Draft board held up strong for Packers, opportunities at key needs on Day 2
By Paul Bretl
The Green Bay Packers chose Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness in the first round, despite there being larger perceived needs elsewhere, specifically at tight end and wide receiver. However, even with those roster holes left to fill, Brian Gutekunst is comfortable with where their board sits heading into Day 2 of the draft.
Now, it’s not as if edge rusher wasn’t a position that had to be addressed by Green Bay. The lack of impactful depth at this position was exposed last season when Rashan Gary went down with a season-ending injury, and Green Bay then struggled to get after the quarterback. Van Ness also checks every box that the Packers often look for at the edge rusher position, as well as in general, within the first round, with his size, athleticism, versatility, age, and him playing a true premier position.
When it comes to the other needs that the Packers have at receiver, tight end, safety, and interior defensive lineman, at least at pick 13, Green Bay was either low on options for the most part, or the value just wasn’t right.
The only receiver at that point in the draft that fit what the Packers typically look for was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Gutekunst said following the first round of the draft that there were a lot of good options for the Packers, but Van Ness plays a premier position, as already mentioned, he was ranked higher on Green Bay’s board, and that picked fit with their philosophy of prioritizing getting after the quarterback. I don’t believe Quentin Johnston was ever in play at pick 13 while Zay Flowers and Jordan Addison didn’t meet the Packers’ strict size thresholds.
At interior defensive lineman, Calijah Kancey is undersized in comparison to what Green Bay typically looks for at that position, while it was too soon to take Bryan Bresee. There wasn’t a safety in play at that stage of the draft, and taking a tight end at 13 would have been a poor value pick by the Packers.
The only other positions that justifiably could have been taken in round one was offensive tackle and cornerback—two other premier positions. Broderick Jones and Christian Gonzalez were both still available, but again, going back to Van Ness’ ranking on Green Bay’s big board, along with edge rusher being a more pressing need in 2023 than the other two, the Packers went in that direction.
"“The board held up strong,” said Guetkunst on Thursday. “I feel good about tomorrow (Friday). It’s always temperamental, but I feel good going into these next two days.”"
Rounds two and three, however, should provide Green Bay with more opportunities to address these key needs.
I recently put together a shortlist of Day 2 options for the Packers at key positions, using past trends and thresholds that the organization has adhered to as my guide. You can click here to read more and see who those players are, but in short, at receiver, tight end, safety, and interior defensive lineman, there will either be more viable options available to Green Bay in rounds two and three when they are on the clock. Really the only position that has been mentioned where there is a steep drop off from round one to round two is at offensive tackle.
The Packers enter Day 2 with three selections, two in the second round at 42 and 45 overall, along with one in the third round at pick 78. In terms of them addressing their biggest needs at receiver, tight end, and interior defender, Friday night feels like the sweet spot to do so from an availability and value standpoint.