My Deep Dive Into Green Bay’s Draft Needs
Alright, so I saw this headline about what the Packers need to pick in the draft, “Green Bay Draft Needs Top 3 Positions Packers Should Target,” and figured why not dig into it myself? Been following them forever, especially with the whole Love taking over thing.
First thing this morning, after coffee, I grabbed my old notebook – the one with the cheese stain, obviously – and just started jotting down stuff about the team. Off the top of my head: Where did they really look thin last year? Where did guys get hurt too much?
Started thinking about the games I actually sat through:
- Right Tackle: Man, Yosh Nijman was kinda up and down, right? And Zach Tom, awesome dude, but got shuffled around when guys went down. Remember that Giants game? Pressure kept coming from the right side. Felt like we really missed a solid, consistent anchor there.
- Cornerback: Jaire was Jaire when he played, but that guy got banged up! And after him? Eric Stokes coming back from injury, Keisean Nixon is more that nickel/slot beast than outside. Valentine had flashes, but rookie stuff showed sometimes. Could really use another shutdown type or even a solid #2 outside guy, felt like teams picked on that.
- Safety: Man, losing Darnell Savage sucked mid-season. That whole position group felt… unsettled. Rudy Ford had moments but wasn’t always there. Jonathan Owens brought heat, but coverage? Ehh. McKinney coming in helps HUGE, obviously, but another versatile piece back there? Always useful. Could see them maybe targeting this still, especially someone who can cover tight ends better.
Now, I know people scream about needing a true #1 wideout. And yeah, Christian Watson’s hamstrings are annoying, and Doubs/R-Reed/Wicks are great finds… but are any of them that dominant alpha guy yet? Reed’s close, maybe. But Gutey finds receivers everywhere! So I kept going back and forth on this one. Ended up feeling like the trenches and the back end might be slightly bigger priorities this draft, but I could be totally wrong – wouldn’t be the first time!
To double-check, I messed around online looking at mock drafts – not taking them too serious, but just seeing what the “experts” were echoing. Saw plenty linking OTs, corners, and even some safeties to the Pack in the first two rounds. Felt like I wasn’t too far off base.
After lunch, I got this wild hair and actually dug out my Madden game – the old version, before Jordan Love was actually good in it. Loaded up the Packers roster. Simmed the draft trying to force picks for the positions I figured: grabbed this big right tackle in the first, found a super speedy corner in the second, and snagged this versatile safety/LB hybrid dude later. Simmed the next season… and wouldn’t you know it, the virtual Love had way more time, and the defense wasn’t getting torched downfield as much. Obviously, it’s just a dumb video game, but kinda fun to see it play out, even artificially! Made me feel a bit more confident in my list.
Honestly, writing this all out now… my gut keeps landing on Right Tackle, Cornerback, and Safety as the absolute must-address spots through the draft, maybe not in that exact order. Line needs shoring up for Love, and that secondary can’t just rely on Jaire being Superman. But hey, what do I know? Gutey will do his own thing anyway. Just happy diving into it and trying to figure the puzzle out myself. Draft night can’t come soon enough! Feeling pumped just thinking about it. Now, who else wants to argue with me about receiver? Hit me up!
