Packers 2023 NFL Draft takeaways: Hefty haul (13 players) has some intriguing options (2024)

In the first post-Aaron Rodgers draft in Green Bay, the Packers took four pass catchers in their first six picks, including three in the first three rounds for the first time since the common draft era began in 1967.

“Hopefully we can surround him with enough people to help him perform at the best of his ability,” head coach Matt LaFleur said of new starting quarterback Jordan Love at the NFL owners meetings in March.

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The Packers carried through with that plan in adding a couple of unproven yet intriguing weapons for Love as he takes over the offense. Sixth-year general manager Brian Gutekunst filled just about every pressing area of need, and at some positions, namely tight end, he did so with players who will see the field right away.

Here’s a rundown of Green Bay’s 13 picks, with thoughts on the best one, the player who will have the biggest immediate impact, the biggest surprise, the biggest question mark, remaining needs and the overarching takeaway from this year’s class.

The picks

Lukas Van Ness, OLB, Round 1 (pick No. 13)
Luke Musgrave, TE, Round 2 (pick No. 42)
Jayden Reed, WR, Round 2 (pick No. 50)
Tucker Kraft, TE, Round 3 (pick No. 78)
Colby Wooden, DT, Round 4 (pick No. 116)
Sean Clifford, QB, Round 5 (pick No. 149)
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Round 5 (pick No. 159)
Karl Brooks, DT, Round 6 (pick No. 179)
Anders Carlson, K, Round 6 (pick No. 207)
Carrington Valentine, CB, Round 7 (pick No. 232)
Lew Nichols III, RB, Round 7 (pick No. 235)
Anthony Johnson Jr., S, Round 7 (pick No. 242)
Grant DuBose, WR, Round 7 (pick No. 256)

Best pick

I think Reed could be a neat find for the Packers. They had a vacancy in the slot and he can fill that. He was also an electric punt returner in college with three “house calls,” and he told reporters Friday night to expect more in the NFL. First-team All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon was efficient as a punt returner last season, but the Packers might want to take some work off his plate if he’s going to be the primary nickel and limit him to kick-return duty. Reed is shorter than Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure and Wicks, but his speed and hands make up for it downfield. Green Bay needed at least another receiver for Love and got one in Reed in the second round, the same round the franchise has drafted Davante Adams, Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb and Watson. Reed can play inside and outside and will compete for playing time right away with only Watson and Doubs locked into the top three.

“I think he’s very good in the slot,” Gutekunst said. “I do think because of his speed, he’ll be able to play outside as well. He certainly did for Michigan State. And then, obviously, he’s a very good returner. I think those guys that can return like that, obviously, what they can do with the ball in their hands translates to what they do with RAC (run after catch) and things like that. It’s another option, which is very important to have multiple guys that can go back there and catch punts.”

Biggest immediate impact

The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler said that based on talent alone, Musgrave could end up being the best tight end to come out of this draft. The Packers entered it with two massive holes at the position without Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis on the roster. Using the second-round pick they acquired from the Jets as part of the Rodgers trade, they grabbed the dynamic Oregon State tight end who, despite playing only two games last season because of a left knee injury and never topping 304 receiving yards or one touchdown catch in a season, offers a complete skill set that has the Packers excited. With Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis yet to prove they can be featured pass catchers in Green Bay’s offense, Musgrave should get a chance right away to be the No. 1 tight end for Love.

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“He didn’t have the most productive college career, but we really liked the skill set,” Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan said of Musgrave. “Again, watching that kid move around, watching him block, watching him run routes, we feel like there’s a ton of upside.”

Biggest surprise

The selection of Clifford in the fifth round was perplexing, but it’s just another reminder that there are occasional vast disconnects between how teams and pundits view certain players. Clifford is three and a half months older than Love and was ranked No. 20 among quarterbacks on Brugler’s list. The Packers made him the 11th one taken.

It’s no surprise the Packers drafted a quarterback — they took two in the 2008 draft (Brian Brohm in the second round and Matt Flynn in the seventh) entering Rodgers’ first year as starter — but it’s a surprise that they took Clifford specifically even though he did visit Green Bay in the pre-draft process. Brugler notes that Clifford throws well on the move and teams love his intangibles, but added that his decision-making and accuracy leave plenty to be desired. Even so, Clifford might currently sit as the No. 2 quarterback since Danny Etling, the only other QB on Green Bay’s roster has never played in a regular-season game and spent the entirety of last season on the Packers’ practice squad.

“I believe he’s the all-time (leader) at Penn State between yards and touchdowns and he’s played in big games,” Packers director of football operations Milt Hendrickson said of Clifford. “That kid coming into the environment in Lambeau, it’s not going to be too big for him. And I think that experience factor along with some of the moxie that he has as a guy, to me it’s a culmination of who he is, not one specific aspect. … I will say this in defense of Clifford: We got him at a good spot where we valued him, so from that standpoint, we’re very pleased to be able to add him.”

Some big-time plays from the B1G QB
🏈 @seancliff14 #PackersDraft | @meijer pic.twitter.com/PyZhfLJjOP
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) April 29, 2023

Biggest question mark

This year’s draft was weak at safety, with none of them taken until the No. 45 pick (Alabama’s Brian Branch) and only two in the first two rounds (Branch and Illinois’ Jartavius Martin). The Packers entered the draft needing a starting-caliber safety and drafted just one player at the position, Iowa State’s Johnson in the seventh round. Depth at the position isn’t the problem with Darnell Savage Jr., Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore, Innis Gaines, Tariq Carpenter and Dallin Leavitt in tow. Unless they’re comfortable trotting out Savage and Ford as their top two — they probably shouldn’t be if last season’s performances are any indication of what’s to come in 2023 — the Packers might need to circle back on unrestricted free agent Adrian Amos after the draft. Amos, who turned 30 on Saturday, started every game in the regular season and playoffs for the Packers from 2019 through ’22, and though he wasn’t great last season, he has largely been sturdy on the back end for a secondary that badly needs a bounce-back year.

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“I think we’re not going to close the door on that,” Gutekunst said of bringing back Amos. “Obviously Adrian’s done such a nice job for us over the last four years. We’ve been in communication with him along the way, so we’ll see where that goes … As we get going tomorrow, we’re going to be signing some rookie minicamp guys and start looking at what’s out there on the veteran open market and continue to move forward. If we can make our team better, we’re going to do that. But yeah, Adrian, obviously he’s played at a high level for a long time, played at a high level for us last year, so we wouldn’t close the door on that yet.”

Remaining needs

The Packers filled most of their primary positional needs in the draft, including tight end (drafted two), wide receiver (drafted two), interior defensive line (drafted two), edge rusher (drafted one) and backup quarterback (drafted one). The biggest remaining need is the aforementioned one at safety, specifically a starter, but Gutekunst might be content rolling the dice with Ford and Savage to start the season. Green Bay even added a kicker in Anders Carlson, the younger brother of Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson. That fills another need with Mason Crosby still a free agent and 24-year-old Parker White out of South Carolina as the only kicker under contract entering the draft. A lesser need was the one at running back, where the Packers could use more competition for the No. 3 spot. They added Central Michigan’s Nichols in the seventh round to compete with Patrick Taylor and Tyler Goodson. Nichols led the FBS with 1,848 rushing yards in 2021 while scoring 16 touchdowns and averaging 5.4 yards per carry.

Post-draft outlook

The biggest takeaway from this year’s Packers haul is that we’re about to watch an offense that looks vastly different from an age perspective. Gone are Rodgers, Cobb, Lewis, Tonyan and wide receiver Allen Lazard. In are Reed (23 years old), Wicks (21), Musgrave (22) and Kraft (22) to join Love (24), Watson (23), Doubs (23), Toure (25), Deguara (26) and running backs Aaron Jones (28) and AJ Dillon (24). With such youth comes intriguing potential, but also the drawbacks of inexperience. However this experiment goes, it should be a fascinating watch as Green Bay enters a new chapter on that side of the ball.

“That’s going to be interesting to work through in regards to, there is a ton of youth, you look at just the skill-position rooms in particular, obviously up front we’ve got some experience,” LaFleur said after the draft. “With our running backs, we’ve got some experience. But it’s going to be interesting to see how much we can really put on these guys’ plates because typically I would say the more veteran you are, the more volume you can carry in your offense. So that’s going to be one of those things that we’re going to have to probably figure out throughout the course of OTAs and in training camp to see how this offense goes.”

(Photo of Jayden Reed: Adam Ruff / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Matt Schneidman is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Green Bay Packers. He is a proud alum of The Daily Orange student newspaper at Syracuse University. Follow Matt on Twitter @mattschneidman