The NFL’s longest season comes to an explosive conclusion with the big game this Sunday. But while the NFL season won’t officially end until next week, 30 teams are already in offseason mode, and some have been for some time now.
Unfortunately, the Green Bay Packers are one of those teams. While the team would much rather be playing in Los Angeles this Sunday, the offseason is still an exciting time for the Packers. With a massive cap deficiency and uncertainty at quarterback, Green Bay needs to make some unenviable decisions. The 2022 team may look substantially different than the 2021 edition.
Part of the fun is predicting what players will wear the green and gold this fall. Despite other roster needs emerging with the ebb and flow of offseason cuts and re-signings, we recently established that tight end looks like a significant need for Green Bay in 2022. With few guarantees on the roster and little money to spend on outside help, at least in terms of marquee players, the draft is the best spot to fill that need. What sort of toys could the Packers get for new tight ends coach John Dunn?
We’re early into the process, with the Senior Bowl in the recent past and the combine still a bit ahead. But people more talented than I have been watching tape for months. If the Packers want a true difference-making tight end, they’ll need to take one early, which probably means Colorado State’s Trey McBride and Texas A&M’s Jalen Wydermyer.
We’ll start alphabetically. McBride was a yardage machine this season, with 1,125 yards on 91 catches. For reference, that’s more than one-third of Colorado State’s passing output. Being a primary weapon in college sets him up for success at the pro level. He’s had to learn how to overcome being the focal point of the defense.
McBride is a complete tight end prospect and is no slouch as a blocker. “McBride is a willing in-line blocker,” wrote Kyle Crabbs of the Draft Network. “He is not overpowering but does a good job of holding the point of attack to stay sticky and engage in defensive linemen when called upon to occupy.”
McBride could work on that part of his skillset and become a complete tight end for LaFleur’s offense. He has the potential to play the Y or in-line spot. We know LaFleur loves the “illusion of complexity,” and the rare do-it-all tight end is the perfect Swiss Army knife.
Wydermyer is a massive human being with the ideal size to create mismatches. Poor quarterback play at A&M hampered Wydermyer’s numbers somewhat; he had less than half of McBride’s yardage. But his ceiling as a receiver is sky-high thanks to his excellent ball skills and football IQ. He was used in multiple ways at A&M and would benefit from a creative play-caller like LaFleur.
He looks less polished as a blocker than McBride, and he wasn’t asked to be heavily involved in that element. It’s part of his game he’ll have to improve at the pro level. But he’s a willing blocker and isn’t maladroit.
The Packers haven’t had good luck with Aggies recently. Fellow A&M tight end Jace Sternberger struck out, and Kingsley Keke‘s Packers tenure ended recently under mysterious circumstances. Still, Green Bay has smart enough scouts to ignore the logo and focus on the player. Wydermyer would give whoever takes the helm at QB next season a promising weapon at their disposal.
Mock drafts are fun but ultimately meaningless. However, most experts peg both McBride and Wydermyer as second-round picks. PFF has both of these prospects as their only two tight ends in their Top 100 Big Board. The Packers likely have bigger needs than tight end to address early and probably wouldn’t draft a tight end in the first round anyway. That would put Gutekunst in a good position to take one of the top players at the right time.
If the Packers aren’t willing to make a move that early, they can follow their recent trend of Round 3 options. Washington’s Cade Otton, Ohio State’s Jeremy Ruckert, and Wisconsin’s own Jake Ferguson are all promising options to keep an eye on. So far, Ferguson’s process is going well, as he was a Senior Bowl standout. Meanwhile, Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar struggled in the exhibition game.
While this draft class might not be as stacked at tight end as the 2019 group, there are a lot of potential long-term starters the Packers could choose from. This team’s “lack of weapons” narrative was always lazy. But with a potential roster shakeup, it’s important to restock the cupboard. We saw Green Bay’s offense regress in 2021, and a lack of production at tight end surely didn’t help. The Shanahan system works best with versatile tight ends, and the Green Bay scouting team is likely looking to find one for themselves.
