Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love. (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)
Green Bay may not have given Jordan Love first-round help, but their second-round NFL Draft picks are sure to bolster the Packers depth chart.
The Packers are about to enter their first season without Aaron Rodgers on the roster since 2005.
It’s the start of a new era, one that will be defined by how Jordan Love handles the pressure of leading an NFL franchise.
The least Green Bay could do in the NFL Draft was to give their new starting quarterback some reinforcements on offense. And that’s what the Packers did, even if they didn’t use their first round pick on an offensive player.
Seven of GB’s 13 picks were for the offensive side of the ball. It’s eight if you count place kicker Anders Carlson in the sixth round.
Most importantly, the Packers used second and third round picks to add wide receiver Jayden Reed and two tight ends in Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft.
Here’s how they and others fit into the post-draft two-deep:
Updated Packers depth chart: Offensive lineup after NFL Draft
- Quarterback:
- Jordan Love
- Sean Clifford [5th round pick]
- Jordan Love
- Running back:
- Wide receiver:
- Christian Watson
- Dontayvion Wicks [5th-round pick]
- Romeo Doubs
- Jayden Reed [2nd round pick]
- Christian Watson
- Tight end:
- Luke Musgrave [2nd-round pick]
- Josiah Deguara
- Tucker Kraft [3rd-round pick]
- Luke Musgrave [2nd-round pick]
- Offensive line:
- LT David Bakhtiari
- LG Elgton Jenkings
- C Josh Myers
- RG Jon Runyan
- RT Zach Tom
The Packers clearly see Reed, Musgrave and Kraft as early contributors. If they’re not in the start-of-season two-deep then something has gone wrong.
Fifth-round wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks, seventh-round running back Lew Nichols and seventh-round wide receiver Grant DuBose will have to earn their way onto the roster and into the two-deep.
Green Bay also used a fifth-round pick on Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford. Ideally, he’d serve as a backup for Love but in a worst-case scenario he’s short-term insurance behind the quarterback.
What about the defense? We’ll look at that next.
