The Green Bay Packers assigned jersey numbers to their 13 draft picks and 12-man undrafted class. One of the assignments, made by the personnel department, was at least a little interesting.
Topping the list: The Packers have talked several times of the desire to add a veteran to a receiver corps filled with rookies and second-year players. One obvious veteran remains unsigned: Randall Cobb.
However, the Packers assigned his No. 18 to one of the undrafted receivers, Malik Heath.
Meanwhile, the No. 2 of kicker Mason Crosby and the No. 31 of safety Adrian Amos – two veterans for whom they’d never “close the door,” to use general manager Brian Gutekunst’s words – remain available. Same with Marcedes Lewis’ No. 89.
It should be noted there are only so many jersey numbers available. The Packers have 88 players on their roster, six jersey numbers are retired and, obviously, no player was going to be given Aaron Rodgers’ No. 12.
Here are the jersey selections for the 13 rookies.
First round: OLB Lukas Van Ness, No. 90
Van Ness wore No. 91 in college. Preston Smith offered his No. 91 to Van Ness for “the right price” but the rookie was content with No. 90, worn last year by Jarran Reed.
“I actually wore No. 90 my senior year of high school, so I’m very happy with that,” Van Ness said.
Second round: TE Luke Musgrave, No. 88
Musgrave wore No. 88 with Oregon State. A scout compared Musgrave to Jermichael Finley, who also wore No. 88.
Second round: WR Jayden Reed, No. 11
Reed wore No. 5 at Michigan State before starring in No. 1. He will go with double-1s with the Packers. Hall of Famer and Packers founder Curly Lambeau is the only player to have worn No. 1. It’s not officially retired.
Third round: TE Tucker Kraft, No. 85
Kraft wore No. 85 at South Dakota State. Robert Tonyan, obviously, wore that number well for the Packers for five seasons. However, tight end Jace Sternberger – one of the pantheon of third-round busts for Green Bay – also wore No. 85.
Fourth round: DL Colby Wooden, No. 96
Wooden wore No. 25 for Auburn, a number that stuck out on tape to assistant college scouting director Pat Moore.
“Initially when I came into college, I wanted like a smaller number,” Wooden said during his introductory call with reporters. “You know how like big boys want a single digit, I wanted that. That was like the lowest number available, so I said, ‘Let me get it.’ And I just made it my own.”
Defensive linemen can’t wear No. 25, so he got the jersey last worn by Kingsley Keke.
Fifth round: QB Sean Clifford, No. 8
Clifford wore No. 14 at Penn State but that was retired after Don Hutson wore it during his legendary career. Receiver Amari Rodgers wore No. 8 the last two seasons; before that, it belonged to quarterback Tim Boyle.
Fifth round: WR Dontayvion Wicks, No. 13
Wicks wore No. 3 for his final few years at Virginia but that was retired to honor the legendary Tony Canadeo. Allen Lazard wore No. 13 the past five seasons.
Sixth round: DL Karl Brooks, No. 94
Brooks wore Nos. 44 and 11 during his sensational five-year career at Bowling Green. Defensive linemen can’t wear No. 11, so he got the number worn by steady Dean Lowry for seven seasons.
Sixth round: K Anders Carlson, No. 17
Carlson wore No. 26 at Auburn but was given the number worn for most of last season by practice-squad kicker Ramiz Ahmed. Ahmed, oddly, wore No. 26 at Nevada. Oh, Davante Adams might be the best No. 17 in NFL history.
Seventh round: CB Carrington Valentine, No. 37
Valentine wore No. 14 at Kentucky but, again, that’s been retired for Hutson. The last two No. 37s for Green Bay were cornerbacks Josh Jackson (second-round bust) and Sam Shields (undrafted star).
Seventh round: RB Lew Nichols, No. 32
Nichols wore No. 7 at Central Michigan but that number is worn by linebacker Quay Walker. The last five players to wear No. 32 were running backs Kylin Hill, Tyler Ervin, Tra Carson, Devante Mays and Christine Michael. That’s a low bar for Nichols.
Seventh round: S Anthony Johnson, No. 36
Johnson wore No. 26 at Iowa State before switching to No. 1. No. 1, as mentioned, belonged to Lambeau and No. 26 belongs to Darnell Savage. Nick Collins and the Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler starred at safety wearing No. 36.
Seventh round: WR Grant DuBose, No. 86
DuBose wore No. 14 at Charlotte, which has been retired for the aforementioned Hutson. Seven players wore No. 86 with little acclaim since Antonio Freeman starred in that number a quarter-century ago.
One of the undrafted free agents, Tulane receiver Duece Watts, wore No. 2 in college and is now double-deuce, No. 22, with the Packers.
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