Green Bay Packers 2023 Post Draft Superlatives

The 2023 NFL Draft has come and gone, and the Green Bay Packers ended up making 13 selections.

The Packers tackled their biggest needs, selecting multiple interior defenders, receivers, and tight ends. They also built depth at quarterback, kicker, edge rusher, and safety.

Just as we did beforehand with some pre-draft superlatives, let’s take a closer look at this year’s class for the Packers with some post draft superlatives that help describe this year’s class.

I enjoy the wide variety of responses these superlative articles get, so be sure to share your answers for each category below or find me on Twitter.

Biggest Surprise: Picking Sean Clifford in Round 5

It’s not surprising that the Green Bay Packers took a quarterback. With only two on the roster following the Aaron Rodgers trade, a quarterback selection was basically a given. It’s not even all that surprising that they took Clifford. After all, he did take an official pre-draft visit with the Packers. However, taking him in the fifth round when many thought he would be available as an undrafted rookie is the surprising part.

Clifford was an accomplished quarterback at Penn State and holds the school record in career yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage. There really isn’t any one part of his game that leaps off the screen when watching him, but whether it be GM Brian Gutekunst or Director of Football Operations Milt Hendrickson speaking, both kept going back to three things when describing Clifford that really drew Green Bay to him–his experience, having appeared in 51 college games, including several high profile contests, his athleticism, and that he would be a good fit in the Packers locker room.

At this point in the draft, there had already been 10 quarterbacks selected, so admittedly, Green Bay may have felt that if they didn’t take Clifford in the fifth round, he may not be around by the next time they were on the clock. Given the state of the quarterback room behind Jordan Love, Clifford will have the chance to compete for that backup role.

Favorite Pick: Tucker Kraft, TE, South Dakota State

I really like what Kraft’s skill set can add to this Packers’ offense. He was one of the top athletes at the position, posting an elite Relative Athletic Score of 9.58, and has a big frame at 6’4″ – 254 pounds. You see both of those aspects show up in his game with his ability to pick up yards after the catch and his physicality as a blocker.

That well-rounded skill set that Kraft brings will help provide some unpredictability at the tight end position–a missing element last season with each member of the tight end room having a very defined role. Kraft’s presence on the field can help open up the playbook for Matt LaFleur and keep defenses off-balance because what Kraft’s role is or even what type of play the Packers are running is more difficult to decipher. This will create opportunities for him and also his teammates.

Biggest first-year impact: Luke Musgrave or Tucker Kraft

Perhaps I’m cheating here a bit by picking two players, but given the state of the tight end room, both are going to take on larger roles right away, which is why I chose them–they’ll simply have a lot of opportunties. Including Musgrave and Kraft, the only other members of the tight end room are Josiah Deguara, who’s an H-back, Tyler Davis, a special teamer, and Austin Allen and Nick Guggemos, practice squad players.

The transition from college to the NFL at tight end is a very difficult one due to all of the responsibilities both in the running and passing games that come with it. This is one main reason why many rookies at this position do not contribute significantly right away. The Packers, however, do not have the luxury of bringing Musgrave or Kraft along slowly.

Favorite Day 3 Pick: Karl Brooks, IDL, Bowling Green

Packers Director of Player Personnel Milt Hendrickson said it best. When watching Brooks’ film in the MAC, he “looked like a man amongst boys” out there.

As I wrote in my instant takeaways following this pick, there are two words that come to mind to describe Brooks. He’s disruptive against both the run and the pass, and he’s versatile. Last season, Brooks logged a whopping 63 pressures and 12 sacks. he ranked sixth in win rate as a pass rusher and first in PFF’s run defense grade.

Brooks was listed as an edge rusher in college, having taken over 1,400 snaps in that role, but in the NFL, he will be an interior defender, where he had nearly another 1,000 snaps. He was moved up and down the defensive front during his time in college.

Brooks will have the opportunity to compete for playing time right away in the Packers’ interior defensive front rotation.

Head-scratching pick: Anders Carlson, K, Auburn

Similarly to the Clifford selection, I’m not surprised in the least that the Packers took a kicker. Before the draft, only Parker White was on the roster and he has no NFL experience. However, Carlson’s college numbers are not all that impressive. He made 71% of his career field goal attempts. Including 25/39 from the 40-49 yard range and just 4/16 from over 50. It’s also not as if he was pinning opponents in the end zone on kickoffs, with a return rate of 42%.

When Brian Gutekunst was speaking with reporters after the draft, he mentioned the bit of familiarity that Rich Bisaccia has with Carlson, after working with his brother Daniel while with the Raiders. Gutekunst added that Bisaccia has a strong track record working with kickers and he felt good about this pick.

Don’t be shocked that: the Packers didn’t take safety until Round 7

I know this was considered a big need but this was a down draft class, with many of the top prospects being more slot options than a true safety, which is what the Packers need, and although there is certainly room for improvement, Green Bay does have options at safety on the roster. Gutekunst was prepared for this. With Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore, Dallin Leavitt, and Innis Gaines on the roster prior to the draft, it’s not as if this room was empty like receiver, tight end and interior defensive lineman.

Best Value: trading down twice in Round 2 netted the Packers Brooks and Wicks

When the Green Bay Packers were on the clock with the 45th overall selection, the moved back to pick 48 and then to pick 50. In the process, that landed them the draft capital that resulted in them adding Dontayvion Wicks and Karl Brooks.

I’ve already shared why I love the Brooks’ selection so much. With Wicks, he provides the Packers with needed receiver depth and can add some more big play ability to the offense. During his 2021 season, he averaged over 21 yards per catch and ranked 11th in downfield receiving yards. As Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs take on larger roles with a greater variety of routes that they are asked to run, Wicks’ presence can help with the spacing on the field, creating opportunities underneath.

One word to describe draft class: Versatile

Versatility was the hallmark of this draft class. Lukas Van Ness, Karl Brooks, and Colby Wooden all played up and down the defensive front in college. Jayden Reed can play inside and out, along with being utilized as a gadget player and return man. Anthony Johnson played cornerback for four seasons before moving to safety. Gutekunst also kept mentioning how he believes Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft are well-rounded players, who can impact both the run and passing games.