Official 2024 NFL Draft Thread

[run pMc]

Fair enough. But a high pick on a depth piece when we’re consistently good at finding tackles in later rounds….

If you draft a tackle and he’s really good, you want to trade Rasheed after next year for a 1st or maybe 2 firsts if he’s a top 5 guy next year. Then you pay Tom and have 3 more years of a rookie deal at tackle. It’s not bad at all.

But it’s kind of a waste to use a top 26 pick on a backup.

I know you like Rasheed and he's come along nicely, but he still has the occasional brainfart/bad effort moments and they needed to platoon him with Njiman to get his head screwed on.
Next season the depth behind Walker and Tom will be nonexistent unless you think Tenuta is the answer or you want to start playing musical chairs with your other line spots (i.e., move Jenkins).
I guess if Bakhtiari is back and can play most of a season or a full season you're ok, but I wouldn't count on him being on the roster and that's not a good long term answer.
Njiman is good as gone.

If there's a player out there who can start as the swing tackle and push Rasheed to keep improving that's not nothing. I don't think they will be in a position to take a day 1 starting OT anyway, the best ones will be gone by the time they pick in R1. I think they will go defense in R1, either corner or safety.

You need more than 2 OT's. Walker's blocking improved and that combined with their draft position diminishes the need to reach for a T but it never hurts to have another guy developing in the pipeline. Longer term, the contracts for Walker and Tom will expire same year, I am skeptical they will keep both. Some teams fail to draft/develop/retain good tackles and their QBs get stomped. This team is shaping up to go as far and the offense will take them, that means boosting the offensive pieces around Jordan Love.

[Joemailman]

With Buffalo loss, we now know Packer picks in the first 3 rounds will be:

25
41 (NY Jets)
58
88
91 (Buffalo)

We know they will also have pick 126 in the 4th round. There is some disagreement on whether one of their comp picks will be a 4th round pick.

[Joemailman]

Perceived depth in football can change very quickly. Wasn't that long ago it looked like the Packers were set at CB with Jaire, Rasul, and Stokes. Now it's seen as a need. If you have a chance to draft what you think is a great offensive lineman, it's not a bad idea. Having a great OL has been the key to the resurgence of the Lions. It's made Jared Goff a much better QB.

[ThunderDan]

Perceived depth in football can change very quickly. Wasn't that long ago it looked like the Packers were set at CB with Jaire, Rasul, and Stokes. Now it's seen as a need. If you have a chance to draft what you think is a great offensive lineman, it's not a bad idea. Having a great OL has been the key to the resurgence of the Lions. It's made Jared Goff a much better QB.

This! Injuries happen so fast in the NFL. What if we didn't have Walker (who I don't think is a top 10 LT at this point) because of Bahk? You can never have enough depth on a team. You are 1 play away from having to trot out some backup at every position.

[bobblehead]

Perceived depth in football can change very quickly. Wasn't that long ago it looked like the Packers were set at CB with Jaire, Rasul, and Stokes. Now it's seen as a need. If you have a chance to draft what you think is a great offensive lineman, it's not a bad idea. Having a great OL has been the key to the resurgence of the Lions. It's made Jared Goff a much better QB.

As has a run game, which was the real culprit in our loss (and vital to Goff's resurgence). MiLF stopped running from Mid 2nd Q to end of 3rd. I know they adjusted to stop the run, but that doesn't mean line up in shotgun every fucking snap. If they are committing to stopping the run use play action to freeze some LBs.

[call_me_ishmael]

Defensive back, guard, center, defensive line, line backer, safety, center.

They have some good draft capital and I'd like to see them address the D early. Maybe resign Dillon for cheap.

[run pMc]

They will definitely need to find a tackle who they can plug in there if Walker/Tom get hurt but

I actually think finding a replacement/challenger at RG and C might be just as important if not more than T. Runyan is probably not back, Rhyan may not be the answer and Myers has left us wanting as well. A better IOL would help the run game and an improved pocket for Love to throw from. If Jenkins goes down, who will they plug in? Newman? barf.

[bobblehead]

They will definitely need to find a tackle who they can plug in there if Walker/Tom get hurt but

I actually think finding a replacement/challenger at RG and C might be just as important if not more than T. Runyan is probably not back, Rhyan may not be the answer and Myers has left us wanting as well. A better IOL would help the run game and an improved pocket for Love to throw from. If Jenkins goes down, who will they plug in? Newman? barf.

We should take the best OL available unless we have none with a 1st round grade. If its a tackle Tom can slide inside. Thats my #1 choice. Then a DB in the 2nd to go with a RB in the 3rd. Obviously BPA applies if someone stands out. Extra 2nd and 3rd could be damn near anything. But we need a new RG. If we get a new DC and savage can be had for cheap I'll take him back, but we need to sign a stud. That should be the only real FA money spent. The "holes" are RG and S imo. There is nowhere on any roster in the NFL that can't use more young talent after you fill the holes so BPA is the only way to go (just another way of saying what Joe said about perceived depth).

[RashanGary]

Ravens and 49ers could afford to upgrade tackle. Maybe we get the 31st or 32nd pick and a late second to drop back a few spots.


31st pick
Jets 2nd
Our 2nd
49ers 2nd
Our 3rd
Bills 3rd

6 picks in the top 32 wouldn’t be bad at all.

[bobblehead]

OL, more OL, sign a safety, draft a RB. Hire Leonhard as DC. Win an Owl.

The end.

[call_me_ishmael]

Hire Leonhard as DC.

He took a job at Colorado already

[Joemailman]

He took a job at Colorado already

There were rumors about that, but I'm not sure it's happened. The official website for Colorado football does not list him as a coach.

[Bretsky]

He took a job at Colorado already

I
Don’t think this is true

[RashanGary]

The secondary is the clear and obvious part of our team that we need to revamp.

There are guys like Hoodie who value tweener types, but there are a million and one corners in the first 3 rounds of this draft and Cooper Dejean is kind of pidgeon holed as a slot. I think he’s going to drop more than people think.

Regardless of how it goes, between picks 25 and 92 (we have 5 picks) CB is the richest position in the draft in this area of the draft. We are going to get a corner in the first 3 rounds.

Dejean is kind of projects as an ideal slot type. Big, smart, fast enough, can cover tight ends. Can tackle. Can deal with the complexity of inside responsibilities.

I see a few safeties in the first couple rounds….



QB and OT are fairly deep. We could fetch a steal in a trade back with our first round pick.

[RashanGary]

Safety, Andrew Mukuba is kind of interesting.

He’s not big 5’11” 185.

But I like the option to play single high man defense with a center fielder who can contest those boundary throws. He’s also supposed to be an elite cover guy for safety. I think you open up some options to have a few more zero blitzes with him on the field.

Just having the fastest secondary in the league is kind of a cool thing too.
Jaire 4.38
Savage 4.38
Valentine 4.44
Mukuba 3.34 (est)
And for fun, let’s say we draft a speedy nickle too. Oh shit, that’s a lot of speed in the back.

Savage isn’t huge, but he plays more like a strong safety the way he’s best coming down hill. If you’re going to keep Savage, pairing him with an elite free safety type would be ideal.

[texaspackerbacker]

Nobody runs a 3.34 40 hahahaha. I'm assuming you had an attack of dyslexia, as Google says Mukuba runs a 4.33. It also says he is transferring to the Texas Longhorns from Clemson. Did you hear something about him going into the draft?

I've always preferred big Safetys like Owens and Johnson, but a speed guy who can hit would be ok too.

You left Nixon out of your list of speedy DBs. He must be in that range too.

[RashanGary]

I guess Mukuna transferred to Texas so he’s not an option.

Kinchens from Miami and Tyler Nubin from Minnesota seem like the top two safeties.


Kinchens is the elite athlete with some lapses and Nubin is the good athlete with football savvy. I’ve seen way too many physical specimens come into the NFL at safety and completely bust out. If I had to pick one, I’d pick the savvy one who’s less of an athlete. It’s a position where the mental aspect just plays too much of a role.

I think Nubin looks like the best fit. He should be available in the 2nd round.

[Fritz]

I'm just amazed that, year after year after year, when we get to the part about discussing Packer needs, it's always defense, defense, defense.

[ThunderDan]

I'm just amazed that, year after year after year, when we get to the part about discussing Packer needs, it's always defense, defense, defense.

Exactly, I just ran a mock draft on FanSpeak. The majority of my early picks were on defense. Year after year after year, we keep infusing a lot more of our draft capital and free agent signings on that side of the ball and nothing seems to improve.

[run pMc]

Exactly, I just ran a mock draft on FanSpeak. The majority of my early picks were on defense. Year after year after year, we keep infusing a lot more of our draft capital and free agent signings on that side of the ball and nothing seems to improve.

Maddening, isn't it?

I'm mulling the idea that (with a few exceptions) it makes more sense to focus premium draft capital on offense. The rules of the game have tilted considerably in favor of scoring points, maybe it makes sense to lean into that when drafting.