Historically speaking, the Green Bay front office hasn't lost much sleep after overlooking positions of need during the NFL Draft each April. Following a "Best Player Available" (BPA) methodology - as opposed to addressing the most immediate gaps on the roster - has paid dividends over the years, in the form of players like Aaron Rodgers, B.J. Raji, Randall Cobb, Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary.
As such, pretty much no one expected GM Brian Gutekunst to unload picks and move up for positions of need during the 2022 NFL Draft.
The first round of the draft started with bang: Atlanta's selection of WR Drake London at eighth overall spurred a run on the wide receiver position, the Packers' most dire need. Unwilling to shell out an extra first round pick to land a player like Jameson Williams, the Packers missed out. However, Gutekunst got ahead of the next run in Round 2, ponying up two second round picks to make North Dakota State's Christian Watson the 34th overall pick.
The uncharacteristic move surely got some applause from Packer Nation. But, perhaps that aggressiveness should have continued into the later rounds.
Gute chose to sit out on the next positional run, watching Baltimore and Dallas grab talented tight ends Charlie Kolar and Jake Ferguson ahead of the Packers' fourth round picks. Instead, he doubled up at both wide receiver and offensive line, which happened to be arguably the best value picks of the Packers' draft. He then proceeded to ignore looming needs at kicker, punter and defensive back, despite having four seventh round draft picks.
With core needs satisfied, the question coming out of April's draft is this: Can the Packers get by with stopgaps at these supplemental roles while remaining Super Bowl contenders in 2022?
Tight End
One of the biggest question marks heading into the 2022 season remains tight end, where start Robert Tonyan continues to recover from a torn ACL injury suffered last October. With most skill position players needing six to nine months to return from such an injury, it's no certainty that Tonyan will be ready for Week 1. As such, it had seemed like a lock that Gutekunst would add a tight end in at least the mid rounds of the draft.
With Tonyan's availability in question, the Packers don't have a proven, three-down tight end on the roster. Without further additions this spring or summer, it's possible that they'll go with some kind of platoon that features veteran Marcedes Lewis on running downs, Josiah Deguara on mid-range passing plays and perhaps even journeyman Tyler Davis in some capacity. It's also possible that WR Allen Lazard flexes into more of a tight end role, leveraging his size and superior blocking abilities.
Kicking Specialists
If there was any draft for the Packers to spend a pick on a kicker or punter, it was this one. While they haven't a ton of success drafting said positions (refer back to B.J. Sander and J.K. Scott), the nearing end to Mason Crosby's career and stopgap solution of Pat O'Donnell at punter lends to finding their legs of the future sooner rather than later.
We all know that last season's disasters in the kicking game were not purely a function of Crosby and his aging performance. It's possible that the Packers believe new special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia will implement schemes that help fix snap and blocking mechanics that disrupted field goal and punt execution in 2021.
Defensive Back
Defensive back - a position of need? The Packers clearly have their corners of the future in Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, but they quickly run into depth concerns elsewhere in the secondary. Behind that pair is just one proven cornerback in veteran Rasul Douglas, who is best used on the perimeter. In the slot, they lost Chandon Sullivan and, without addressing the role via the draft, will be forced to rely on the development of second-year corner Shermar Jean-Charles or move Alexander inside in nickel packages.
Depth at safety is also a concern. Seasoned veteran Adrian Amos only has one year left on his contract and FS Darnell Savage - while having shown plenty of promise since being drafted in 2019 - was wildly inconsistent toward the end of last season. Many thought the Packers would get ahead of this position's future in the draft, but Gutekunst opted to focus on more immediate needs instead. Now without Henry Black, if either starter goes down, the Packers could be in a world of hurt.
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