The good and bad of the Packers losing a key free agent

Presumably, Nijman will have in Charlotte the same role he had for the majority of his career with the Packers. He is expected to be the swing tackle, behind left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and right tackle Taylor Moton.

For the Packers, there are good and bad aspects about the signing.

The bad: Offensive line depth

Yosh Nijman has never been an elite or even an excellent offensive lineman. But he was average to above average at left and right tackle, and that gave the Packers a lot of flexibility and depth.

Throughout his four years in Green Bay, he played 1,001 snaps at left tackle and 587 snaps at right tackle. He started his career exclusively on the left side, but starting in 2022 he also had experience on the other side. He also had two snaps at left guard, but the interior is not his area of expertise.

The Packers had already given indications that Nijman wouldn't be back, because he fell out of favor in Green Bay. After being the primary right tackle in 2022, he got behind Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom on the depth chart.

But now, after releasing David Bakhtiari and letting Nijman walk in free agency, Green Bay is extremely thin at tackle. Behind starters Tom and Walker, the only options are developmental players like Luke Tenuta, Caleb Jones, and Kadeem Telfort.

Potentially, left guard Elgton Jenkins would be the primary option to move outside if needed. However, the depth on the interior of the offensive line isn't great either. At the moment, the starter at right guard is Sean Rhyan, and the only backup is Royce Newman.

The good: Compensatory pick

According to Nick Korte, who projects compensatory picks for Over the Cap, the Packers are now expected to receive a seventh-round compensatory selection in 2025 for losing Yosh Nijman. It can go to a sixth-round pick depending on how many snaps Nijman plays, and what his final salary will be because of playing time incentives.

Previously, the Packers hadn't been projected to receive compensatory picks, even though they had lost players in free agency. Offensive guard Jon Runyan signed a three-year, $10 million contract with the New York Giants, and safety Darnell Savage aagreed to a three-year, $21.75 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, those compensatory picks were canceled by the Packers external additions, running back Josh Jacobs (four-year, $48 million contract) and safety Xavier McKinney (four-year, $68 million contract).

Players who got released, like Aaron Jones and De'Vondre Campbell, don't count towards the compensatory pick formula.

How to operate moving fo rward

The extra seventh-round pick doesn't kick in until 2025, and that only if the Packers don't sign another compensatory free agent before May. So, general manager Brian Gutekunst will have to solve the bad before having the benefit of the good.

In the draft, Gutekunst will probably be forced to take multiple offensive linemen — don't be surprised if he takes three of them, just like he did in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

The Packers need more options at tackle, guard, and center. Therefore, this is the perfect moment to give the coaching staff more young options to develop.