Carrington Valentine should ABSOLUTELY be counted on. His RAS was 9.29! He's almost 6' tall and 193 pounds, ran a 4.44 40, had a vertical jump of 39 inches and a broad jump of 10'8. He played as well as most rookie first round pick cornerbacks. He'll also start this season at 22 years old--the typical rookie age, so he should only get BETTER.
That said, I do hope we add another CB in the draft, possibly two, with one targeting a starting nickel back job.

My greatest hope for our first pick is that we get a top center or guard/tackle (Jackson Powers-Johnson at 25 maybe, or trade down a little and get Zach Frazier--love those wrestler-centers!). If we get a top guard/tackle prospect, and there are many, we'd have the ability to move Tom or Jenkins to center if Myers continues to not be impressive. I see this as equal to safety as our "biggest need" because we have NO one behind Myers, unless we put Tom or Jenkins there, and then we have a huge hole at guard or tackle. Hopefully, Myers and Rhyan improve and lock down their positions, but we'd still need a backup center.

It seems likely to me that we will re-sign Savage and another guy, plus we have Anthony Johnson Jr. who now has a year of experience in the NFL. I'd love to sign or draft someone with (successful) experience playing the deep, one-high role.

With the assumed re-signing of Aaron Jones and return of Emmanuel Wilson, I see RB as only a moderate need; I want one, but if the value isn't there, I wouldn't burn a draft choice until the fourth or fifth round. If the value IS there on the Packer's Big Board, by all means, take one.

"The Packers therefore need to fill the power back role Dillon will vacate, as well as set up a succession plan for Jones’ eventual departure."

Give me two Aaron Jones clones and forget the heavy, slower power back.

"Green Bay should look to add a quality corner in the draft to shore up the position."

Totally agree and if available select Cooper Dejean out of Iowa. Great player and teammate as well as fast and heady too.

With all of our early picks in the first three rounds, we should be able to address all of our 'weak' areas and hopefully they will all come to fruition.

LONG TERM.? - NOW- Thats the solution.
Every position listed has been a revolving door.
Whether it be a 3rd back.
DB. Depth.
Or OL- that never made it back to the roster.

We're right back to guessing the future of are Vets.
And the cap, has seen some must moves.

So stop the revolving door. -
Gutey's next move is fixing, age 30 and over.
Bahk, P. Smith, and Campbell.
The heart of any team by position.
You'll keep the shelf stocked by drafting by age first.

The bottom feeders are all about BPA.
But the numbers are always the fix.
Need must match Long Term.

I was thinking about this, from a needs and numbers perspective, allowing for the relatively limited cap I expect to be available—thank you TGR for explaining that so clearly recently—I am not a fan of significant kicking cap to burden this team as the skill players and Love continue to develop. Overall, we have a lot of needs.

On O we need 2 Gs and a C (it’s possible that one pick could genuinely cover both positions admittedly but it has to be genuinely this year to count in my view). That can come in part from resigning Runyon if injuries really were his issue prior to December and he’s reasonably cheap, but we still need to replace Newman and have a credible rival for Myers. We should now look to keep Tom at T. We need at least a swing T since Nijman is gone I believe, even if they believe in Jones or Tenuta.

We need a RB to back up and eventually replace Jones in a Jones like role. We need some option as a power back too if we don’t bring back Dillon. I wouldn’t. Wilson needs competition.

Thats about 5 picks, maybe 6 if we don’t bring any FA back and Runyon is the only one I can think might be on O.

On D we need a FS and a SS to start. I advocate signing a cheaper but adequate free agent FS because experience counts there, then drafting behind him. Ideally we could pick up a similar SS, but those are easier to find in the draft perhaps. Even if we get 2 FAs I’d be drafting a couple to compete with Johnson and Sapp to back up and hopefully surpass.

We probably (if the expectations of a Hafley D are accurate) need 2 front 7 players. An interior DL possibly and definitely an ILB, perhaps 2.

We need a slot. Even if we can get Nixon back ( and I hope we do) he needs competition on D and we need depth. Hafley seems more inclined to use bigger S types, but Nixon is physical.

We need a CB too, probably 2. Jaire, Valentine, Stokes and nothing.

That’s about 8 picks. So 12 or 13 needs absent resigning or acquiring. We are expected to have 11 picks I believe. Not all are going to work out, this year or ever. We are going to need a great draft and ideally a steal UDFA somewhere.

DB/ILB/S early (assuming no FAs signed). OL probably mid rounds, perhaps unless a premium T falls, which I doubt. ILB priority probably depends on their assessment of Campbell’s future health/ability. An RB on day two I suspect. The rest are later development types.

We need to hit on a lot of picks this year to fill holes and transition on D as well. Two or three value tier 2/3 FAs might be needed to give this a chance. That’s why I can see us bringing back guys like Owens or Wilson (ILB) as cheap players to provide experience, ST help and allow us time to develop behind them.

The Packers have major holes to full at Safety, OL, CB and RB. That will be difficult to achieve via the draft and a limited salary cap to sign FAs. An impact player at safety would be an excellent accomplishment during the draft. Solid depth at OL should be the next goal. Then CB and RB. If Jones is retained then focus on depth and development at RB.

Until questions about Stokes health are answered CB will be a question mark although depth can still be added via the draft. With 11 picks the Packers should also acquire some depth at both ILB and OLB. If we can add inexpensive FAs for depth at any of these position groups that would ease some pressure on the draft.

The Packers may need to stand pat at WR, TE and DL for 2024. Following Ron Wolf's approach of adding a mid to late round QB every season should not be ruled out either. Finally bring in a kicker to challenge Carlson during TC. GPG! Thanks, Since '61

I find it hard to believe that linebacker is not on the list of draft needs. If the Packers are moving to a 4-2-5 base defense, they will need linebacker help. According to TGR (and I completely agree), Campbell is a likely cap casualty along with Bakh. If Campbell goes the Packers will have Walker and McDuffie as starters with almost no depth. That situation is at least as urgent as the RB and CB groups and will require a Day 2 draft choice to remedy.

As exuberant as I am about how last season ended I am cautiously optimistic about this year. IMO we need to shore up the o-line for JLove. Drafting an offensive lineman in one of the first 2 picks is my priority.

This draft is the most improtant one for our future success. Gutey has to get it right, GO PACK GO!!!

I agree with the 4 positions of need.

Without knowing what they are going to do with the current players and who they will bring in, these positions are the positions they need to improve the most.

I will add a couple of positions they also need to add too.

ILB -
They need more ILB help. I have no clue what is going on with Campbell. And McDuffie while he was improved, I am not sure if he can be a full time, every down LB. They need to bring in someone with more speed. Someone that can cover and has the sideline to sideline range.

FB/TE -
I am assuming that Deguara won't be back. I really like what they have in Musgrave and Kraft. But they really could use an upgrade over Deguara. Having that hybrid position gives the offense a ton of flexibility. It also helps to create mismatches. Adding someone that could be an upgrade over Deguara would definitely help the offense.

In no particular order: S, MLB/SLB, OL

I think safety is need #1, but there might not be a pick-value S candidate on the board without overdrafting one at pick number 25. I think just about any position save QB, RB, TE, and specialists will be in play at pick 25 and make this team better. Yes, I think that includes WR.

How they handle that second 4-2-5 LB (or 4-3 SLB), the 5th DB, and the safety position--in general--I think will be a defining event for the 2024 Packers defense. They need a guy who has outstanding measurables and instincts at that LB spot...he needs to be a swiss-army knife proficient in just about everything he's asked to do. I don't think that's McDuffie--who I see as a competitor and good depth piece, who's a little slow and a little light in the pants. I think they'll go with a hybrid S/LB as the 5th DB in base. That guy's currently not on the roster.

You can have an effective run game without having an outstanding talent at RB--the OL makes the run game. Jones coming back and being spelled by a couple apprentice RB who could be FAs, draft picks, or UDFAs makes RB less of a glaring need. Take care of the OL, and the rest of the offense will take care of itself--hell, that philosophy made Jamaal Williams and De'Andre Swift look good for Detroit last year (their talent at RB is better this year) and regularly makes Goff look better than he is. I think 3 OL in this draft--one needs to be a legit T prospect. I'd like to see more power in the IOL.

Here's my way too early draft sim. It's from the Consensus board which takes almost all the boards and mocks as an average. The thing about Consensus is one or two boards can throw a players projection off as some have wildly different ratings on players. If you want to go to one of the best sites and scoring award winning boards, mocks, evaluations, go to Huddle Report. Usually one of, if not the, most accurate. However, it doesn't have a sim. I'm also using Consensus over PFF, 1) because it's free, 2) I find it the easiest to use, 3) tend to not agree with their ratings.

So here we go with what I got yesterday. I'm only going 5 rounds. Takes too long to get a good read on later rounds.

NFL Consensus 2/15
25. OT Kingsley Suamataia
41. OG Cooper Beebe
58. CB TJ Tampa
88. RB Audric Estime
91. S Jaden Hicks
126. RB Jaylen Wright
166. LB Trevin Wallace

My reasoning:
While Safety is biggest need, this is not a very good year for them. 2nd round at the earliest and even then don't think they are as good as other positions in this draft.
This is the best Oline draft I've seen in years. I'm not sold on the OL as some. RG is a question. Not sure Walker is long term answer at LT. I still believe Tom's best position is Center. Depth is almost non-existent. Maybe Gute didn't draft an OL last year because he knew this year would be a good one.
CB is somewhat a mystery with the health of Alexander and Stokes. If they both get back to health and play like they should have been used, this could return to a better strength. Still need to add insurance. Still need a much better slot.
RB needs to replace Dillon and insure against Jones missing time.
LB needs to replace Campbell and at least add depth.
I'm up in the air on DL. They've added quite a few pieces the last few drafts and have doubts they would add a high pick this year as it looks to be a down year for Def front seven. Maybe Hafley sees what he needs and better utilizes them.

As far as who I picked. I'm never able to get Cooper DeJean at #25. I still think he has the possibility of falling, but not at this time. I'm an admitted Hawkeye homer on him, but believe his DB versatility would be a great fit.
So, I went with OL King Sua over Jordan Morgan because of better versatility. I've seen both rated as higher over the other.
Cooper Bebe will be a lock down RG for many years.
CB TJ Tampa could win the starting job and has better size to take on some bigger receivers.
S Jaden Hicks is underrated on Consensus. I've seen him as No 1 Safe on a board and higher on others.
RB's Estime and Wright would be replacements for Dillon and eventually Jones. Let me rephrase that. Estime would be a definite upgrade of Dillon. Estime is not a slow plodding big back. I wrote why in his CHTV prospect thread. I also saw Wright as No 1 on a board.
LB Trevin Wallace is another I think is underrated and would be a good pick up if he lasted this long.

That's my take for now. Sure it will change. Combine will change some evals. I do like this time of year more than some. I like the eval of players, combine, draft because - Hope.

As far as the draft goes, I'd like to see these 4 positions addressed.
#1 - S
#2 - DE
#3 - OL
#4 - RB

I think our CB's will be okay... Not counting Stokes for obvious reasons, Alexander and Valentine are good Press-man guys. Ballentine is a decent zone guy for when we need it, and a good CB3 or CB4 either way. If we can pick up a cheap FA who can press, we'll be okay. If Stokes can return, even better.

I think you got the 4 positions right-
Players @ S are dropping.
Safety. - Class; is better than the CBs.
And the kid from USC is as good
as N. Collins when drafted..
Robinson put on the show at DE.
Go Big or GO Home here. @25
DE is the Future, If he tests like
Reggie White. it's a No - Brainer.

You think our CBs will be OK?

Alexander....often injured
Stokes.......often injured.
Valentine.....a decent rookie season.

This is what you want to go to war with? In a passing league? I really think we could use another premium cover guy. THEN, if we have any kind of reasonable luck with injuries, we can put 3 legit corners on the field.

Cornerback: I think it's probably best to keep Alexander on the boundary. Stokes, who knows? Valentine was a great final round pick, but it's a little tough to accurately judge him after one season because of the abundance of soft coverage schemes he was forced to play; still, he's a valuable member of the defensive backfield.

I totally agree that the Packers need to prioritize the slot defender, whether it's through free agency or the draft. Nixon played 809 defensive snaps last season (that's Kenny Clark territory!), so if we want to improve our defense in this area, which I think we would, we need to be looking for guys that have the demonstrated skills to do it--I don't think a late round pick is going to cut it here.

" Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom already proving themselves to be a strong unit". Um, Rhyan has proven nothing, couldn't beat out Runyon. Myers is average at best and Walker is a 7th round pick who played well but may or may not be the answer. We need to draft at least 2 OL.

ILB is also a need. So is slot corner (as well as an outside corner).

You could also split the safety needs into two, a box safety and a guy who can play single high.

Much, much later (or more likely in rookie FA) we need a new long snapper. in round 5 or later, we could do with the next Rasheed Walker (ie a late round developmental OT)