Amid a changing of the guard that will jumpstart the Jordan Love era this fall, the Green Bay Packers addressed a plethora of needs at last week’s draft. In typical fashion, they went best player available in the first round, landing powerful edge-rusher Lukas Van Ness. Subsequently, they picked their spots at tight end, wide receiver, and defensive line, and found themselves a new kicker and backup quarterback in the middle rounds. Despite spreading out their 13 picks pretty effectively, it wasn’t until the tail end of Day 3 that they called a safety’s name. As a result, that player, Anthony Johnson Jr., could have quite the opportunity in front of him heading into offseason workouts.
Johnson comes into the league after five years at Iowa State. Interestingly, he played the first four at corner before transitioning to the middle of the field, and he will bring a lot of versatility. Johnson also aligns with Green Bay’s affinity for high relative athletic scores (RAS); his 8.13 out of 10 stands out in a weak safety class that was particularly underwhelming, athletically.
Noteworthy depth in offensive skill categories, in contrast with this year’s back-end group, has led to a safety room that is now composed of Johnson, Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, and a couple of returnees who are primarily special teamers. Given that Savage and Ford took turns getting benched down the stretch of last season, and Adrian Amos remains on the open market, it’s anyone’s role to earn this summer. That is a rare phenomenon for a Packers team that was so veteran-heavy throughout the Rodgers era. However, they are poised to trot out only four players over the age of 28 in 2023.
For all that stayed the same with draft philosophy, lack of free-agent moves, and the hard-nosed approach to Rodgers’ trade negotiations, Green Bay is entering a period that will be characterized by an influx of young talent and the inevitable mistakes that accompany trial by fire. A great example is Christian Watson last year. On the year’s first offensive play from scrimmage, he dropped an absolute dime that would’ve resulted in a 75-yard house call and the ultimate “welcome to the NFL” moment. He went on to struggle to stay on the field, due to both injuries and missed assignments.
However, he put it all together down the stretch, jolting the offense with an unhinged rate of touchdown scoring and efficiency. For better or worse, the young 2023 team projects to be a bunch of rookie Watsons running around with their high athletic scores and upside, figuring it out as a team under Jordan Love‘s leadership. That’s one of the reasons Gutekunst and LaFleur probably won’t mind rocking with a seventh-round pick in center field, provided he earns it. With DraftKings pricing odds for the Packers to win the weak NFC North at a long +500, the consequences of getting rookies on the field over veterans who aren’t expected to remain with the team in the long-run (à la Savage) are bearable.
Obviously, the extent to which the Packers will be competitive is heavily dependent on what is revealed inside the mystery that is Love. The NFC is relatively weak, and while the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers boast deep rosters that have strong command of the conference, Green Bay has some room to run due to the quality of their defensive personnel.
Johnson is versatile, and he’s a bruiser. After watching a soft defensive front squander many playoff runs under Rodgers, seeing Quay Walker come in as a rookie and play with physicality, hustle, and aggressiveness was a breath of fresh air – even if he didn’t constrain himself to the opposing players. Johnson can offer a dose of that and help Joe Barry’s defense form an identity, which is especially valuable now that the team is without a franchise face under center for the first time since the 1990s.
Darnell Savage was a first-round pick out of Maryland. His speed and agility were off the charts, and the upside was enough for Gutekunst to pull the trigger, just eight slots after the team brought in Rashan Gary. After flashing in his rookie season, Savage has been described as a player who has all of the explosive traits yet does nothing explosive on the football field.
To some extent, Johnson is the antithesis of that. He has put his physical, versatile game on film despite lacking the raw talent to have been a Day 1 pick. As far as seventh-round selections go, when the NFL Network broadcast crew has moved on to orangutans and the “Stump the Truck” game, he’s pretty exciting. Green Bay fans probably won’t regret getting to know him ahead of training camp, because he could see a lot of meaningful snaps, and much sooner than people expect.
