Grading the Packers’ 2024 Picks Through Day 2 of NFL Draft

GREEN BAY, Wis. – NFL Draft grades are the equivalent of a bag of chips. Sure, they’re delicious, but they’re nothing but empty calories. So, let’s enjoy an enormous helping of salty, crunchy Green Bay Packers draft grades.

Third Round – LB Ty’Ron Hopper: C-minus

With the short-term need driven by the schematic change and the longer-term need with Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch set to be free agents next offseason, Gutekunst double-dipped at linebacker with Hopper.

“He’s really physical,” Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Friday night. “He can run, but his stopping power, when he takes on blockers, is pretty impressive.”

Did Gutekunst reach on Hopper when NC State’s Payton Wilson – the Butkus Award winner with the lengthy injury history – was available? We’ll see, but that’s not the point of this critique.

Adding a second linebacker made sense but the Packers’ weakness at cornerback has not been addressed. Cornerbacks who had a chance to be taken in the first two days who remain available include Iowa State’s T.J. Tampa, Notre Dame’s Cam Hart, Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine and Wake Forest’s Caelen Carson.

The Packers also need a fourth defensive end. Penn State’s Adisa Isaac and Houston Christian’s Jalyx Hunt went a few picks later and Kansas’ Austin Booker, who had a predraft visit, is available. So is Wisconsin center Tanor Bortolini.

Third Round – RB MarShawn Lloyd: B-plus

At 5-foot-8 3/4 and 220 pounds, Lloyd can run with power. With 4.46 speed in the 40, Lloyd can run with game-breaking speed.

So long as he can catch the ball, which has never been his role, and stop fumbling, he’ll be a perfect fit in Green Bay. Those are two rather large caveats.

Big guys who can deliver a blow are the preferred style of runner in the Wisconsin cold. And with Josh Jacobs and AJ Dillon being more thunder than lightning, Lloyd’s big-play ability will be a welcome addition. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry and 17.8 yards per reception in 2023.

The other top running back on the board was Tennessee’s Jaylen Wright, who is faster but has less power.

Second Round – Javon Bullard: B-plus

Other than Tyler Nubin, Gutekunst had all the safeties available. He went with Bullard, who might not seem like the ideal fit alongside Xavier McKinney, though he does play bigger than his 197 pounds.

Gutekunst could have gone with Utah’s Cole Bishop, who was taken two picks later, or Washington State’s Jaden Hicks, who surprisingly went undrafted through three rounds. From a size perspective, they would have made sense as McKinney’s wingman. But Bullard has extensive experience in the slot, where the Packers were fortunate to get through last season without a backup behind Keisean Nixon.

The Packers re-signed Nixon to a three-year contract in free agency. Really, though, it’s only a year-to-year deal. If Nixon falters, Bullard could take his place in the lineup as soon as 2025.

Second Round – LB Edgerrin Cooper: A-minus

Gutekunst traded back from No. 41 to No. 45 and still got the man he wanted in making Cooper the first linebacker off the board.

Cooper’s numbers – both on-field production and predraft testing – were phenomenal as a game-wrecking linebacker.

“Cooper, the speed that he brings to the table at the linebacker position is rare,” Gutekunst said.

It’ll be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley will make it work when he goes into his nickel package. Will Cooper or Quay Walker be the middle linebacker? From that perspective, Michigan’s Junior Colson might have been a better pick but Gutekunst went with the more productive and more explosive player.

And then there’s the matter of trading the 41st pick to the Saints, who selected Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. If the Packers can’t stop top quarterbacks this season because they are undermanned at cornerback, it’ll be because Gutekunst opted for the All-American linebacker over the All-American cornerback.

First Round – OL Jordan Morgan: C

Grading the first-round pick is especially useless because it’s merely the first piece of the larger puzzle.

Should the Packers have selected Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean with their first-round pick? Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on the cornerback the Packers will add at some point in the draft.

I pointed this out after the Bears drafted quarterback Caleb Williams at No. 1 overall and receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9 and the Vikings traded up for quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10: Between the potential of Williams throwing to D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen and Odunze, McCarthy throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison and Jared Goff leading the explosive Lions, the NFC North passing attacks are no joke. And don’t forget the last two NFC champions, the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, have star-studded receiver corps, as well.

How are the Packers going to stop those prolific passing games? Maybe Jaire Alexander will return to All-Pro form, but Eric Stokes hasn’t broken up a pass since 2021 and Carrington Valentine’s rookie season was a wild ride of inconsistency. Doesn’t Gutekunst have to worry about matching up for those six NFC North games?

“I don’t really look at it a lot like that,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “To me, it’s just about making our team the best that we can make it. You don’t know what your needs are going to be once you get into September, October, November and down the line. There’s some good corners in this draft. We’ll see how that shakes out over the rest of the two days.”

And then there’s the question of whether Gutekunst drafted the correct lineman. It will be fascinating to watch the development of Duke’s Graham Barton, who went 26th to the Buccaneers, and Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton, who went 29th to the Cowboys. Barton has Morgan-style versatility, as well, and Guyton has elite traits to play tackle.

We’ll know more in a couple years.

“If you can protect your quarterback, particularly one like we have, you have a chance to win the football game,” Gutekunst said.

2024 NFL Draft

Day 2: Javon Bullard | Edgerrin Cooper | Marshawn Lloyd | 

Day 2 live updates

Day 2: Mock draft | National mocks | Let’s make a deal? | Best draft fits

Our draft grades | National Round 1 grades

First Round: Jordan Morgan | Short arms