Green Bay goes offense heavy to give fresh quarterback Jordan Love some options as well as attempts to toughen up the Packers’ defense with some run stuffers
KANSAS CITY, M.O.– The Green Bay Packers have shown that they are going all in with Jordan Love behind center for the 2023 season. Fresh off a restructured fifth-year option that comes off as one of the better deals we’ve seen the front office make in recent years, Jordan Love will be the Packers quarterback for at least two more years.
Green Bay went into the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City on the heels of one of the biggest deals in franchise history– one that sent superstar quarterback and perennial Green Bay Packer Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets in exchange for a deluge of draft picks. But that wasn’t the biggest question on Day One and Day Two, instead, it was what the Packers would do in order to help out Love.
Love has only started one game in his three years in Green Bay with limited playing time to back up his first-round draft pick status. This past season he flashed some semblance of greatness against teams like the Eagles and Vikings, but hasn’t gathered enough of a sample size to be determined a winner or loser.
In the first round however, the Packers surprised nearly the entire NFL world by leaving projected big-time receivers on the board like Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jordan Addison. At around 8:00 PM on a beautiful Kansas City night, the Packers selected Lukas Van Ness, an edge rusher from Iowa. That very pick tells the tale of Green Bay’s draft philosophy– defense in the first round. It’s a theory, albeit not confirmed, that has made its way around the league and is obvious in most fans’ eyes.
With the Packers’ last 13 first round selections, only one has been an offensive player. Ironically, and quite possibly comically– Jordan Love. Green Bay selected him in 2020, which became the catalyst for the entire Aaron Rodgers epic that we’ve grown to love and enamor to this day.
Van Ness’ pick brings about a shade of unclarity on the Packers end. Why? Van Ness started no games during his time at Iowa, instead beleaguered by the fact that he was stuck behind two fifth-year seniors. The Packers’ defense did need a boost however, as the Green Bay defense got off to a sluggish start and played a key role in digging them into a hole early.
Playing to the role of all-around defensive lineman at Iowa, Van Ness’ athleticism and versatility is a surefire plus, but unless Rashan Gary misses severe time, Van Ness may have to take the back seat for a little bit. The Gary and Preston Smith duo in recent years has been dominant, and Van Ness’ presence could allow for a bit more exotic packages on defense.
Quite possibly one of the biggest additions with this year’s draft is Luke Musgrave from Oregon State. While many people predicted the possibility of Green Bay taking a bigger name tight end like Dalton Kincaid or Michael Mayer, but instead opted to double down on the position by also choosing South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft. Both are quality options, and represented a huge need for Green Bay.
After tenured veteran Robert Tonyan departed for seemingly greener grass with the Bears and the decision to not resign blocking tight end Marcedes Lewis– it became apparent the Packers couldn’t get the job done with just Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis at the position. In any world, two tight ends are better than one– especially when both fit into Matt LaFleur’s RPO heavy scheme.
Kraft will presumably take on much more of a blocking heavy role similar to Lewis– something he excelled at with the Jackrabbits. Musgrave just poses another weapon for Jordan Love to throw to, filling nicely into the shoes of Robert Tonyan and prior to him, some pundits have even mentioned similarities to Jermichael Finley.
The team also added speed to its receiver room with the additions of Jayden Reed from Michigan State in the first round along with Virginia’s Dontayvion Wicks and Charlotte’s Grant DuBose. Reed and Wicks land themselves amongst the steals of the draft– both bargain picks that are a sure shot to bastion a fledgling offense. If Reed can stick the course, he’ll find himself amongst a young receiver core as well as next in line of a strong lineage of Green Bay Packers’ second round picks.
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Reed would join Randall Cobb, Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, and Christian Watson as some of the Packers’ best hits on Day 2. Reed, has been accustomed to playing all over, but with the Packers primarily having an open space in the slot after Randall Cobb left for New York to join Rodgers– Reed’s first assignment will be there. If Reed is the WR3 of this group, the Packers have a strong argument for an up and coming triple headed snake on offense.
Reed’s highlight reel is sure to have Packers fans salivating, with lightning-fast quickness off the lines, crisp routes, as well as blazing speed– running a 4.45 second 40-yard dash at the Combine, and you get a perfect fit in Green Bay’s system. Jayden Reed will attempt to be the catalyst for a spark on offense, after a down 2022 season. After a late-season spike, Green Bay raised its third-down conversion percentage to 39.5%, which is still a good 10 percentage points lower than league leader, Reed will now try to be the missing piece.
Shortly after the pick, Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan said Reed “complements Christian and Romeo really well [because] he’s versatile enough to play inside and out.”
The rest of the Pack’s draft picks consisted of interesting ones, a hodgepodge of different positions. No matter how haywire the draft seemed in the first round, it became apparent that general manager Brian Gutekunst was determined to make Green Bay’s presence on offense felt. That came in the form of three more offensive picks, Dontayvion Wicks, Sean Clifford, and Grant DuBose.
Wicks is peculiar because he draws similarities to Green Bay’s 7th round pick last year in Samori Toure. Wicks reels in the term “explosive”. With an average yards per catch number of 21.1 as well as 27 plays of over 20 yards, Wicks may not be a blazer but he’s lightning in a bottle. Barring a huge veteran signing, Wicks could make the roster without issue along with fellow late round draftee DuBose– an impressive draft class on the offensive side of the ball.
We’ll chalk Sean Clifford up to a backup quarterback to fight for the number two spot… no crazy conspiracy theories here.
Green Bay also delved in deep on the defense, picking up defensive end Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks. They also built upon a decent secondary with Carrington Valentine from Kentucky and Anthony Johnson Jr. from Iowa State. Green Bay also indicated the long-standing tenure of kicker Mason Crosby might be over, eliminating the last remnant of the 2010 Super Bowl winning team. The team drafted Kicker Anders Carlson (brother of Raiders’ K Daniel Carlson) in the 6th round.
This draft shows that the Green Bay Packers are a completely new team from top to bottom. Whether or not the front office’s investment in all these picks will pay off in the long run, but one thing is for certain– it’s a whole different ballgame when it comes to the 2023 Packers, and it’ll be a sight to see come August.
