Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford is on his way to Green Bay. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Packers make shocking quarterback pick in fifth round

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 4/29/23

After finally trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets this week, the Green Bay Packers had a need for another quarterback on their roster.

They filled that spot on Sunday in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by taking a player nobody had on their radar at that point.

That player is former Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford.

It is such a stunning pick because the consensus on Clifford coming into the draft weekend is that he was maybe — maybe — a seventh-round prospect, and more likely an undrafted free agent who gets a look as an extra arm in camp.

Can't get over the Clifford pick lol

Consensus board of over 70 evaluators had him 414th! PFF and CBS did not have him on their boards. Brugler had him 20 of 22 QBs. 5 guys AHEAD of him had undraftable grades. @LanceZierlein grades like 500 players and Clifford was DEAD LAST!
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) April 29, 2023

In other words, nobody saw this coming.

This is one of the beautiful things about the NFL Draft because there are sometimes massive gaps between what the general public thinks about players and how NFL teams evaluate them. One draft expert's reach is an NFL team's good value. This could be one of those situations.

Or it could be the Packers just making an absolutely insane pick.

Clifford played five years at Penn State and was a four-year starter, but he never really stood out. It was especially concerning because Penn State's offense produced several NFL skill-position players during that time and still never had an elite offense due in large part to limitations at quarterback.

The Packers are ready to go with Jordan Love as their new starting quarterback, so Clifford is not going to be expected to start anytime soon and is probably viewed as a long-term backup project. Even if that is the case, there had to be higher-ceiling players available at quarterback or any other position on the field.

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