GREEN BAY — When we last saw the Green Bay Packers, they were on the brink of greatness.
Despite being the youngest team in football, the Packers reached the NFC Divisional playoffs and had heavily favored San Francisco on the ropes. The host 49ers rallied, though, prevailed, 24-21, and sent Green Bay to the postseason remarkably motivated for 2024.
"We’ve got to have a championship offseason so everything rolls into the season," Packers defensive end Preston Smith said immediately after that loss to San Francisco. "Coming into this next season, we’ve got to focus on the things that we can improve on, make sure that our weaknesses are our strengths and we improve on the things we’re good at."
It appears Green Bay accomplished many of those things on draft weekend.
General manager Brian Gutekunst, who hit home runs with his 2022 and 2023 draft classes, seemingly upgraded the roster in several key areas.
Gutekunst used his 11 picks to take three offensive linemen, three safeties and two linebackers, as well as a running back, quarterback and cornerback.
"I think we had a really good opportunity in front us as we started … and sitting here right now I feel like we did a lot of good things for our football team," Gutekunst said shortly after the draft ended. "So we’re excited."
With good reason.
Here’s a look at the good, bad and ugly from Green Bay’s 2024 draft.
THE GOOD
â– Triple play: For the fourth time in five years, the Packers drafted three offensive linemen.
Green Bay took Arizona’s Jordan Morgan in Round 1, Duke’s Jacob Monk in Round 5 and Georgia State’s Travis Glover in Round 6. The Packers needed help after Jon Runyan and Yosh Nijman left in free agency, and David Bakhtiari was released.
“I think these guys are not only fits athletically for what we want to do, but culture fits for our room, as well,” Gutekunst said.
Morgan could be an immediate starter at left tackle. The versatile Morgan (6-foot-5, 311 pounds) has terrific feet, outstanding athleticism and ran the 40-yard dash in 5.04 seconds at the NFL Combine.
Since 2022, Morgan has allowed just three sacks in 880 pass-blocking snaps.
And of 96 FBS-level tackles in this draft class who played at least 650 offensive snaps, he ranked 14th in pass-blocking efficiency by Pro Football Focus. The negatives are Morgan has extremely short arms (32 feet, 7/8 inches), isn’t as physical as some scouts liked and suffered a torn ACL in Nov. of 2022.
“Really athletic,” Gutekunst said of Morgan. “Really feel like he could probably play four positions for us, two-time team captain — just our kind of guy.”
Overall, Gutekunst has fared well when taking three linemen in a draft.
Zach Tom, Sean Rhyan and Rasheed Walker — all selected in 2022 — could each start this season. In 2021, Gutekunst found starting center Josh Myers and reserve guard Royce Newman, but whiffed on Cole Van Lanen. And in 2020, Gutekunst hit it on Runyan, but missed on Jake Hanson and Simon Stepaniak.
While Gutekunst’s philosophy of doubling and tripling up at certain positions in a draft is unique, it’s largely paid off.
“If the highest-rated guy is at that position we’re not afraid to stay there,” Gutekunst said. “I think you can make a mistake maybe because, hey, we just picked a guy at this position. Maybe we should not take him, even though he might be the highest-rated guy. But I think we did a pretty good job of staying disciplined to the process, trusting the board.”
■Overhaul complete: Green Bay’s safety unit needed to be revamped this offseason, and Gutekunst did just that.
After signing ex-Giant Xavier McKinney in free agency, Gutekunst selected Georgia’s Javon Bullard (Round 2), Oregon’s Evan Williams (Round 4) and Oregon State’s Kitan Oladapo (Round 5).
Bullard could be the crown jewel of the group.
He played mostly slot corner in 2022 when the Bulldogs won the national championship. He had 3 1/2 sacks and seven tackles for loss that season, and was named Defensive MVP of the 2022 national championship game Georgia moved Bullard to safety in 2023 where he finished with career highs in tackles (56) and passes defended (seven).
He was also voted the top safety at the Senior Bowl.
Bullard’s versatility made him extremely attractive to the Packers.
“I can play all three positions in the secondary,” Bullard said. “Whatever you need me to play. I feel like I proved my versatility throughout this process.”
That versatility stood out to Green Bay’s decision makers, who made Bullard the second safety drafted.
“We felt like him at the second level, playing that slot and playing a little bit more nickel, with the ability to play safety as well was probably a strength,” said Pat Moore, the Packers Assistant Director of College Scouting. “We have a good feel for him and who he is and what he’s going to bring to our defense intangiblewise, too.”
Williams is another versatile safety who can play in the slot or deep.
“He’s smart. He’s instinctive. He’s a good kid and he makes tackles,” Packers national scout Sam Seale said. “He makes plays around the ball. He’s always around the ball. He’s a football player.”
Oladapo is more of a traditional box safety who should give the Packers terrific depth at the position.
“Oladapo is probably more of a true safety but he can play the, whatever you want to coin it, big nickel, will backer,” Jon-Eric Sullivan, the Packers’ vice president of player personnel, said.
Gutekunst said earlier this offseason that the safety position needed to be upgraded. After adding four new players via free agency and the draft, safety has gone from a weakness to a strength.
â– Motivated corner: Cornerback Kalen King, taken in the seventh round, could be a steal. King (5-11, 191) was a second- team All-American in 2022 when he had 18 pass breakups and three interceptions. His play dipped in 2023, though, and so did his draft status.
Now, King comes to Green Bay eager to prove a lot of people wrong.
“It’s extremely motivating,” King said immediately after he was drafted. “Not going where you thought you would go, seeing all the names being picked ahead of you, just enduring all that, seeing that and I felt like it put a chip on my shoulder, a permanent chip on my shoulder that I’ve got to keep there.
King led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally in passes defended (21) and was named first-team all-Big Ten by Pro Football Focus. He was named first-team preseason All-American last fall by the Associated Press, Sporting ÁůşĎ˛ĘżŞ˝±ĽÇÂĽ and PFF, but didn’t come close to playing at that level.
King finished 2023 with no interceptions and just two pass breakups despite the fact teams had no issues with throwing in his direction.
“It’s hard to say why certain guys fall during the process,” Gutekunst said of King. “It happens every year. Sometimes it’s testing, sometimes it’s medicals, sometimes it’s other things.
“In his particular case, I can’t really tell you other than the fact that we’re glad that he did.”
■Taking a shot: Former Packers general manager Ron Wolf tried to draft a quarterback every year — even with future Hall of Famer Brett Favre on the roster. Wolf hit it big several times, too, finding Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks, Matt Hasselbeck and Ty Detmer.
Gutekunst would like to adopt that same philosophy and added quarterback Michael Pratt of Tulane in the seventh round. Pratt threw for 9,602 yards and 90 touchdowns during a stellar career.
“He’s a good athlete. He’s got a pretty live arm,” Gutekunst said. “Very accurate. Just like the way he handled himself. He had some big wins, so we’re excited.”
THE BAD
■Risky business: Green Bay’s cornerback room could have used some early help. Jaire Alexander is coming off the worst season of his six-year career, Eric Stokes has battled injuries for two years, and both Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine remain question marks.
Four straight corners went between picks No. 40-43 on Friday night. The Packers began that day with the 41st overall pick, but traded back to No. 45.
By the time Green Bay selected that night, Iowa’s Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia), Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry (New Orleans), Georgia’s Kamari Lassiter (Houston) and Max Melton of Rutgers (Arizona) were all gobbled up.
With the top corners gone, Green Bay made Edgerrin Cooper of Texas A&M the first linebacker selected. Cooper could become a star, but the Packers are rolling the dice that Alexander rebounds and King stays healthy.
“I understand the question,” Gutekunst said when asked about a cornerback room that looks thin. “If it would have fallen right, we would have addressed that probably. But it just didn’t.
“It was kind of one of those years with that position. But right now, I really like our group and I like the way they look.
We’ve got a long way to get to September with everybody healthy, but I like the way it looks right now.”
â– Back it up, kid: Running back Mar-Shawn Lloyd, taken in the third round, will have a lot of pressure on him.
After being drafted Friday, Lloyd said, “I’m the best running back in the draft, for sure. And I think Green Bay got the best running back in the draft because they think the exact same. I’m super confident with that.”
Lloyd spent three years at South Carolina, then played the 2023 campaign at USC. Last year Lloyd had his best college season, finishing with 820 rushing yards, nine touchdowns and a 7.1 yards-per-carry average.
Lloyd was the fourth running back taken in this draft behind Jonathon Brooks of Texas (pick No. 46), Florida State’s Trey Benson (66) and Michigan’s Blake Corum (83).
Whether Lloyd (pick No. 88) eventually backs up his strong words will be interesting. Free agent acquisition Josh Jacobs will anchor Green Bay’s running game this season. Veteran A.J. Dillon will have a role, as well.
That might not leave a lot of snaps for Lloyd, even though the Packers believe he could eventually blossom.
“He’s big, he’s 220 pounds — he’s got really good speed,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said of Lloyd. “And I think he gives us an element out of the backfield.
He really showcased that the week of the Senior Bowl, especially in the one-on-one situations that he was in. He gives us a little different flavor maybe.”
â– Risky business?: The average score for an NFL player on the Wonderlic test is a 20. Players have 12 minutes to complete the 50-question test.
Two years ago, linebacker Quay Walker scored a 9 on the test and Devonte Wyatt posted an 8, but the Packers still took both players in the first round. Last year, defensive lineman Karl Brooks scored a 10 before the Packers selected him in Round 6.
This year, the Packers took linebacker Edgerrin Cooper despite his low Wonderlic score of 11. Much like Wyatt, Walker and Brooks, that low testing number didn’t scare Green Bay away.
“We spent plenty of time with him,” Pat Moore, the Packers’ assistant director of college scouting, said of Cooper. “He’s a good kid. We visited him on campus. We brought him in for a 30 visit. He spent time with our coaches.
“That (the Wonderlic) has probably been ... devalued more than anything because a lot of these guys don’t want to take these things anymore and it’s a little more of a hassle. We’re confident in what he can do and what he can learn. You pay attention to it, but it’s not a defining moment for him.”
THE UGLY
â– Nothing special: Green Bay had one of the shakiest kicker-punter duos in football last year with Anders Carlson and Daniel Whelan.
Carlson finished his rookie season 29 of 36 on field goals (80.6%) and 41 of 47 on extra points (87.2%). But Carlson missed more extra points (six) and total kicks (13) than anyone in football in 2023. He also missed at least one kick in his final five games and 10 of his last 12 contests.
The Packers signed veteran Greg Joseph and first-year player Jack Podlesny to provide competition for Carlson. But many thought Green Bay might use a draft pick on a kicker, as well.
“That position is obviously critical to us attaining our goals moving forward, and I think we’ll continue to make sure that there’s competition throughout training camp on that one,” Gutekunst said.
Whelan finished 25th in the league with a gross average of 46.2 yards per punt and 31st with a 39.7 yard net average last season.
With 11 picks, Gutekunst could have brought in competition for Whelan, but opted not to.
For now, anyhow, it remains questionable if Green Bay’s specialists will be any better than in 2023.