Highlighting the biggest losers of the Green Bay Packers’ nine-man draft class in 2020:
RB Jamaal Williams
The Packers value Williams’ versatile skill set and reliability as a runner, receiver and blocker, but it’s impossible to look at the selection of running back A.J. Dillon in the second round and not see Williams as the biggest loser. His snaps may go down in 2020, possibly even significantly if the Packers truly want to get Dillon on the field as a rookie. The timing is terrible for Williams, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Unless the Packers pass on bringing back Aaron Jones, Williams will likely be playing his last season in Green Bay in 2020. There’s even a chance the Packers could attempt to deal Williams at some point this summer. His cap hit is scheduled to be almost $2.3 million. Do the Packers want to pay that much for a player who might end up being the third running back by season’s end?
C Corey Linsley
The Packers drafted three interior linemen on Day 3, including one with 49 collegiate starts at center. Sixth-round picks are shots in the dark, but the math isn’t tough to do here. Linsley, who is about to enter his seventh season, will be a free agent following the 2020 season. Jake Hanson (four-year starter at Oregon) and Lucas Patrick (who was re-signed in 2019) can both play center, while left guard Elgton Jenkins played center in college and could easily move inside if the Packers found two starters to play next to him. Like Williams, Linsley could be done in Green Bay after 2020. Unless everyone below him on the depth chart busts, it’s hard to envision Linsley getting a third contract from the Packers.
QB Aaron Rodgers
Even if A.J. Dillon and Josiah Deguara provide short-term help on offense, Rodgers’ decorated career in Green Bay probably just received a tentative expiration date. Unless Rodgers plays exceedingly well over the next three or four years and keeps Jordan Love tied to the bench, the Packers will eventually begin the transition process to the first-round pick, likely within the next two or three years. Rodgers has said many times that he wants to finish out his current contract, spend his entire career in Green Bay and cement his legacy as a one-team superstar. It’s still possible, but Love’s arrival greatly reduced the chances. Rodgers understands his football mortality, and he knows nothing in the game lasts forever, but the ticking of the clock is certainly much louder now for the future Hall of Famer. Oh, and the Packers didn’t replenish the talent at receiver despite a draft dripping in talented pass-catchers. This draft class, while potentially great for the future, did very little to help inch Rodgers and the Packers closer to the Super Bowl.
TE Robert Tonyan
Josiah Deguara is the type of versatile tight end Matt LaFleur wants for his deception-based offense. Tonyan, while improving at the position, is still far more of a receiving threat than a true do-it-all tight end. He could be pushed immediately by Deguara for snaps in 2020. If Deguara develops rapidly as the move tight end and Jace Sternberger emerges as a true starter, Tonyan may have a tenuous hold on a roster spot.
QB Tim Boyle
No one really viewed Boyle as the future starter at quarterback after Rodgers, but he’s now on thin ice after Love was hand-picked to be the heir to the throne. Boyle has developed over the last two seasons but will now be in for a roster fight this summer. If he can’t hold off Love for the backup job, he’ll likely be headed elsewhere.
LB Curtis Bolton
The undrafted free agent from Oklahoma looked capable of stealing a roster spot and actually playing snaps next to Blake Martinez when he tore up his knee last August. The Packers were mostly quiet at inside linebacker this offseason, but the arrival of fifth-round pick Kamal Martin will challenge Bolton to win a roster spot this summer. He may need to beat out Martin, Oren Burks (2018 third-round pick) or Ty Summers (2019 seventh-round pick) for a job.
OL Cole Madison
His rollercoaster pro career must endure another dip. After battling a personal issue as a rookie and then tearing his ACL during a practice last year, Madison will now compete with three draft picks along the interior of the offensive line for limited roster spots. The Packers taking Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson and Simon Stepaniak on Day 3 has put Madison, a college tackle trying to play guard, in a tough position to crack the 53-man roster He was probably in a tough spot roster-wise before the draft; now the task looks nearly impossible.
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