't my first choice, but it makes sense. The rest of the class is hit or miss. I don't know which will hit and which will miss. But someone is going to hit. We're due.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Smidgeon

[OneTwoSixFive]

As most people do, I accept that snap grades are relatively worthless...............but they are fun to do.

If you are Grading A+ to F- where an average draft is C- (9th spot out of 18), I'd say my snap grade is B- (6th spot). That's a very solid draft.

[Chili]

With our #13 pick I wasn't keen on the idea of drafting JSN, thought that spot was too high for him. His bread and butter is route running, agility and hands but it was also obvious to me that he lacked speed, physicality and power. If I saw that in any other WR prospect I would've assumed 2nd round. I wonder if the Packers felt the same. Instead I was all in on an OT or EDGE with this pick and I strongly suspect Skoronski was the OT they were targeting whilst Van Ness was the EDGE guy they wanted. Skoronski met the Packers thresholds, has outstanding footwork and versatility, both which the Packers love so I think he was the top OL on their board for those reasons. I admit I didn't look at Van Ness too closely but did like his highlights but now looking more closely he couldn't have been a more obvious Packers pick. Skoronski was taken a few picks before ours leaving Van Ness to be our guy. Looking around perhaps Gonzalez may have been an option but happy with who we chose. Good start. A+

With our #42 pick I had one eye on Burgeron and Michael Mayer but both were taken before our pick. It was widely expected we would be take a WR or TE here but nobody was quite sure who. With a number of TE already taken the decision was basically made for us with Musgrave. I didn't like his tape but the size and athleticism is obvious. I can't really complain. It would've been strange if they felt "pressured" to take a TE here having the likes of Kraft and Schoonmaker still on the board but I guess Gute couldn't ignore the size and athletic upside. I liked Mauch for this pick but if the Packers wanted him they had to wait till their next pick. I also liked Tuipulotu but he wasn't required due to the Van Ness selection. I will give this a C+

With our #50 pick and with Mauch sadly off the board just a few picks prior the common consensus was probably WR and lots of people had their eye on Hyatt. So did I. The selection of Jayden Reed was a big surprise. I had not heard anything about him in the pre-draft process nor have I watched any tape but I wasn't too worried because the Packers were generally pretty good when it comes to WRs. I put on the tape and I got to say he is interesting, very interesting. In some ways he's the opposite of JSN, he's quicker but not as agile, he can play physical whereas JSN is not. His hands looks good and shown ability to play outside by jumping or pulling away to make the catch. A very well rounded player without anything popping out at you. He will give the Packers something different on the field and having variation is a good thing. B+

With the #78 pick it was at this point where my knowledge of players started to fall apart. Kraft was my favourite TE in the draft process and knew he would be a culture fit for us. There was a chance he would fall to us in the 3rd round because he always did in all of my mock drafts. Sure enough he fell to us and his selection made too much sense and also made me feel a little bit better about the Musgrave pick by pairing these two together. It was a no brainer pick here as far as I'm concerned. A+

#116 Colby Wooden. Had an eye on Zavala but he was taken a few picks prior to ours. Knew nothing about him but a quick look suggested he was Lowry's replacement. B+

#149 Sean Clifford. I was expecting us to draft a QB but didn't think it would be this early. Again know nothing about him other than being one of our top 30 visits. Brief look at highlights doesnt look so bad but people more informed than I weren't happy with this pick. D+

#159 Dontayvion Wicks. I heard about him during the pre draft process to to bringing him on a top 30 visit, had a brief looks at his highlights and really liked what I saw. He fits the mold of WR that LaFleur and Gute likes. B+

#179 Karl Brooks. I'm all for adding depth and pass rush on the DL. Again know nothing about him. B+

#207 Anders Carlson. I guess this means Crosby is not coming back. NFL bio is not positive reading. Unusually tall not sure if a good thing. Meh, personally would've rather have waited till the 7th round to nab a kicker. Would've rather have grabbed a DB or a RB here. At this point there were probably no OL worthy of being drafted. D-

#232 Carrington Valentine. Finally a CB pick and what a name.  Nice athleticism and tape looks interesting, shows off his aggression and passion but you can tell he gambles too much. Probably not a reliable corner at this point but all the tools are there. A little skinny but its not a deal breaker as long he can use his long arms to defend and intercept passes. I'm really hoping he replaces Jean-Charles. It would be an athletic upgrade. B+

#235 Lew Nicholls. I watched his tape before day 3 started. Looks decent enough but not seeing much speed or agility. Really wanted Keaton Michell so this felt like a bit of a let down. Packers probably wanted a bigger back for 3rd down pass protection. Not feeling it with his tape. Doesn't feel like an improvement over Taylor and Goodson. C-

#242 Anthony Johnson. Finally a safety but is he any good? I have no idea. Can't find viable highlights, as a free safety he's always cut off from the picture. Looked at photos and looks physically underdeveloped when compared to his peers. Interviews shows his body and mannerisms doesn't scream NFL player to me. D-

#256 Grant DuBose. Similar to Wicks, very interesting tape, just more depth at WR. B+

Overall grade: B-

 

I can't believe how much we revamped our receiving core. Within 2 drafts we have an entirely new set of pass catchers at WR & TE. So young, so raw. A bit risky, hopefully Love can grow as an NFL QB with such an inexperienced group of receivers. So much potential there. Gute has clearly added speed, athleticism, size and physicality. What not to like. Hopefully Watson and Doubs will have learnt lots from Cobb and will be able to pass on what they learned to the new guys and continue the high standards at WR.

I'm liking the look of our DL. It appears we have upgraded from Lowry and replaced Jarran Reed. Have we improved our run defence - that remains to be seen.

If there was one disappointment it was not bringing in an OL. I don't like Newman at all and would like to see him pushed off the roster but unfortunately due to the way the draft turned out he probably sticks around for at least another season.

I'm a little worried about our DB depth. There's lots of potential so hopefully someone will step up in both safety spots as well as the nickle.

I have low expectations going into the season but i'm liking the overall talent we have.

Edited April 30, 2023 by Chili

[Mazrimiv]

Added 3 guys on both sides of the ball that I really like, and that's more than I can usually say after a draft.

I won't want to fire Gute again until maybe October.

Grade: B