GREEN BAY — The Green Bay Packers had the NFL’s youngest roster in 2023.
The Packers reached the NFC divisional playoffs. And by adding safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs in free agency, Green Bay’s net gains in free agency outweighed its losses.
So when the 2024 NFL Draft arrives Thursday, the Packers have fewer needs than most teams. Green Bay is also armed with an NFLhigh 11 draft picks, including five of the first 91 selections.
That means general manager Brian Gutekunst has the necessary firepower to stand pat — or move around the draft board — as he looks for players that help the Packers continue their ascension.
“This is extremely important to this organization, this football team,” Gutekunst said of the draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday.
“The guys in that locker room are counting on us to bring in the right kind of guys to help them achieve their goals.
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“The guys we bring in, not only in the draft class but throughout, they’re going to play a huge impact in how our season goes this year and the guys we bring in this year have to be prepared for that.”
With draft day almost here, here’s a ranking of the Packers’ positional needs, with 10 meaning the need is extremely high.
Offensive line — 9.0 Green Bay could line up with (from left) Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom if it played today and feel pretty good about its offensive line. Rhyan is the only one in that group who wasn’t a starter last year, and he played 183 snaps.
The No. 1 question Gutekunst and his people must answer is if they believe Walker is their left tackle of the future, or not?
“He had a pretty good year last year, he’s got a ton upside,” Gutekunst said of Walker. “Great person, and I'm excited to see where he’ll go.”
No matter how the Packers view Walker, though, they need reinforcements up front.
Starting right guard Jon Runyan (New York Giants) and swing tackle Yosh Nijman (Carolina) both left in free agency, and former Pro Bowl left tackle David Bakhtiari was released.
Gutekunst selected three offensive linemen each year from 2020-â€22, and hit it big with Tom, Walker and Rhyan in 2022. So Gutekunst has a proven track record of restocking this position.
Six offensive tackles are projected to go in Round 1, meaning Green Bay could stand pat and take one when it picks at No. 25.
Cornerback — 8.5 When is this not a need area in Green Bay?
If the Packers played today, their No. 2 cornerback would be either injury-prone Eric Stokes or 2023 seventh-round draft pick Carrington Valentine. So Green Bay would certainly like to add depth and potentially find a new starter here.
“I think the back end is probably where we weren’t as consistent as we needed to be and I’d like that to be shored up,” Gutekunst said earlier this offseason.
Cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell of Toledo and Terrion Arnold of Alabama will almost certainly be gone when the Packers pick at No. 25. But players like Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry or Clemson’s Nate Wiggins would be intriguing options late in Round 1.
Linebacker — 8.0 The Packers’ move to a 4-3 defensive scheme has left them thin in this area.
Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie will have large roles, but the Packers need more bodies.
It’s not a great draft for linebackers, so Gutekunst can likely wait until Day 2 (Rounds 2-3) to add one. By the time the weekend is over, don’t be shocked if the Packers have used three picks here.
“Yeah it’s a good group. It’s a little thin right now,” Gutekunst said of his linebacker room. “We’re going to have to add some numbers.”
Safety — 7.0 The Packers expect McKinney to anchor this unit for the next several seasons. But they’d also like to find his future running mate in this draft.
Back in 2019, Green Bay overhauled the safety position by signing Adrian Amos in free agency and using a first-round draft pick on Darnell Savage. This offseason could follow the same script.
It’s not an elite safety class, so Gutekunst can probably find a partner for McKinney in Round 2 or 3.
“For me, those guys I’d love to be interchangeable,” Gutekunst said when asked what he wants from his safeties. “I’d like them to be able to do everything.
“I think that’s really tough on an offense when those guys can move down inside, they can play the post, they can go in the nickel and cover.”
Kicker — 5.5 The Packers rolled the dice with rookie Anders Carlson in 2023 and the dice came up “craps.” Carlson missed more kicks than anyone in football last season, including a brutal, 41-yard field goal late in the Packers’ eventual 24-21 playoff loss to San Francisco.
Green Bay signed veteran Greg Joseph on March 28, and as of now, he’s the likely frontrunner. Joseph has made 100-of-121 career field goals during stints with Cleveland, Tennessee and Minnesota (82.6%).
“That position is obviously critical to us attaining our goals moving forward, and I think we’ll continue to make sure that there’s competition throughout training camp on that one,” Gutekunst said.
The Packers also signed former Georgia standout Jack Podlesny earlier this offseason. Don’t be surprised, though, if Gutekunst uses a late-round selection on someone like Stanford’s Joshua Karty or Alabama’s Will Reichard. Green Bay had the worst kicking situation on football last year, and Gutekunst seems hell bent on making sure that won’t happen again.
Running back — 5.5 The Packers are in fine shape for 2024 with Josh Jacobs doing the heavy lifting and A.J. Dillon back in the fold as the No. 2 back.
Green Bay would like to add at least one young back to the room, though, especially considering the Packers don’t owe Jacobs any guaranteed money after this season.
Jonathon Brooks of Texas, Florida State’s Trey Benson, Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen, Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright and Oregon’s Bucky Irving are largely regarded as the top running backs in the draft and are likely to go in Rounds 3 and 4.
Others such as Michigan’s Blake Corum, Purdue’s Tyrone Tracy, Notre Dame’s Audric Estime, Kentucky’s Ray Davis and Arizona’s Michael Wiley could all fall somewhere between Rounds 4 and 6.
“I think it’s an incredibly important position,” Gutekunst said of running backs earlier this offseason.
Quarterback — 4.5 Green Bay technically doesn’t “need” a quarterback.
Jordan Love had a tremendous first season as a starter, while 2023 fifth-round draft pick Sean Clifford had an impressive training camp last summer.
But of the many lessons Gutekunst learned from former general manager Ron Wolf, taking a quarterback when you have one is simply good business. Even though Wolf had future Hall of Famer Brett Favre under center, he drafted Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks, Matt Hasselbeck and Ty Detmer — four players that all went on to start in other places.
“I know for me, getting back to drafting multiple quarterbacks is something that I’ve wanted to do,” Gutekunst said. “We kind of went away from that for a few years and I’d like to get back to that.”
Gutekunst certainly won’t use an early pick on a quarterback. But don’t be surprised if he adds another player to the quarterback room on Day 3 of the draft (Rounds 4-7).
Wide receiver — 4.0 This is one of the deepest — and youngest — positions on the team. But in a league where offense rules the day, you can never go wrong adding more wide receivers.
And for a Green Bay team that can’t keep potential standout Christian Watson healthy, adding even more depth here makes a lot of sense.
As many as seven wideouts could go in Round 1, and 20 could be selected in the first three rounds. With that much available talent, Gutekunst could find himself staring at a receiver that’s simply too good to pass up.
“There’s some pretty good ones in this draft,” Gutekunst said of the wide receiver group.
“I mean, I like our group. Nothing is set in stone with that group, which I love. I love the competition there. But we’ll add to it if the right guys are there, for sure.”
Punter — 3.0 Daniel Whelan had a solid first season. If Green Bay elects to bring in competition, it will almost certainly come from the street, not the draft.
Defensive line — 2.0 Green Bay’s defensive line was already one of the strongest positional groups on the roster last year. Now Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness — all outside linebackers in the Packers’ 3-4 scheme — will likely move to defensive end, bolstering what was already a terrific unit.
Unless a player Gutekunst loves falls into his lap, this is probably a group that won’t add many new pieces.
Tight end — 1.0 Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft are both coming off impressive rookie seasons and could form one of the NFL’s more dynamic duos. Ben Sims is a solid blocking tight end, while the Packers expect special teams ace Tyler Davis back from an ACL injury.
This is one position that does not need help.