The best thing that a team can have in the NFL Draft, especially early on, is flexibility and not feeling as if they have to do something. Although the Green Bay Packers have a number of needs to address, which should include adding to a few positions multiple times, they do have flexibility at pick 15 because of where the strengths of this draft lie.
In terms of positions that the Packers have to address somewhat early on in the draft, those are wide receiver, tight end, and the interior defensive line. The only true fit for the Packers at receiver in the first round is Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who could be gone before pick 15. From a value standpoint, waiting until Day 2 to add to tight end may be the prudent move, given that most rookie tight ends don’t contribute significantly. There might also be just one interior defender available at 15 worth selecting in that range, but Calijah Kancey is undersized compared to what the Packers typically prefer at the position.
The good news is that there are a number of Day 2 fits for the Packers at each of these positions. At receiver, there is Rashee Rice, Cedric Tillman, Jonathan Mingo, AT Perry, Dontayvion Wicks, and Michael Wilson, to name a few. Then at tight end, there is Luke Musgrave, Darnell Washington, Luke Schoonmaker, Sam LaPorta, and Tucker Kraft. At defensive linemen, the Packers may be able to choose from Keeanu Benton, Mazi Smith, Gervon Dexter, Zaccah Pickens, and Jaquelin Roy.
Edge rusher and cornerback are also two of the deeper positions in this draft class, and there will likely be options for the Packers available at each when they are on the clock in Rounds two and three.
You get the idea–but what this means for the Packers is that they can truly take the best player available with their first-round selection or even trade down, with collecting additional draft capital a move that should be on their radar. In short, Green Bay needs as many inexpensive rookie contracts on the book as they can get to help with their current and future salary cap situation.
Of course, this is a Packers team that still wants to win and needs to put a strong team around Jordan Love in order to best evaluate him, they are also in the midst of a transition. In the next year or two, many of their current key starters, including Aaron Jones, David Bakhtiari, De’Vondre Campbell, Preston Smith, and others, could be playing elsewhere.
So while, yes, Green Bay needs receivers, tight ends, and other positions, what they need in general is just good football players.
Perhaps with how the board falls and how they’ve evaluated players, they can tackle one of those big needs right away. Or they could choose to bolster the offensive line by taking a tackle. Any success that Love is going to have this year begins up front, not to mention that there is uncertainty around this unit in 2024.
Green Bay could also add one of the top cornerbacks in this class, allowing them to move Rasul Douglas to safety, where the Packers are in need of upgrades, but the draft is low on high-end talent. Taking an edge rusher and providing needed depth and an additional pass rush presence is always in play with Brian Gutekunst as well.
On the flip side, where the Packers may lose some flexibility is that at a few positions, they ideally don’t only need just one player. The aforementioned tight end, receiver, and even the interior defensive line positions could all use multiple selections. That already is six draft picks if the Packers go that route, along with them usually taking multiple offensive linemen and needing an edge rusher and safety help as well. Quarterback and running back are two other positions that could also be added to.
As always, not every need is going to be addressed, especially with top talent. This, again, is why trading down makes sense in order to accumulate additional draft capital, along with finalizing the Aaron Rodgers trade with New York prior to the second round so that the Packers can hopefully acquire one or two additional Day 2 picks.
It’s really never been easy trying to decipher what Gutekunst is going to do early on in the draft, and that rings true once again because, based on how the Packers’ needs align with the strengths and weaknesses of the draft, Green Bay has a multitude of options with that 15th overall selection. However, that’s a good thing.