Planning Ahead in the Draft: Packers Under Contract in 2023

Of course, we want as many of the Green Bay Packers’ selections in this year’s draft to make big impacts–especially since this is a team that has Super Bowl aspirations and is all-in once again.

However, ultimately the draft is about planning ahead and selecting who you think a player will become–not who they are on draft night. Most rookies come with plenty of ups and downs and even struggle as they adjust to the NFL level. I would say the performance that we saw from Eric Stokes as a rookie, where he allowed a completion rate of just 51% along with nine pass breakups, per PFF ($$), is closer to being the outlier than the norm for a first-year cornerback.

Now, we know that the Green Bay Packers are still going to try to address current needs, such as selecting a receiver or two early on plus bolstering their edge rusher depth, among other moves. But to get some added insight into other positions that Green Bay may choose to address — particularly early on — we have to look ahead to what the 2023 roster currently looks like.

A position that may appear to well put together in the moment could all of a sudden look quite thin next offseason with several members of that position group heading to free agency. Green Bay will, of course, re-sign some of these free agents — especially the ERFAs and any RFAs — so the outlook at some of these position groups is likely not as bleak as they may currently appear.

However, the prudent thing for the Green Bay Packers to do is to plan ahead for some of these departures — they already probably have a decent idea of who they want to re-sign and who they will let walk — by beginning to build some long-term depth through this year’s draft.

Green Bay Packers 2023 Roster

Quarterback: Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love

Running back: Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, and Kylin Hill

Offensive tackle: David Bakhtiari

Interior offensive line: Josh Myers, Royce Newman, and Jon Runyan

Tight end: Josiah Deguara

Wide receiver: Amari Rodgers,

Interior defensive line: Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton

Edge rusher: Preston Smith and Johnathan Garvin

Linebacker: De’Vondre Campbell and Isaiah McDuffie

Cornerback: Rasul Douglas, Eric Stokes, and Shemar Jean-Charles

Safety: Vernon Scott

Specialists: Pat O’Donnell

Quick Thoughts

– Some of the players who are not currently under contract in 2023, but I would expect to return include Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, and Jaire Alexander–at this point, it’s just a matter of working out new contracts.

– As you can see, the biggest needs include safety, wide receiver, and tight end. With seven picks within the first four rounds, I would expect the Green Bay Packers to address each of these needs in this year’s draft.

– The offensive tackle position is also very thin, and as I wrote recently, it should be addressed as well. However, the outlook of the position can change quite quickly. If Jenkins is re-signed and Nijman is brought back on an RFA deal, the Packers have their two starting tackles in Jenkins and Bakhtiari and their swing tackle in Nijman–although, the depth will still have to be improved.

– As currently constructed — and yes, cuts and trades can happen — the quarterback, running back, and cornerback positions, especially if/when Alexander signs a new deal, are in the best shape. With that said, when it comes to the running back and cornerback positions, I still wouldn’t be surprised to see Green Bay add to them this year.

Cornerback is a premier position where there is no such thing as too much depth, while the Packers can save $10 million in cap space next offseason if they choose to move on from Jones at running back–however, if the Packers do add to the running back position, it will be on Day 3, if at all.

– The interior defensive line and edge rusher positions are a bit in between because they are lacking bodies but have high-end players in Clark, Smith, and in all likelihood, Rashan Gary. But again, the name of the game is getting after the quarterback, and in my recent rankings of the Packers’ positional needs, I have edge rusher at No. 2 and the interior defensive line at No. 4 for that main reason.

– With De’Vondre Campbell locked into the linebacker position, Green Bay will have to add depth to the position, although I certainly wouldn’t expect any high draft capital being invested, and they may even wait until next year to do so.

– At this point, it looks like the three starting interior offensive linemen that are listed are going to be the starters in 2022, but as we’ve seen from Brian Gutekunst, he will use the draft to invest heavily into this position, including six picks in the last two years. While he may not draft three offensive linemen again, I certainly expect him to add at least one.

2023 roster info from Overthecap.com