Ranking Which 2024 Green Bay Packers Draft Choices Have the Best Chance of Contributing as Rookies

The Green Bay Packers 2024 draft is completed, and the team added 11 players this season who hope to make the team and make an impact as soon as possible. GM Brian Gutekunst attempted to address many of the team’s pressing needs and improve a team that is geared towards contending for a Super Bowl. Here is a look at the top five Packers 2024 draft picks with the best chance of contributing significantly as rookies. The list is a combination of team needs and the NFL readiness of the players selected:

NFL rookies often struggle as they adjust to life in the NFL. The speed of the game and the overall level of play is much higher than college and the playbooks are thicker and the plays more complicated.

2024 Green Bay Packers Draft Choices with the Best Chance of Contributing as Rookies, Number Five: CB Kalen King

Kalen King was selected in the seventh round, but he stands a good chance of carving out a role on the team’s defense this season.

The Packers corner group features two players who are coming off injury-plagued seasons in Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes. Second-year man Carrington Valentine will also be counted on to play a significant role. Slot corner Keisean Nixon was inconsistent and will have to fight to keep his job.

Most scouts considered King one of the top cornerbacks in the draft before the start of the 2023 season. Unfortunately, King’s play fell off after a strong 2022.

The Packers coaching staff is already excited about King’s potential. We’ll see if he can take advantage of this opportunity and become the latest seventh round pick to contribute as a rookie.

Number Four: OL Jordan Morgan

Gutekunst selected Jordan Morgan in the first round to bolster the team’s offensive line. The coaching staff remains unsure where Morgan will play, however. The team indicated they will start him off at left tackle where he will battle Rasheed Walker for the starting job.

They may also move Morgan to guard where he could compete with Sean Rhyan for a starting position. But that would require Morgan to make adjustments since he never played guard in college and always started on the left side.

Matt LaFleur has always said he wants to find the best five offensive linemen and have them start. That’s one reason the team values versatility among their offensive linemen. Morgan is likely to be one of the top five, but the question is how long it will take him to adjust to the NFL and possibly to a new position.

2024 Green Bay Packers Draft Choices with the Best Chance of Contributing as Rookies, Number Three: RB MarShawn Lloyd

As long as Josh Jacobs remains healthy, MarShawn Lloyd will not be the team’s starting running back this season. However, the coaching staff is very excited about the rookie from USC and his potential to add another dimension to the Green Bay offense.

Lloyd may not start, but he will likely have a significant role in the offense if he can prove he can be an adequate pass blocker and receiver. He also needs to hold onto the football and not fumble as often as he did in college.

If he can accomplish those goals during training camp and the preseason, Lloyd may take on a bigger role as the season progresses and could prove to be the best running back in the 2024 NFL Draft as some scouts have suggested.

Number Two: LB Edgerrin Cooper

The Packers entered the draft with a clear need at linebacker. As a result, they selected Edgerrin Cooper with their first pick in the second round.

Cooper is expected to win a starting job alongside Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie in the new 4-3 base defense. If he beats out McDuffie for the second spot, he will likely be on the field for most of the defensive snaps. If he’s the third off-ball linebacker, he’ll only play 20 percent of the defensive snaps.

The Packers love Cooper’s athleticism and leadership qualities. He has a real chance to start as a rookie and see extensive playing time due to the Packers lack of depth at the position after they parted ways with De’Vondre Campbell.

2024 Green Bay Packers Draft Choices with the Best Chance of Contributing as Rookies, Number One: S Javon Bullard

Javon Bullard will be the favorite to start at safety opposite Xavier McKinney. He also could compete for time as the slot corner, another position he played at Georgia.

Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley got his first up close look at Bullard at rookie camp earlier this month and was immediately impressed. “Loved his tape. Loved the way he played, loved the play style, loved the versatility,” Hafley said. “He’s a physical guy, he can run, he can cover. He can play deep, he can play in the slot, he can blitz. He’s bigger when you see him. He’s thick [and] strong. The best part of it is, you don’t really know what you’re getting until you get into a meeting room with him. He’s a sharp guy. His ability to learn and process during those two days was impressive. When you get a guy who can play that fast and can take what he learned in the meeting room and bring it out onto the field, and he’s got a chance. Small little glimpse of what we’re going to get when they get here, but excited to have him.”

The Packers top three safeties from 2023 will not be back, so there is a big opportunity for Bullard to step into the starting lineup as a rookie. His main competition at safety will come from second-year man Anthony Johnson, Jr., and fellow 2024 draft picks Evan Williams and Kitan Oladapo.