Official 2023 NFL Draft Thread

[Joemailman]

Is there are reason you are eliminating TE? The Packers are in dire need of a really good TE. I'd be happy if they got one in the first round.

I just don't believe in taking TE's in the 1st round. Gronk, Kelce, Andrews were drafted in 2-3 round. Kittle in the 5th.

[MadScientist]

I just don't believe in taking TE's in the 1st round. Gronk, Kelce, Andrews were drafted in 2-3 round. Kittle in the 5th.

Greg Olsen, Vernon Davis of Tony Gonzalez were first rounders. They need to fill the position with actual talent. If it's there grab it.

[texaspackerbacker]

I absolutely want the Packers to draft Jake Moody of Michigan in the 4th round -give or take a round.

[Joemailman]

I absolutely want the Packers to draft Jake Moody of Michigan in the 4th round -give or take a round.

Packers have a kicker they like. Moody is only 2-6 from 50+.

[Bretsky]

I WANT THE TCU WIDE RECEIVER

Let's get the Lizard at the #4 spot where he belongs. Dubmeister can be a nice 3. Get us another elite started to go along with Watson, OR if Watson's injuries continue we'd have another great option

[Bretsky]

for what it's worth I'd take Marvin Harrison Jr over just about everybody but he has to play one more year. He's incredible

[call_me_ishmael]

CJ Stroud didn't look like he had a big time arm tonight. Really good college QB though. Great games today!

[Anti-Polar Bear]

I WANT THE TCU WIDE RECEIVER

Let's get the Lizard at the #4 spot where he belongs. Dubmeister can be a nice 3. Get us another elite started to go along with Watson, OR if Watson's injuries continue we'd have another great option

Tex or Harrell once suggested that Lazard be moved to TE. Not a bad idea, especially since Lazard pancaked 3 defenders in a single play.

I agree. Draft a WR in Rd 1.

[texaspackerbacker]

The question is, what do we need? and if there are needs, what do we need the most? And if we don't really need anything, what would be the most advantageous luxury items? We, of course, have plenty of adequate TEs as well as arguably a good stable of WRs. Do we go after some potential superstar in one of those areas? Or is something else a higher priority?

Category by category: O Line, plenty of decent adequate guys there, and a position where drafting early is shaky for finding star quality; D Line: Assuming Wyatt continues to improve and Slayton is minorly a positive factor, no early round need. We have several young guys who looked fairly decent in the preseason that haven't even been brought up from the PS and gotten in games; ILB: seemingly solid with Campbell under contract and Walker presumably at least decent plus Barnes and McDuffie; OLB: If Gary comes back as good as before and P. Smith is not cut, we don't need a high rounder there. Enagbare seems to be good, and Garvin has been decent enough for a roster spot for a couple of years. If a star quality guy falls to us, maybe grab him. Otherwise, skip it; Corner: obviously we're solid; Safety: If you assume Savage is a bust and Ford is not adequate, maybe draft one early. I tend to think those inadequacies are D scheme and coaching problems, though; RB and QB: no need to draft early so long as we keep what we have; Kicker: I said a year or two ago already we should maybe replace Crosby. I see we brought this guy up from the PS to kick off. If they have a high enough opinion of him, maybe no need, but that's a shaky assumption. Regardless, you don't draft a kicker before maybe the 4th round.

I would say we don't have any glaring need. As for what would be good to get in the first couple of rounds, my order of prioriity would be TE, Safety, OLB, D Line, and WR - depending on who drops to us.

[run pMc]

They should draft BPA

Having said that, I think there are some good OLB/EDGE defenders they will look at. Preston is fine, but he's getting older, and there's no guarantee an athletic freak like Gary will be 100% back next year. Garvin is JAG, Hollins and Enagbare are nice depth, but if you have a shot at a quality pass rusher you take them.

I think they are ok at ILB; Walker and Campbell are starters. I think they might let Barnes shop around. McDuffie is ST and deep depth; I'm not sure you want him playing a lot of meaningful snaps unless he shows more consistency and better play. They won't spend a high pick here, if any. Probably go the UDFA route.

DL - they won't bring Lowry or Reed back, meaning they will need another DL or two. J.Ford is on a redshirt year as the 3rd NT, which seems like a luxury thing plus I don't think he's that good anyway. So you basically have Slaton, Wyatt and Clark... you'll need a DE. For as bad as theyve been against the run, I wouldn't say they are ok at DL

Corners - they still have to figure out what to do with the trio of Jaire, Rasul and Stokes. Nixon is worth bringing back for his KR alone; he can play some slot and maybe you can play Savage there some too, but why is SJC even on the team? Someone willing/able to play the slot effectively would be nice. Rasul should be outside.

There's the possibility of switching him to safety, but that seems iffy. Amos is good as gone; very good dude but he seems a step slow this year and they need an upgrade in their starters at safety. Savage is a better man safety than zone; he was drafted for the Pettine scheme, not the Barry zone heavy scheme. Ford is a nice story but he got benched for biting on fakes and giving up a few big plays -- a rare sign of demanding accountability by the coaches. Tariq Carpenter and Dallin Leavitt are ST guys only; I'm not sure they really are keepers.

OL - they have a lot of guys under contract but if there's a good one you take them. It's unclear if there are enough 'decent adequate guys' there; grading out Jake Hanson, Rasheed Walker, Caleb Jones, Sean Rhyan and Royce Newman as such is iffy... and there's Bahktiari health issues. I wouldn't call Josh Myers spot as a starter safe going into next season either.

RB - what to do with Aaron Jones? They'll keep him and redo his contract somehow, but he's got one, maybe two seasons left in him before the decline becomes significant. RBs rarely age well. They have Patrick Taylor and Goodson, and will work the UDFA route. Dillon was the rare early pick, and I don't think they will do that again.

WR - they don't pick WRs in R1, I wonder if that's a TT maxim that Gute adheres to as well. They will absolutely draft a WR if they are smart; Lazard could be gone, Cobb probably should be and they don't have much else behind the rookies. Having another player besides Watson who can be a threat to stretch the field would be very beneficial to the offense. Day 2/early Day 3 pick here would make sense.

TE- Deguara is it for TEs under contract. Big Dog can come back if he decides to (he will), and Davis is an RFA. They won't tender him but might bring him back to camp on a cheap one year deal. Tonyan is something like 28 or 29 years old and it doesn't look like his legs are back post-ACL. He's been asked to block more the last two seasons (because of OL injuries) and that impacts his numbers, but he's a replaceable guy. The Mayer kid looks ok, but I think they can get a Day 2 TE who can be almost as good as Mayer and at least as good as any TE on the roster. Rodgers throws to them like 3 times a game.

I think Mason Crosby is done. Ahmed is supposed to have a big leg but he didn't boom it last time he had a chance. They probably bring him back along with either a UDFA or late Day 3 pick like Moody, who is fine. O'Donnell I think has another year on his contract. They need competition for Jack Coco at LS, he's gotten better but is still shaky at times.

[Joemailman]

Packers with the 16th pick in the draft...and dropping.

[Bretsky]

Packers with the 16th pick in the draft...and dropping.

Yup, we're not getting the top WR in the draft anymore

[Joemailman]

Yup, we're not getting the top WR in the draft anymore

Stop dreaming. You know we never were.

[Bretsky]

Stop dreaming. You know we never were.

I'm going to keep pounding the table, and fighting the good fight )

[run pMc]

I'm going to keep pounding the table, and fighting the good fight )

Keep doing it. Not against it, just don't think it will happen.
I do think they need another good WR. When Watson is hurt you can probably feature Doubs more but they will need another (non-RB) receiving threat to keep teams honest.