Packers Didn’t Address Every Need in NFL Draft
GREEN BAY, Wis. – For a team coming off an unprecedented three consecutive 13-win seasons, the Green Bay Packers entered the 2022 NFL Draft with a considerable number of needs.
There was the immediate need at receiver following the trade of Davante Adams. There was the immediate need on the offensive line following the release of Billy Turner and the free-agent departure of Lucas Patrick. There was the immediate need at outside linebacker, with the backups to Preston Smith and Rashan Gary providing meager contributions last season.
There were depth issues at cornerback beyond the formidable starting trio of Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes, and at safety behind the starting tandem of Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos.
There were forward-thinking needs, too. At tight end, starters Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis will be free agents next offseason. On the defensive line, with Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed set to be free agents next offseason, there were only three players under contract in 2023.
General manager Brian Gutekunst took care of a few of those needs. At receiver, he traded both of his second-round picks, No. 53 and No. 59 overall, in a deal with Minnesota to take North Dakota State’s Christian Watson at No. 34. He added Nevada’s Romeo Doubs and Nebraska’s Samari Toure with Day 3 selections, making it three receivers to bolster the weakest position on the team.
For the third consecutive year, Gutekunst threw three picks at the offensive line. UCLA’s Sean Ryan, a third-round pick, was a three-year starter at left tackle but could move to guard. Wake Forest’s Zach Tom, a fourth-round pick, started at center as a sophomore and left tackle as a junior and senior. Penn State’s Rasheed Walker was a three-year starter at left tackle and has the measurables to stay at tackle.
At outside linebacker, he used a fifth-round pick on South Carolina’s Kingsley Enagbare. While a below-average athlete, he fits the team’s physical-first preference and had decent production (10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for losses in two seasons as a starter) in the best conference in college football.
On the defensive line, he used a first-round pick on athletic Devonte Wyatt of Georgia and a seventh-round pick on massive Jonathan Ford of Miami.
Using six of the team’s 11 picks on receivers and blockers was a logical approach, given the importance of those positions, but it left Gutekunst with limited resources elsewhere. In fact, the team’s other needs weren’t addressed.
Gutekunst didn’t draft a cornerback. Led by former All-Pro Alexander, the Packers might have the best starting corners in the NFL but there is no depth. Shemar Jean-Charles, a fifth-round pick last year, barely played as a rookie. Keisean Nixon, with 273 defensive snaps in three seasons with the Raiders, was mostly signed because of his experience with Rich Bisaccia on special teams. Last season, the Packers lucked into Douglas. Those types of signings are the exception, not the rule.
Gutekunst didn’t draft a tight end. In fact, he didn’t even sign one in undrafted free agency. Assuming Robert Tonyan returns to form once he returns from last season’s torn ACL, the Packers will have a strong fleet at the position for 2022. There just won’t be an obvious successor to the pass-catching Tonyan or the run-blocking Lewis.
Gutekunst did draft a safety, a seventh-round pick on Georgia Tech’s Tariq Carpenter. But he’s probably more of a safety/linebacker hybrid for specialty packages and a weapon on special teams – nothing wrong with those roles with the 228th selection – than a true safety and developmental starter with Adrian Amos entering his final season under contract.
“Thirty-two teams picked a bunch of players, so from here on out there’s going to be guys that might be available that weren’t available before,” Gutekunst said after the draft. “And, if they can help our football team, we’re certainly going to look at that. That’s part of the process, so all these guys we took we’re really excited about. None of them have played a snap of NFL football and, until we get them here and get them with our team and see what we really have, I think you’re always kind of unsure. But I do feel really good about our numbers, our roster.”
Introducing the Packers' Undrafted Free Agents
RB B.J. Baylor, Oregon State
RB Tyler Goodson, Iowa
C Cole Schneider, Central Florida
G George Moore, Oregon
OT Jahmir Johnson, Texas A&M
OT Caleb Jones, Indiana
WR Danny Davis, Wisconsin
DL Akial Byers, Missouri
DL Hauati Pututau, Utah
LB Caliph Brice, Florida Atlantic
LB Ellis Brooks, Penn State
OLB Chauncey Manac, Louisiana
CB Raleigh Texada, Baylor
S Tre Sterling, Oklahoma State
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No. 255: Nebraska WR Samori Toure
No. 249: Penn State OT Rasheed Walker
No. 234: Miami DT Jonathan Ford
No. 228: Georgia Tech S Tariq Carpenter
No. 179: South Carolina edge Kingsley Enagbare
No. 140: Wake Forest OL Zach Tom
No. 132: Nevada WR Romeo Doubs
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