Green Bay Packers: Rookie Performance Grades

The draft was a huge point of frustration this offseason throughout the Green Bay Packers’ fan base, so let’s see how their picks have done so far this season.

In the NFL Draft this spring, the Green Bay Packers made nine selections. Six of those picks, plus one undrafted free agent, have seen time on the field in this 2020 season. We’ll take a look at what those six guys have done, plus why the three that haven’t hit the field yet are on the sidelines.

First, the three guys that haven’t played yet have pretty straightforward reasons why. Jordan Love is a super raw quarterback who hasn’t been activated for a game this season. Without offseason workouts and preseason games to get himself ready, Tim Boyle remained the number two quarterback to start the season and has kept that job thus far. Center Jake Hanson was on the practice squad to start the season behind Corey Linsley and then went down with an injury and was placed on the Injured Reserve list. Finally, Simon Stepaniak was placed on the non-football injury list, still recovering from a torn ACL that he sustained at Indiana.

There are three other undrafted rookies that aren’t on the 53-man roster but have been elevated to the gameday roster and contributed in small ways. Defensive backs Stanford Samuels and Henry Black, as well as EDGE player Tipa Galeai, have all seen some time on the field this season. Galeai has played nine defensive snaps but failed to record a stat. Samuels has played 13 defensive snaps and 10 special teams snaps and made two tackles. Black has done a little more, playing in three games and a total of 24 defensive and 32 special teams snaps, making six total tackles and forcing a fumble late in the game against the Texans.

Seven Green Bay Packers’ rookies have played real snaps this year and made contributions to the team in very tangible ways. I’ll write a little bit about what each of them has done for the team this season and then give each one an overall grade for how their season has gone through eight games. It will start in the higher rounds and move back through the draft, finishing off with undrafted rookie Krys Barnes. To be clear, these grades are not re-grading the pick itself but simply grading the season that the player has had.