Now we have moved away from the first waves of free agency, and draft becomes once again the big topic of conversation around the NFL. It's Friday, so let's open our Green Bay Packers mailbag of the week.
The Packers already have five off-ball linebackers on the 90-man roster (Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Kristian Welch, and Christian Young). Realistically, the first four will make the regular season team. So I don't expect them to get multiple linebackers — unless one of them is a seventh-round darth.
I just don't see value in taking an off-ball linebacker high, and later it's impossible to project if the player will be really an upgrade over McDuffie on day 1.
So if I'm the Packers, I would take a linebacker late on day 2 or early on day 3 and hope that he can be a useful piece down the road. But my general feeling is that the front office is much more comfortable with McDuffie than the fans.
Yes, the great Paul Bretl wrote about that for The Packers Wire. Brian Gutekunst picked six players from his top 30 visits in 2022 and four last year. That's almost 30% of the picks over the last two processes.
This year, I've written about linebacker Trevin Wallace, who's extremely athletic. The Packers met him during the Combine and for a top 30 visit, so the writing is on the wall there.
Snapping the ball is not Myers' issue, it's blocking consistenly. So I don't think he is going to be better at guard than he is at center.
That being said, the Packers don't have a solid option at right guard at this point, and Sean Rhyan is the projected starter. I would still think they prioritize a guard in the draft with tackle potential.
If they do take a center who isn't versatile, then I would understand Myers competing with Rhyan for the RG job. They are players of similar caliber — Myers had a 52.7 pass blocking grade from PFF in 2023, and Rhyan had a 52.5 grade, and Myers was five points better in run blocking.
I'm expecting the Packers will take at least three offensive linemen in the draft, so hopefully the coaching staff is in position to challenge both starters.
That's truly an amazing question, Pekka, one of the best I've received since we're running the mailbag here. So thank you for that.
And it's a solid point, because the top of the market in some of these positions is overblown — top wide receivers are getting $30 million per season. Even though Brian Gutekunst hasn't used a first-round draft pick on a receiver, that's statistically the position in which he has spent the most draft capital on, believe it or not.
Having Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, and Dontayvion Wicks under cheap deals for two/three more years in an incredible surplus value. Cornerback Carrington Valentine in the seventh-round is also a great value generator.
And that's mostly why I hated the Anders Carlson pick. Even if it was in the sixth-round, you can find playable kickers in free agency, just like the Packers did with Greg Joseph — who has played at a similar level and costs them basically nothing.
Even if you get an average kicker, the surplus value isn't there. Sure, you won't take only quarterbacks, tackles, edges, and cornerbacks in the entire draft. But you should absolutely take several of them, early and often.
Keon Coleman is one of the most challenging prospects I've handled. He was one of the first players I've studied this cycle, and I loved his tape. In terms of skill set, he's exactly the prototypical X receiver Green Bay doesn't have.
On the other hand, every stat that I trust on and that tends to translate to the NFL level indicates he's not that good. In the second round, and to develop under Matt LaFleur and Jason Vrable, though, I would be really comfortable.
It's always a combination of everything. Teams take talent, needs, and positional value into consideration when building their draft boards.
The Packers usually utilize the first round to take players with a high ceiling from what they see as valuable positions. In the second round, they are more open to attack needs, even if it means getting players from less valuable spots.
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