2024 NFL Draft - Packers Focused

[CheezWizHed]

6 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

Interesting that Donovan Jennings got $110K guaranteed as a UDFA.  That's equivalent to an early 7th round pick as far as guaranteed money.  I think he can be a legitimate contender for a backup OG spot.

Yes, oddly small hands, but otherwise a classic high-RAS, Tackle moving to guard OL that we specialize in.  And unless Tom, Morgan, or Walker moves inside, we really aren't that deep at IOL.  I have him at #5 on the depth chart, ahead of Newsome. 

[Joseph Zarr]

I was seeing Jennings, Wisco Long Snapper and Trent Jones as the early favorites to stick in some manner.

[duewizard]

15 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

Could be a huge addition in getting Bowden, the LS from Wisconsin. Arguably the best LS in this class.

Also, Chatfield from OSU really stood out just from watching a few Oladapo plays. 

I like Bowden but think Shimko was better. Cardinals got him though.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, duewizard said:

I like Bowden but think Shimko was better. Cardinals got him though.

I can't say I know anything about either. I saw the NC State kid was rated higher on one site, and Bowden higher on the consensus big board. I was just thinking our LS isn't good, we signed one of the top ones. 

 

[BrewerFan]

2 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Interesting that Donovan Jennings got $110K guaranteed as a UDFA.  That's equivalent to an early 7th round pick as far as guaranteed money.  I think he can be a legitimate contender for a backup OG spot.  Given that Newman got performance escalators that bring his salary to $3.2M this year, I think if it's even close they keep Jennings over Newman.

We are still very thing along the IOL. If there was one thing I wish we could have done in this draft, it would have been grab one more potential starter there...by the time our 3rd rd picks came though, there were so many guys gone. McCormick would have been interesting. Must not have thought much of Mahogany. 

It'd be great if Dillard could revive his career as an IOL.

4 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Pratt was a late 7th round pick.  If someone really wanted him, given the need for QBs league-wide, they would have drafted him.  Highly likely they can get him through to the practice squad.

Maybe, but he also gets a say there. So he may want to go somewhere that has a less stable QB situation. And that's also not accounting for how he may play in the Pre-season. He could play well and still not beat out Clifford. Just hope he makes it a larger conversation and forces the issue in camp and Pre-season.

[CheezWizHed]

2 hours ago, duewizard said:

I like Bowden but think Shimko was better. Cardinals got him though.

I know nothing about either honestly.  Except that Bowden is 2-3" taller and 10-20lbs heavier.  And that may make a big diff at the NFL level.  6'0" 220lb LS seems pretty small. 

[patrickgpe]

Walter football trashed the picks, which probably means it was a good draft. I’m ok with Morgan. I love what they did in round 2. It looks like yesterday they got a ton of players yesterday that fits their system. 
 

I really do enjoy reading the recaps todays and tomorrow with all of the bloggers who think they know more than teams with a full scouting department that there only job is to scout college players all year. 

[duewizard]

1 hour ago, CheezWizHed said:

I know nothing about either honestly.  Except that Bowden is 2-3" taller and 10-20lbs heavier.  And that may make a big diff at the NFL level.  6'0" 220lb LS seems pretty small. 

Maybe it will. I think Shimko has better snap velocity thats why I liked him. Also a good tackler I believe

[Joseph Zarr]

1 hour ago, patrickgpe said:

Walter football trashed the picks, which probably means it was a good draft.. 

That's a safe bet. Walter Football is really really bad. 

[patrickgpe]

31 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

That's a safe bet. Walter Football is really really bad. 

It is. I don’t think it’s the same Walter. I used to go there all of time, but have gone elsewhere. I had to see his take on the draft today and it was unsurprisingly negative 

[Joseph Zarr]

The UDFA Albany WR Julian Hicks is a mildly interesting WR. 6'2" 210-215 with a 9.18 RAS. Definitely seems like if the hands are pure he could see a possibility to make it the Practice Squad. Had a really good year for Albany last year before they made it to the FCS semi-finals and got blown out by South Dakota State.

[CheezWizHed]

3 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

The UDFA Albany WR Julian Hicks is a mildly interesting WR. 6'2" 210-215 with a 9.18 RAS. Definitely seems like if the hands are pure he could see a possibility to make it the Practice Squad. Had a really good year for Albany last year before they made it to the FCS semi-finals and got blown out by South Dakota State.

And one of his RAS comps... Grant DuBose

[BrewerFan]

4 hours ago, Joseph Zarr said:

That's a safe bet. Walter Football is really really bad. 

Again, NFL Draft Buzz...might be worse, but it's a helluva competition to the bottom!

[LouisEly]

I've learned not to go beyond NFL.com, PFF, SI.com, and Packerswire, maybe Bleacher Report if I can't find much on the first four.

[RobDeer 45]

How do you guys think the Packers did in the draft this year?  I don't know enough about these guys to have a strong opinion.  Quick reads seem like we got some great athletes, which I'm always a big fan of.

[BrewerFan]

4 hours ago, RobDeer 45 said:

How do you guys think the Packers did in the draft this year?  I don't know enough about these guys to have a strong opinion.  Quick reads seem like we got some great athletes, which I'm always a big fan of.

I loved the draft. There's a few picks I didn't like. Last year I really wanted Darnell Washington and they drafted Tucker Kraft(both looked pretty good last year and Kraft didn't have the injury concerns). So I'll assume I'm wrong on those and right on the ones I liked!

1-#25-Morgan
I did a mock and Had Morgan, Cooper and Bullard. To be fair, I did a lot of mocks, but I posted that one on Twitter. I also had them each one spot later, but I really love all three picks. The Packers have repeatedly said Rasheed Walker needs to take a big jump if he wants to be the future LT. Coming out of PSU, one of the concerns was his work ethic and his body. He has to put in the work. Jordan Morgan being drafted and both Gute and MLF saying he's going to play LT, that's going to either force Walker to EARN the job...and then Morgan plays RG, or Morgan beats him out and we get better at LT. That's a best-case scenario for me. I wanted to see the OL improved, I think they did that. The Packers seem really confident in their CBs. That was the other group I thought we'd jump on. Mitchell is a perfect fit in a heavy press man scheme, Arnold-I didn't really watch, but people was ranked ~10-15 on most boards. There was some disappointment we didn't move up once Fautanu and Mitchell hit 21, but the Packers had their pick in immediately after the Lions took Arnold. That suggests to me they like Morgan.
I also liked Tyler Guyton and thought he could play OG and had a really high upside, but the Packers develop guys like Morgan really-really well. 

#45-Cooper
-I think there's a consensus on this one. Everyone wanted him, everyone hoped the Packers would draft him in the mid-second. They moved back and added two picks. Gute says they had that trade ready to go BEFORE, again, a team jumped in front of us and took the "Best available" player in Cooper DeJean, probably the guy that Packers fans wanted to see more than anyone...so it'd appear they were again, really happy to get him. 
To me, he's a more physical Quay. I keep hearing people talk about how he's a lighter LB, he's smaller, he's not a MLB. I don't understand that personally. If you get a Guard on a LB, that LB is usually in trouble, but I thought Cooper did as good a job as any at taking on blocks and shedding them.

Gute was asked what he wants in a LB. Did he want a big, physical thumper to compliment Quay, etc...He said he wanted someone who could do it all. He talked about how we'd be in the nickel for the most part and said when you have guys with very different skill sets, it makes it that much harder when one guy comes out. If you have to go from Quay to McDuffie, you're going to have to adjust how you cover with your LBs. That theme continues...at #58

#58-Bullard
He's really similar to McKinney to me. Better in the slot, not as good in open space according to scouting reports, but he was almost exclusively a slot up until last year. Described as the leader of the defense, "as he went, they went," and just a guy who loves to play. Guys that play with that energy...that's huge. 

 

#88-Lloyd
I love this pick in hindsight. Watching him, he's got quick feet, he's short, but strong as hell. 5'8 220, not elite speed, but great quickness. More the type of RB I like to see in this ZBS. The Packers want bigger, physical runners, but they have to get to the hole, they have to be able to read blocks. That's the whole point of zone blocking. You create cutback lanes. I think Lloyd will be a really good back. Some concerns seem to be issues in Pass Pro. 

#91-Hopper
This is the guy most people are the most...perplexed by. As always, Gute gets the benefit of the doubt, but I didn't love it. Payton Wilson, the 6'4 LB who ran a 4.43 was there and went to the Steelers a few picks later...but there were reports they would have taken Hopper. Wilson had injury and age issues. To me, that's not a big issue as his upside was so high and he was just better. Hopper had a poor year in '23, he was much better in '22. There are reports he was injured much of last year( @Joseph Zarrshared some retweets on all these guys, but Hopper in particular that are interesting). 
He's a really good blitzer, good at playing downhill. Struggles with missed tackles, but Gute described him as a "violent tackler."

He's LB4 right now and they clearly liked him more than the consensus big board guys.

#111-Evan Williams
This is a guy I didn't even remember when they drafted him. Going back to the Sr Bowl, I remember them talking about him, but he wasn't even on the PFF draft simulator...which is meaningless, but it's just to say I think it was a surprise pick, but again, there were reports by other teams beat writers that many teams hoped he'd fall to them in Rd4. The Packers got aggressive and went up to get him. If you go back and watch him, he looks very much like Micah Hyde. Not great speed(4.6 40) but quick and really aggressive attacking at the LOS. 

#163-Jacob Monk
Another guy they traded up for. Another guy I didn't really know anything about. I do remember Dane Brugler saying something along the lines of 'everyone's talking about Graham Barton as a Center, but look at Duke's center right now,' something along those lines. He's a guy who looks like he can be a really versatile player. He's an incredible athlete. 9.74 RAS score. Started 58 games at Center and OG...he's strong. I don't know if he's a starter or not, but man, we were thin at OG/C and he appears to be a really nice swing player along the IOL.

#169-Kitan Oladapo

I love this guy! This was someone I thought early on could be a really good target to be a WLB in the 4-3 and then a nickel LB. I think I underestimated him. He looks like a more versatile player than that. He's a converted CB who moved to safety. 6'2 220. Just seems like a guy who's going to be a STs demon and really an interesting player in Hafley's scheme. I can see him playing Caleb Williams and spying him as he gets outside the pocket, knocking balls down, covering TEs on 3rd down. 

#202-OT Travis Glover

Never heard of the guy, but he looks fun. Just a big man, lost quite a bit of weight for the combine(that's a theme, I would guess most players are lighter at the combine than they'll play at as they're training for tests rather than Football). I see a big guy who's a long shot, but I'm always for adding OL. I'm rooting for a guy like Caleb Jones or Glover to win the RT job or maybe come in as a 6th OL when the Packers want to play like SF and just move the defense.

#245-Michael Pratt
He was a 3rd/4th rd pick on many mocks. Seems like a good athlete, an average arm but a smart quick decision-maker. The type of QB the Packers can hopefully develop and can then back up Love before dealing him for a late rd pick in a couple of years and you basically get that backup for free. That's ideally how it'll work. With Tom Clements, it's just smart to bring in QBs. Sean Clifford looked good last year, but the Packers' have preached competition so much. This was @CheezWizHed's guy. 

#255-Kalen King

Every year there are probably 100 different guys who get mocked to the 1st rd, but this is a guy who was viewed as a top 10-15 pick coming into this year. If you saw the Packers got him in the 1st rd a year ago, you'd have thought they probably had a bad year and used their 1st on him. He struggled badly this year, but if he can get back to where he was last year, that's a HUGE steal in the 7th rd. Very similar to Carrington Valentine, a B1G Corner who struggled his last year in College(Wicks from last year would fall into that category, Hopper as well).

 

UDFA-Donovan Jennings
6'4 330LB LT from South Florida. GTD him 110K so they clearly like him a lot. That tells me there's a very good chance he can beat our Royce Newman or at least make the team as a OG with some versatility. I've seen at least one site say he's got the ability to stay at OT. Seems like an OG only to me, but either way, the Packers didn't give anyone more than 10K last year and that may have been the case in '22 as well. But they GTD him a decent chunk of money...so they clearly think he's got a chance to make the team.

LS Peter Bowden(*Wisconsin)

#1 LS on the "Big Board." Some other sites had the NCST LS in from of him, but the Packers have struggled here. Bad snap last year nearly caused Calrson to miss a kick in the SF game. There was a bad exchange on the one he DID miss. They need to get better here. Just for that reason, I think he can make the 53-man.

 

Summary

How much you like the draft probably depends on what you think of the Packers CBs and OL. They were jumped twice for DBs projected to go 10-15 spots higher than they went when Detroit moved up for Terrion Arnold, arguably the #1 CB in the draft and when the Eagles moved up for Cooper DeJean in the 2nd.

The Packers have said that Eric Stokes is completely healthy and looks good. Valentine looked really good last year. That's not much depth and you're hoping that Bullard/McKinney can play the slot and then cover up for some mistakes on the back end.

But man, they added to the spine of that defense with 2 LBs and 3 safeties. They added depth along the OL. They added upside and they added to the STs. That may be one of the more underrated aspects of this off-season, the new kickoff rules. Marshawn Lloyd is projected to be a return man.

I'd have liked to see Gute move up and get Fautanu from Washington. I liked Morgan. I liked Fautanu more. Again, you could say the same with Mitchell. 

I'd say a B draft. They didn't get as many premium positions. We just saw Kamren Curl sign for 9M over 2 years...and he was right up there with McKinney as a FA. But I loved the guys they did get. They certainly filled the holes on this team.

 

Two better sources of analysis are probably;

And;

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/lists/closer-look-at-green-bay-packers-2024-draft-picks/

[kestrel79]

I'm excited to see this younger, faster, more athletic and aggressive defense in action. Ever since TB beat us in the NFCCG, I've been wanting LBs and DBs that can fly and are aggressive. 

OLs like SF has would be nice too. Control the clock and be physical. Would love to see us take them down this year once and for all. 

Thanks to all that do these draft write ups! I barely follow along to college football these days but reading everyones stuff gets me jacked for the draft each year.

[CheezWizHed]

18 hours ago, BrewerFan said:

I loved the draft. There's a few picks I didn't like. Last year I really wanted Darnell Washington and they drafted Tucker Kraft(both looked pretty good last year and Kraft didn't have the injury concerns). So I'll assume I'm wrong on those and right on the ones I liked!

1-#25-Morgan
I did a mock and Had Morgan, Cooper and Bullard. To be fair, I did a lot of mocks, but I posted that one on Twitter. I also had them each one spot later, but I really love all three picks. The Packers have repeatedly said Rasheed Walker needs to take a big jump if he wants to be the future LT. Coming out of PSU, one of the concerns was his work ethic and his body. He has to put in the work. Jordan Morgan being drafted and both Gute and MLF saying he's going to play LT, that's going to either force Walker to EARN the job...and then Morgan plays RG, or Morgan beats him out and we get better at LT. That's a best-case scenario for me. I wanted to see the OL improved, I think they did that. The Packers seem really confident in their CBs. That was the other group I thought we'd jump on. Mitchell is a perfect fit in a heavy press man scheme, Arnold-I didn't really watch, but people was ranked ~10-15 on most boards. There was some disappointment we didn't move up once Fautanu and Mitchell hit 21, but the Packers had their pick in immediately after the Lions took Arnold. That suggests to me they like Morgan.
I also liked Tyler Guyton and thought he could play OG and had a really high upside, but the Packers develop guys like Morgan really-really well. 

#45-Cooper
-I think there's a consensus on this one. Everyone wanted him, everyone hoped the Packers would draft him in the mid-second. They moved back and added two picks. Gute says they had that trade ready to go BEFORE, again, a team jumped in front of us and took the "Best available" player in Cooper DeJean, probably the guy that Packers fans wanted to see more than anyone...so it'd appear they were again, really happy to get him. 
To me, he's a more physical Quay. I keep hearing people talk about how he's a lighter LB, he's smaller, he's not a MLB. I don't understand that personally. If you get a Guard on a LB, that LB is usually in trouble, but I thought Cooper did as good a job as any at taking on blocks and shedding them.

Gute was asked what he wants in a LB. Did he want a big, physical thumper to compliment Quay, etc...He said he wanted someone who could do it all. He talked about how we'd be in the nickel for the most part and said when you have guys with very different skill sets, it makes it that much harder when one guy comes out. If you have to go from Quay to McDuffie, you're going to have to adjust how you cover with your LBs. That theme continues...at #58

#58-Bullard
He's really similar to McKinney to me. Better in the slot, not as good in open space according to scouting reports, but he was almost exclusively a slot up until last year. Described as the leader of the defense, "as he went, they went," and just a guy who loves to play. Guys that play with that energy...that's huge. 

 

#88-Lloyd
I love this pick in hindsight. Watching him, he's got quick feet, he's short, but strong as hell. 5'8 220, not elite speed, but great quickness. More the type of RB I like to see in this ZBS. The Packers want bigger, physical runners, but they have to get to the hole, they have to be able to read blocks. That's the whole point of zone blocking. You create cutback lanes. I think Lloyd will be a really good back. Some concerns seem to be issues in Pass Pro. 

#91-Hopper
This is the guy most people are the most...perplexed by. As always, Gute gets the benefit of the doubt, but I didn't love it. Payton Wilson, the 6'4 LB who ran a 4.43 was there and went to the Steelers a few picks later...but there were reports they would have taken Hopper. Wilson had injury and age issues. To me, that's not a big issue as his upside was so high and he was just better. Hopper had a poor year in '23, he was much better in '22. There are reports he was injured much of last year( @Joseph Zarrshared some retweets on all these guys, but Hopper in particular that are interesting). 
He's a really good blitzer, good at playing downhill. Struggles with missed tackles, but Gute described him as a "violent tackler."

He's LB4 right now and they clearly liked him more than the consensus big board guys.

#111-Evan Williams
This is a guy I didn't even remember when they drafted him. Going back to the Sr Bowl, I remember them talking about him, but he wasn't even on the PFF draft simulator...which is meaningless, but it's just to say I think it was a surprise pick, but again, there were reports by other teams beat writers that many teams hoped he'd fall to them in Rd4. The Packers got aggressive and went up to get him. If you go back and watch him, he looks very much like Micah Hyde. Not great speed(4.6 40) but quick and really aggressive attacking at the LOS. 

#163-Jacob Monk
Another guy they traded up for. Another guy I didn't really know anything about. I do remember Dane Brugler saying something along the lines of 'everyone's talking about Graham Barton as a Center, but look at Duke's center right now,' something along those lines. He's a guy who looks like he can be a really versatile player. He's an incredible athlete. 9.74 RAS score. Started 58 games at Center and OG...he's strong. I don't know if he's a starter or not, but man, we were thin at OG/C and he appears to be a really nice swing player along the IOL.

#169-Kitan Oladapo

I love this guy! This was someone I thought early on could be a really good target to be a WLB in the 4-3 and then a nickel LB. I think I underestimated him. He looks like a more versatile player than that. He's a converted CB who moved to safety. 6'2 220. Just seems like a guy who's going to be a STs demon and really an interesting player in Hafley's scheme. I can see him playing Caleb Williams and spying him as he gets outside the pocket, knocking balls down, covering TEs on 3rd down. 

#202-OT Travis Glover

Never heard of the guy, but he looks fun. Just a big man, lost quite a bit of weight for the combine(that's a theme, I would guess most players are lighter at the combine than they'll play at as they're training for tests rather than Football). I see a big guy who's a long shot, but I'm always for adding OL. I'm rooting for a guy like Caleb Jones or Glover to win the RT job or maybe come in as a 6th OL when the Packers want to play like SF and just move the defense.

#245-Michael Pratt
He was a 3rd/4th rd pick on many mocks. Seems like a good athlete, an average arm but a smart quick decision-maker. The type of QB the Packers can hopefully develop and can then back up Love before dealing him for a late rd pick in a couple of years and you basically get that backup for free. That's ideally how it'll work. With Tom Clements, it's just smart to bring in QBs. Sean Clifford looked good last year, but the Packers' have preached competition so much. This was @CheezWizHed's guy. 

#255-Kalen King

Every year there are probably 100 different guys who get mocked to the 1st rd, but this is a guy who was viewed as a top 10-15 pick coming into this year. If you saw the Packers got him in the 1st rd a year ago, you'd have thought they probably had a bad year and used their 1st on him. He struggled badly this year, but if he can get back to where he was last year, that's a HUGE steal in the 7th rd. Very similar to Carrington Valentine, a B1G Corner who struggled his last year in College(Wicks from last year would fall into that category, Hopper as well).

 

UDFA-Donovan Jennings
6'4 330LB LT from South Florida. GTD him 110K so they clearly like him a lot. That tells me there's a very good chance he can beat our Royce Newman or at least make the team as a OG with some versatility. I've seen at least one site say he's got the ability to stay at OT. Seems like an OG only to me, but either way, the Packers didn't give anyone more than 10K last year and that may have been the case in '22 as well. But they GTD him a decent chunk of money...so they clearly think he's got a chance to make the team.

LS Peter Bowden(*Wisconsin)

#1 LS on the "Big Board." Some other sites had the NCST LS in from of him, but the Packers have struggled here. Bad snap last year nearly caused Calrson to miss a kick in the SF game. There was a bad exchange on the one he DID miss. They need to get better here. Just for that reason, I think he can make the 53-man.

 

Summary

How much you like the draft probably depends on what you think of the Packers CBs and OL. They were jumped twice for DBs projected to go 10-15 spots higher than they went when Detroit moved up for Terrion Arnold, arguably the #1 CB in the draft and when the Eagles moved up for Cooper DeJean in the 2nd.

The Packers have said that Eric Stokes is completely healthy and looks good. Valentine looked really good last year. That's not much depth and you're hoping that Bullard/McKinney can play the slot and then cover up for some mistakes on the back end.

But man, they added to the spine of that defense with 2 LBs and 3 safeties. They added depth along the OL. They added upside and they added to the STs. That may be one of the more underrated aspects of this off-season, the new kickoff rules. Marshawn Lloyd is projected to be a return man.

I'd have liked to see Gute move up and get Fautanu from Washington. I liked Morgan. I liked Fautanu more. Again, you could say the same with Mitchell. 

I'd say a B draft. They didn't get as many premium positions. We just saw Kamren Curl sign for 9M over 2 years...and he was right up there with McKinney as a FA. But I loved the guys they did get. They certainly filled the holes on this team.

 

Two better sources of analysis are probably;

And;

https://packerswire.usatoday.com/lists/closer-look-at-green-bay-packers-2024-draft-picks/

To be fair, there is a difference between predicting the Packers would draft Pratt and him being "my guy".  I'm not a big fan of his or anything. I just put saw the stars aligning for us to draft him and still missed by 2 rounds. 😂

King is a very interesting pick IMO.  Targeted as a 1st or 2nd rounder pre-season and he falls due to a bad year.  Probably some nice upside on him for a late round pick which is what you want to see.  

[LouisEly]

On 4/29/2024 at 11:56 AM, RobDeer 45 said:

How do you guys think the Packers did in the draft this year?  I don't know enough about these guys to have a strong opinion.  Quick reads seem like we got some great athletes, which I'm always a big fan of.

Solid.  Maybe not spectacular, but solid, filled a lot of needs especially where they needed depth.  Only one pick I didn't like (and by the end of the 6th I don't really care because only about half of those guys end up making the roster anyway). 

I said I wouldn't be surprised if they picked three safeties, and they did just that.  I said that it was unlikely that they would pick any DL or DE and they didn't.  I didn't mock any IOL until day 3 and they did just that.  Only surprise was not picking a CB until the 7th.

[Joseph Zarr]

 

On 4/28/2024 at 5:22 PM, Joseph Zarr said:

The UDFA Albany WR Julian Hicks is a mildly interesting WR. 6'2" 210-215 with a 9.18 RAS. Definitely seems like if the hands are pure he could see a possibility to make it the Practice Squad. Had a really good year for Albany last year before they made it to the FCS semi-finals and got blown out by South Dakota State.

Well how about that:

And, apparently Stanley's big Friday is rewarded:

The other player apparently disrupting all sorts of plays was FIU's IDL Jack Daly. I believe he was also invited to the Bills rookie minicamp.

And, it would appear, according to Bill Huber, the Packers also signed OL Lecitus Smith (2022 Cardinals 6th Rdr) after his Minicamp Tryout.

 

[Matt Breen]

Looking back at the draft there was only one place where I really, really wanted a pick that we passed on.

That was selecting Hopper in the 3rd round over Payton Wilson. I loved Wilson. Just a force on the field. I know there were serious injury concerns about him - and I can see passing on him due to those. The guy had two ACL tears that have left him pretty much without an ACL in one of his knees. Plus he's had some lingering shoulder issues (after another operation). Some scouts were concerned he was one injury away from never playing again. So while I loved the guy, I understand not taking him due to health issues.

Regarding Hopper - he was considered a 5th rounder - maybe 4th rounder - by most scouts. Someone said that there were other teams interested in him as well - and may have been looking to take him soon after the Packers.

My question is did the team have him as worth this pick (#91)? Or did they overreach to ensure they got him? If so, by how much? Taking your 150th ranked player at #91 - just because you think someone else is going to take him - is not the wisest use of the pick. But you have the guy ranked as #100 on the board - that's a different story. It's a slight reach on your part. 

Of course, we don't know any of this. Just hoping we are being smart. I don't like it when we get over infatuated with a player. It makes the team make some reaches. 

I guess it still stings to have burned a 3rd rounder for Josiah Deguara - a guy most people thought was - at best - a 5th round value. We didn't have a 4th rounder that year. The club thought Deguara would be perfect for the offense - and didn't want to miss out on him. 

Otherwise, I think the team addressed a lot its issues and added some nice depth. Looking forward to 2024. 

[BrewerFan]

3 hours ago, reillymcshane said:

My question is did the team have him as worth this pick (#91)? Or did they overreach to ensure they got him? If so, by how much? Taking your 150th ranked player at #91 - just because you think someone else is going to take him - is not the wisest use of the pick. But you have the guy ranked as #100 on the board - that's a different story. It's a slight reach on your part. 

I don't think the Packers took him because other teams(the Steelers) were planning on drafting him(which may just mean he was among a group of players they were looking at).

It seems extremely unlikely the Packers would take their 150th-ranked player 91st because another team liked him. I think he was probably their pick either way and then we just heard other teams ALSO liked him and...it's not much deeper than that.

 

I also think we put too much stock on "the big board."

The Eagles draft the closest to the "consensus big board," than any other team in the first 3-4 rounds and...go back and look at their drafts. They're not as good as you'd think. They do a great job of trading and acquiring more picks...which is how they got Jevon Carter for example, but they're not just winning on the strength of their scouting department in early rounds.

They used a first on Dillard, on Jalen Reagor OVER Justin Jefferson(which caused the Vikings to erupt in celebration). Nolan Smith was the steal of the draft last year, the other LB from Georgia when we took Quay who fell to the 3rd rd, he was the steal the year before. Jordan Davis was hailed as a great pick. They have a lot of talent, but I don't think it's because of their hit rate on 1sts. 

I'm not dumping on the Eagles because I don't think it matters if you miss on your 1st and then you find a PB LT in the 7th, you still have a PB left tackle, but I think it's just one example of how the big board is kinda meaningless, and then I just would reiterate how strongly I DO NOT believe the Packers would take a guy at 93 who

[Joseph Zarr]

7 hours ago, reillymcshane said:

Looking back at the draft there was only one place where I really, really wanted a pick that we passed on.

That was selecting Hopper in the 3rd round over Payton Wilson. I loved Wilson. Just a force on the field. I know there were serious injury concerns about him - and I can see passing on him due to those. The guy had two ACL tears that have left him pretty much without an ACL in one of his knees. Plus he's had some lingering shoulder issues (after another operation). Some scouts were concerned he was one injury away from never playing again. So while I loved the guy, I understand not taking him due to health issues.

Regarding Hopper - he was considered a 5th rounder - maybe 4th rounder - by most scouts. Someone said that there were other teams interested in him as well - and may have been looking to take him soon after the Packers.

My question is did the team have him as worth this pick (#91)? Or did they overreach to ensure they got him? If so, by how much? Taking your 150th ranked player at #91 - just because you think someone else is going to take him - is not the wisest use of the pick. But you have the guy ranked as #100 on the board - that's a different story. It's a slight reach on your part. 

Of course, we don't know any of this. Just hoping we are being smart. I don't like it when we get over infatuated with a player. It makes the team make some reaches. 

I guess it still stings to have burned a 3rd rounder for Josiah Deguara - a guy most people thought was - at best - a 5th round value. We didn't have a 4th rounder that year. The club thought Deguara would be perfect for the offense - and didn't want to miss out on him. 

Otherwise, I think the team addressed a lot its issues and added some nice depth. Looking forward to 2024. 

In the fwiw department, Andy Herman attended the entire minicamp. And, we all know this is not an apples-to-apples thing re: Training Camp or pads etc., but  he was pretty clear on a couple of things:

1) This was the most competitive high-speed post-draft rookie minicamp he'a seen since covering these (6 years).

2 S Evan Williams and LB Ty'ron Hopper absolutely showcased consistent qualities throughout that led him to immediately opine (paraphrasing) it is abundantly obvious why the Packers took them where they took them. He came in with questions. He left quite confident and very pleasantly surprised.

[BrewerFan]

1 hour ago, Joseph Zarr said:

In the fwiw department, Andy Herman attended the entire minicamp. And, we all know this is not an apples-to-apples thing re: Training Camp or pads etc., but  he was pretty clear on a couple of things:

1) This was the most competitive high-speed post-draft rookie minicamp he'a seen since covering these (6 years).

2 S Evan Williams and LB Ty'ron Hopper absolutely showcased consistent qualities throughout that led him to immediately opine (paraphrasing) it is abundantly obvious why the Packers took them where they took them. He came in with questions. He left quite confident and very pleasantly surprised.

Andy Herman is as good of a Packers analyst as there is IMO. 

Bob McGinn gives you a lot of interesting background on players, what others think about them, etc...but Andy does his own scouting, watches the All-22 and I think he understands the game a lot. 

Mike Wahle is great at talking about OL.

 

[CheezWizHed]

9 hours ago, reillymcshane said:

Looking back at the draft there was only one place where I really, really wanted a pick that we passed on.

That was selecting Hopper in the 3rd round over Payton Wilson. I loved Wilson. Just a force on the field. I know there were serious injury concerns about him - and I can see passing on him due to those. The guy had two ACL tears that have left him pretty much without an ACL in one of his knees. Plus he's had some lingering shoulder issues (after another operation). Some scouts were concerned he was one injury away from never playing again. So while I loved the guy, I understand not taking him due to health issues.

Regarding Hopper - he was considered a 5th rounder - maybe 4th rounder - by most scouts. Someone said that there were other teams interested in him as well - and may have been looking to take him soon after the Packers.

My question is did the team have him as worth this pick (#91)? Or did they overreach to ensure they got him? If so, by how much? Taking your 150th ranked player at #91 - just because you think someone else is going to take him - is not the wisest use of the pick. But you have the guy ranked as #100 on the board - that's a different story. It's a slight reach on your part. 

Of course, we don't know any of this. Just hoping we are being smart. I don't like it when we get over infatuated with a player. It makes the team make some reaches. 

I guess it still stings to have burned a 3rd rounder for Josiah Deguara - a guy most people thought was - at best - a 5th round value. We didn't have a 4th rounder that year. The club thought Deguara would be perfect for the offense - and didn't want to miss out on him. 

Otherwise, I think the team addressed a lot its issues and added some nice depth. Looking forward to 2024. 

Personally, I doubt teams have it broken down as a "#1 to #999" type board.  Probably for the top 10-15.  Then I'd guess they group players into bunches.  By the time you get to 91, I'd suspect there are groups of 20 players that are evenly rated. I don't have anything to base that on except the belief that you can't accurately differentiate (in reality) the difference between player #91 from #92.  

Deguara was a good example of this.  We drafted him in the 3rd round when people felt he was more a 4th or 5th round pick.  But in reality, he is more of a decent UFDA and nothing more.