A glance at the Packers 2020 draft

[RashanGary]

Jordan Love
Redshirt
???

AJ Dillon
Decent rookie
Ascending 2nd year player??

Josiah Deguara
Decent rookie, injured
Ascending 2nd year player??

Kamal Martin
Ok rookie
Decent second year player??

Jon Runyan
Good rookie
Ascending second year player??

Jake Hansen
Redshirt

Simon Stepaniak
Redshirt

Vernon Scott
Splashed as a rookie
Hard to say 2nd year

Jonathan Garvin
Redshirt
Who knows?

[RashanGary]

Love is a wildcard

Dillon, Deguara, Runyan and Kamal all flashed as rookies. They leave some hope for a solid productive draft class developing in their second year.

A bunch of unlikely fliers after that

[RashanGary]

Gutes first draft with Alexander gets a B
His second draft with Gary/Savage/Elgton/Keke looks like an A- in the making
His third draft has a high upside QB and some decent rookie production after that. It has a chance of being a likely B- type draft


Early in Gutes tenure, he’s drafted some star players and some good contributors. Early signs are that he’s a B level GM. The question is, with a little time in the job and with some continuity with his assembled staff, can he rise to a level higher than solid. We want a championship, not playoff runs. Does he have it in him to take the next step.

Honestly, I think the arrow points up. The 2022 draft will be a make or break draft for Gute. A lot of players opted into another year of college ball. Gute has a stable staff. He needs a monster 2022.

[run pMc]

Too early to tell. Haven't even seen some of these guys play in a preseason game because of Covid. Final draft grade depends on what they have in Jordan Love, aside from him there's not a lot here to go on and this probably becomes a C grade draft.

[RashanGary]

Too early to tell. Haven't even seen some of these guys play in a preseason game because of Covid. Final draft grade depends on what they have in Jordan Love, aside from him there's not a lot here to go on and this probably becomes a C grade draft.

That’s possible. And 2021 shouldn’t be a very good draft because word is, a bunch of players chose the 5th year opt in for school and that made the draft shallow. The 2022 draft should be deeper though. I’m gonna wait to see what the 2022 draft looks like before I decide if Gute is a success or failure.

[Jaire]

A big fat F, on draft day and now. The most I ever upgrade is to C if Love becomes HoF

Nothing against Love, but it was bad then and now it's Chernobyl. It could wreck the franchise for years. And I believe Murphy & Gute have to go. This is the worst screw up in the league in a while and in Franchise history (though it could still be fixed -- I still want Murph & Gute gone).

Both Dillon and Deguara were overdrafted by position & need. Nothing against them as players or team fits, but it was a wasted draft. Zero contribution last year.

[George Cumby]

The Garvin pick looks is currently looking like a good value.

If his performance continues to improve, it might be a steal.

[Joemailman]

The Garvin pick looks is currently looking like a good value.

If his performance continues to improve, it might be a steal.

Dillon, Runyan and Garvin look like good picks. Jury still out on Love. DeGuara and Scott have a chance if they can get and stay healthy. Others look like misses.

[George Cumby]

It's essentially Deguara's rookie year. He's seeing the field more, which is nice.

[run pMc]

I'd give it a C- at this point, but it's still too early IMO.
Based on value, some players were overdrafted which doesn't help but Runyan and Dillon are effectively starters - or would be for other teams.
Garvin is starting with injuries at OLB but I don't think he's starter-worthy yet.
Jordan Love is at a minimum a semi-competent backup who could probably get you through a half of football if Rodgers had to leave a game (God forbid), but needs more time/snaps for more than that. He should improve over time.
We'll know re: Deguara next year; TE's take a while to really figure it out and he lost a year with the ACL. He's done some good and some bad. He's shown more than Sternberger, but I'm not sure he's better than Dafney (who he's battling for the same role).
Kamal Martin looked like a really decent pick for GB... until he wasn't.

Will be a good thread to revisit in another year.

[smuggler]

Stepaniak looked decent until his body betrayed him. Deguara might become a good player but he certainly looks like an overdraft.

[Joemailman]

Scott and Garvin were the 236th and 242nd players selected. They don't have to become starters to be good picks. If they're just decent role players, they're good picks. If they become starters, they're steals. Runyan as a 6th round pick is also close to a steal. If there was a reach in this draft it was DeGuara. That can still be an okay pick, or it could be a bust. I see this as a decent draft that could be great if Love becomes the next Packer stud QB.

[run pMc]

Scott and Garvin were the 236th and 242nd players selected. They don't have to become starters to be good picks. If they're just decent role players, they're good picks. If they become starters, they're steals. Runyan as a 6th round pick is also close to a steal. If there was a reach in this draft it was DeGuara. That can still be an okay pick, or it could be a bust. I see this as a decent draft that could be great if Love becomes the next Packer stud QB.

Fair point. I think getting starts and quality play out of Runyan makes up for drafting a RB in R2. Granted, Dillon is a good RB, but drafting RBs high is not for everyone.
Getting meaningful snaps from Garvin and hopefully Scott isn't nothing, especially since they are basically a small step above being UDFAs. Being even average players who can sub in to give starters a break without crapping the bed will make them good picks.

It might not be fair to ding them for Kamal Martin; he did some good last year and he's on the active roster for CAR, so he's at least worthy of an NFL roster spot.


As I said it's still a little early for this class because Covid wrecked their first offseason and it usually take 3 years to really get a sense of a class. There's a chance this class could be a very good one, but for now it's 'ok'.
I would NOT give this draft a failing grade. It absolutely makes sense to draft a good backup (and possible protege) for your 39 year old QB. They didn't handle it well with said QB; that's a separate issue.

[run pMc]

Stepaniak looked decent until his body betrayed him. Deguara might become a good player but he certainly looks like an overdraft.

Agree. Stepaniak was a super strong G-T who could looked like a fit in a mauler/enforcer role. Too bad about the knee injury.

I tend to subscribe to the theory that they liked Deguara and overdrafted him because they traded away their R4 and didn't think he'd be there in R5. I think he was a pure MLF pick.
Dafney's emergence last year might make him expendable but I think they'll give Deguara plenty of rope this year to figure it out. He was a big piece of the offense for UCincinnati and could be a weapon in this offense. Too early to give up on him or call him a bust, but agree he was overdrafted.

[texaspackerbacker]

Stepaniak looked decent until his body betrayed him. Deguara might become a good player but he certainly looks like an overdraft.

An overdraft? Does he bounce? Or just cost a fee?

[Upnorth]

A big fat F, on draft day and now. The most I ever upgrade is to C if Love becomes HoF

Nothing against Love, but it was bad then and now it's Chernobyl. It could wreck the franchise for years. And I believe Murphy & Gute have to go. This is the worst screw up in the league in a while and in Franchise history (though it could still be fixed -- I still want Murph & Gute gone).

Both Dillon and Deguara were overdrafted by position & need. Nothing against them as players or team fits, but it was a wasted draft. Zero contribution last year.

Hello skip bayless.

[smuggler]

The most I ever upgrade is to C if Love becomes HoF

lol okay

[bobblehead]

A big fat F, on draft day and now. The most I ever upgrade is to C if Love becomes HoF

Nothing against Love, but it was bad then and now it's Chernobyl. It could wreck the franchise for years. And I believe Murphy & Gute have to go. This is the worst screw up in the league in a while and in Franchise history (though it could still be fixed -- I still want Murph & Gute gone).

Both Dillon and Deguara were overdrafted by position & need. Nothing against them as players or team fits, but it was a wasted draft. Zero contribution last year.

I would definitly fire the guys that engineered a 31-7 start to their time together.

[Upnorth]

Just thought this needed to be brought up.

[red]

not a great draft other then nailing the first pick

[sharpe1027]

This is why you can never judge a GM on a single draft, good or bad.

[run pMc]

Well Dillon looked good his first two years, Runyan gave them almost 4 years of starts as a R6 pick, the others got you some games and starts... but I agree not a great draft outside of the QB.

It's fun to grade a draft immediately and then each of the first few years, just to see how perspectives change. I do think you need 3 years for that perspective though. Also helps to look at other team's drafts, as well as those from like 10 years back.

A lot of picks turn into either meh or bad players at the pro level. Not everyone can be All Star, says Capt. Obvious.

[Fritz]

But if Love keeps playing like he has been, then you have your QB - a REALLY good QB - for the next ten years. So even if the rest of the draft is a bunch of soft wet farts, it’s still a good draft. A great draft.

[RashanGary]

If Love plays like he has the last 10 games he’ll be a 70% 4,500 yard, 42 touchdown and 2 interception QB with a 120 rating. The odds of love continuing to play like that are slim, but if he does for a few seasons he’ll have a few MVPs and be a HOFer.

But he has a lot of talented weapons, a good OL and Aaron Jones. I’m betting on him being MVP next year.

And I hope we resign Jones for a contract that locks him in for 3 more years. He has very little wear and tear and shows no signs of slowing down. Ages 30, 31 and 32 should be good for him. After that, unfortunately, it’s probably time to let go.

[texaspackerbacker]

True the part about Love, maybe also about Jones. Adrian Peterson was effective to a much older age than what you're talking about with Jones, and to some extent, they are similar.

Regarding Love, I think his last half season was a lot more what we can expect going forward than his first half. That's partly because Love really seemed to learn from his mistakes, and partly because the receivers were a lot better the second half, and that should continue. And of Watson can overcome the hamstring crap, things should get better, also having a healthy Musgrave.

[bobblehead]

This is why you can never judge a GM on a single draft, good or bad.

Au contraire, we do it all the time.

[bobblehead]

I would definitly fire the guys that engineered a 31-7 start to their time together.

And here I thought I killed the thread with this one.

[run pMc]

a 70% 4,500 yard, 42 touchdown and 2 interception QB with a 120 rating

That would be one of the best years any QB has ever had and easily an MVP year. I don't think it's fair to project that over a season for him or anyone.
Rodgers never had a season where he threw for over 30 TD and less than 4 Ints. 40 and 2 would be unprecedented.

[Fritz]

A big fat F, on draft day and now. The most I ever upgrade is to C if Love becomes HoF

Nothing against Love, but it was bad then and now it's Chernobyl. It could wreck the franchise for years. And I believe Murphy & Gute have to go. This is the worst screw up in the league in a while and in Franchise history (though it could still be fixed -- I still want Murph & Gute gone).

Both Dillon and Deguara were overdrafted by position & need. Nothing against them as players or team fits, but it was a wasted draft. Zero contribution last year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fcZLyshLso

You still staying with your assessment of the 2020 draft?

[smuggler]

That would be one of the best years any QB has ever had and easily an MVP year. I don't think it's fair to project that over a season for him or anyone.
Rodgers never had a season where he threw for over 30 TD and less than 4 Ints. 40 and 2 would be unprecedented.

Love's last 8 games put him on pace for 36/2. Even better when you factor in the playoff game against the Cowpokes.