After selecting 11 players in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers have made great strides in their preparation for the upcoming season. But there are plenty of other needs that this team still has to address, important areas that will be very important to the team’s success as they try to make it back to the postseason.
While the Packers likely would have preferred to have one of the ‘Tier 1’ wide receiver prospects fall to them at either 22 or 28 overall, their selection of two Georgia Bulldog defensive prospects demonstrates their willingness to let the board fall as it did and allow for other needs to be addressed first. As they did end up moving up to grab NDSU’s Christian Watson at 34 overall, the Packers did finally use high draft capital on a WR, hopefully giving Aaron Rodgers a long-term solution to the Davante Adams void.
Here are a few of the needs that the Packers still face after the NFL Draft.
Wide Receiver
Even after selecting Watson, Nevada’s Romeo Doubs, and Nebraska’s Samori Toure, Green Bay still needs to work on their WR depth chart. Of the three, Watson looks to have the skill set to be the best set up to eventually become WR1, but that is unlikely to happen in his rookie season.
The WR room currently includes Watson, Doubs, Toure, Randall Cobb, Allen Lazard, Amari Rodgers, Juwann Winfree, Sammy Watkins, Chris Blair, Malik Taylor, and Rico Gafford. Lazard still has yet to sign his restricted free agent tender (meaning that he is not technically on the team), but all signs point to him returning to Green Bay.
Of the 11 options currently signed, 6-7 will likely make the final roster, making offseason workouts and training camp integral to finding which players are going to fill out those spots the best. There are some external options still too, as Jarvis Landry, Julio Jones, and a few other veterans are still in free agency, and other younger options could be available via the trade market.
Offensive Line
Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker were all selected to help provide important depth to the offensive line, seeing as how right tackle is the tackle up for debate currently. All three options were selected with starting at RT in mind, according to Brian Gutekunst, and this was the third straight draft with 3 OL selected, so Gutekunst either doesn’t believe in his depth or he continues to feel the need to build with injuries remaining an issue.
Rhyan and Walker look to both have the skill sets to be considered at both tackle and guard, and Tom can hold major holes at any five OL positions, so flexibility was the key here in their interested prospects. But having this many options now in the fold puts it on the coaching staff to determine who is the best option and where.
Determining if Elgton Jenkins should make the full-time switch to RT and open up a hole on the inside or keep him inside and likely force one of the rookies to take on the outside role will be very important for the success of Rodgers and the offense.
A benefit of addressing the OL this heavy through the past three drafts is that Gutekunst really does not need to go out and add a veteran on the cheap for their tackle needs – there is enough talent in-house that can help address that void that will make things easier.
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Mike Johrendt has been an avid fan of the Packers ever since he can remember. He is now a writer at PackersTalk and you can follow him on Twitter at @MJohrendt23
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