NFL / aaron rodgers

The Green Bay Packers sent off a firestorm on Thursday night when GM Brian Gutekunst sent a 4th-rounder to Miami, along with the #30 pick to move up 4 spots to #26 to take... QB Jordan Love of Utah State. The pick has been incredibly divisive, and certainly grabbed most of the Day 1 headlines. Scrutiny came with the pick - which is going to happen when the best quarterback on the planet is under contract for four more years, and coming off a season in which you were one win shy of a Super Bowl birth. Day 2 brought further scrutiny with a couple of perceived "reach" picks. The argument could made that Day 3 at least was a better day in Packerland, but hanging your hat on your Day 3 picks is usually a sign of a weak draft. There is plenty to 'unpack' from the Packers 3-day odyssey that was the 2020 NFL Draft. Before all of you fellow Packer fans either a. Jump off a bridge or b. hang up that Championship banner, I've got you covered with draft grades on all 9 of the Packers 2020 Draft selections. Let's jump to it, starting with that polarizing pick at #26: 1st Round (26) JORDAN LOVE | QB | UTAH STATE GRADE: C- Honestly, it is extremely difficult to provide a grade here on Love, because none of us will know whether this pick panned out or not for years to come. Quarterback is by far the most valuable position in the NFL, and by taking Love in the 1st round, they were able to get that 5th year on his rookie deal - which is extra important considering Rodgers is under contract through 2023. Before giving a knee-jerk reaction to this pick, I wanted to see how GB handled day 2. If they hit on Day 2 and addressed some major areas of need, then this pick would look and feel better. With the way that Day 2 went however, it is difficult to make the argument in favor of the Packers moving up for this pick. By all accounts, Love would have been there at 30 - Baltimore was always going to go LB at 28, the Titans just signed Ryan Tannehill to a big off-season deal, and it would not have made much sense for Seattle to take a QB at 27 with Russell Wilson in his prime. The Packers could have stayed at 30 and got Love, and kept a much-needed asset in that 4th round pick. That pick could have been used on Day 2 to move up to get an impact pass-catcher. That drops this grade from B-/C+ range to C- & that might even be generous. 2nd Round (62) A.J. DILLON | RB | BOSTON COLLEGE GRADE: C Dillon is a big, bruising back, who was highly proficient over his collegiate career at Boston College. Possibly trying to find their version of Derrick Henry, coach Matt LaFleur clearly had his imprint on this draft, and Dillon fits the mold of a Henry-type runner. Getting a backup & potential replacement for Aaron Jones is not the worst thing in the world, but the issue is the value. By all accounts, and draft boards out there, he would have been available in the 4th round. Taking him at the end of the 2nd seemed like a big stretch - especially when the last real "impact" receiver from this deep & talented class went just 3 picks ahead of this choice in Denzel Mims. This pick may pan out, but I would have liked it a hell of a lot more had it come at the end of the 3rd round & not the 2nd. 3rd Round (94) JOSIAH DEGUARA | TE | CINCINNATI GRADE: F Maybe the "F" grade is incredibly harsh, and I really hope I end up eating crow over this, but when the best tight end in this draft (and it wasn't even close) fell into the 4th round and went to the Browns in Harrison Bryant, this pick deserves the criticism and lousy grade. Deguara is an H-back, and might be asked to do more blocking and act more as a fullback in Lafleur's system. He was expected to be a very late pick in the draft - maybe a 6th or 7th rounder, and many had him going undrafted. Taking a "blocking" tight end in the 3rd round in today's NFL, seems to show no understanding of draft value. Bryant would have the ability to be a contributor in the pass game, and was coming off an outstanding 1,000 yard + campaign at Florida Atlantic. This pick seems to reflect LaFleur's wanting to make Green Bay's offense the Titans 2.0 - which they don't really need to do. You've got one of the greatest QBs of all-time, one of the game's best WRs in Devonte Adams, so molding to a power-run team doesn't seem to make a ton of sense. Again, the biggest issue with the pick & subsequent awful grade is where the pick was made - if this was a 6th or 7th round selection, the grade would be much, much higher. 5th Round (175) KAMAL MARTIN | ILB | MINNESOTA GRADE: C Martin is a hitter, and certainly has talent. He's got the size you'd want in a middle LB at 6'3" and 245 lbs, and has the physical tools. He was injured for a portion of the 2019 season, so the sample size is a bit smaller. By several accounts, he has work to do in pass coverage, however, and may be a liability in passing situations. He's got talent, and it's not a terrible pick by any means, but Martin is more of a project, and may not be able to be much of an immediate contributor. 6th Round (192) JON RUNYAN | OL | MICHIGAN GRADE: A- Getting Runyan to kick off the three 6th round picks, was an excellent one. He was a two-time All-Big TEN performer at left tackle for the Wolverines, and has plenty of experience. An intelligent player, he was battle-tested in the Big TEN by several noteworthy high-end pass rusher selections in guys such as Chase Young of Ohio State, AJ Epenesa of Iowa, and Yater Gross-Matos of Penn State, to name a few. He was Michigan's lineman of the year two years in a row, and will provide some valuable depth in the interior of the offensive line. The one knock is his hands, and he will have to improve in that area, but there are no red flags, and rarely does a lineman with this many accolades, go all the way down to the 6th round. It took until the 6th round, but the Packers finally got a valuable pick. 6th Round (208) JAKE HANSON | C | OREGON GRADE: C+ Hanson was one of the best centers in the country over 2019, and was a big part of the Ducks' success in terms of running the ball, and in pass protection. A solid prospect, who only allowed 2 sacks while at Oregon, he set the tone up front protecting #6 overall pick Justin Herbert. A 2nd team All-Pac 12 performer, Hanson is also experienced, having started 49 games over his 4 year college career. Getting experienced, polished O-lineman in the 6th round is always nice. Ended 2019 with a very respectable 86.4 run-blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus. 6th Round (209) SIMON STEPANIAK | OT | INDIANA GRADE: C+ Stepaniak, started 11 games this past season for a surprising Indiana squad that finished 8-5. He was a Big TEN Honorable Mention selection at guard. He started all 12 games at his regular right guard spot in 2018, and saw time as a freshman & sophomore as well. Big, burly, and experienced, Stepaniak checks the box as a potential interior O-line backup. He has issues with quicker pass rushers, but was pretty solid in the run game. As far as adding interior O-line depth at this spot, GB could have done a lot worse. 7th Round (236) VERNON SCOTT | S | TCU GRADE: B- Scott played in 10 games as a senior for the Horned Frogs, and was a play-maker in the secondary. He had a sack, a 98-yard INT return for a TD, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and 7 passes defensed as a senior. In the team's biggest game of the year against Oklahoma, he showed up and had arguably his best game of his collegiate career, registering 7 total tackles, a fumble recovery, and had the aforementioned 98-yard INT return for a TD. It's a good depth move for the Pack, and offers pretty good value for being a 7th rounder. At 6'2" 206 lbs, he's got the size you look for in a NFL safety. Green Bay ranked 14th in pass defense, and Scott should be able to snag a roster spot and provide a little depth in the backend of the secondary. 7th Round (242) JONATHAN GARVIN | EDGE | MIAMI (FL) GRADE: B Garvin had an outstanding Sophomore season for the Canes', racking up 17 tackles for loss, 60 total tackles, and a pair of fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown. The production dropped off a bit his Junior year, registering 37 total tackles and 9.0 for loss. The sacks were consistent, notching 5.5 as a SO, and 5.0 as a JR. It took until the end of the draft, but the Pack finally addressed concerns along the D-line, magnified by Kyler Fackrell's departure in free agency. Garvin is raw, and lacked consistency, but the talent to get in the opposing teams' backfield & get after the quarterback is there. For an end of the draft selection, it was another good 'value' pick for the spot. - OVERALL GRADE & FINAL ANALYSIS: [ C ] When all of your "best" picks come on day 3 of the draft, and all take place in rounds 6 & 7 it's going to be difficult to score a decent overall draft grade. Days 1 & 2 left a lot to be desired for Packers fans. This team was just one win shy of a Super Bowl in the first season under a new regime. With the bulk of that roster coming back, the Pack seem to be just a piece or two away from legitimately getting over that last hump and back into the Super Bowl. This draft was stacked with impact players over the first 2-3 rounds, but the Packers failed to get a single one that realistically can be expected to step-in this season and have an immediate impact for a team that was also rather quiet in free agency. The WRs that they wanted were gone in the 1st round, so the Love pick is not terrible. The problem is, trading up to take him, and then not addressing the other glaring needs over the next couple of rounds. Love may turn out to be a fantastic pick, but what everyone is missing is that this GM & head coach won't be around in four years to see how the pick turned out, if they can't win right now with Aaron Rodgers still playing at a high level. The continued adjustment to a more 'power' running system could help keep Rodgers fresher for a postseason push, but will it translate to getting to a Super Bowl? It may all work out, and Gutenkunst did a good job of salvaging a little something out of this draft with his 6th & 7th round choices, but is that really going to be good enough for a team that was on the cusp of the Super Bowl last season? ---- Chris Elgersma Be sure to follow me on Instagram & YouTube: @sportsguychris