Regardless of who is throwing the ball for the Green Bay Packers in 2023, it’s clear the team needs to upgrade its offensive arsenal if the team wants to get back to postseason glory. The Packers have an overall-solid offensive line and two good running backs. They invested in promising rookie wide receivers last offseason. While Aaron Jones and Christian Watson look to be the featured weapons, Green Bay still needs more firepower.
The first-round wide receiver meme will likely show up again once again this season. There are a few interesting options, but this draft class’s wide receiver group is viewed as much weaker than the one they had in the past two seasons. Green Bay could still land some promising WRs through the draft — draft analysts are far from infallible.
But Brian Gutekunst’s best option to bring in more firepower is to invest heavily in this loaded tight end class. Tight end is one of the Packers’ biggest roster holes, and this class is filled to the brim with appealing options. Green Bay should invest draft capital early and often to fill its tight end void.
Of course, “early” doesn’t mean the Packers should throw first-round picks at the position. Despite it being a popular option in mocks, first-round tight ends rarely pan out the way the drafting team hopes, and teams can find elite tight ends throughout the draft.
It isn’t as easy to evaluate tight end projections as it is with other positions. Tight end is notoriously hard to adapt from the college level to the pros. With the various roles teams ask of them and the importance of good scheme fit, it’s best to gamble on athletic traits and how they’ll fit with a team’s offense.
Thankfully, the 2023 batch has a buttload of athletic ability. Daniel Jeremiah referred to this class as the best he’s seen in decades, and the tight ends built on this with a strong combine showing. Jeremiah had a pre-combine 11 tight ends with third-round grades.
Of the 17 tight ends with Relative Athletic Scores (RAS), a whopping 15 had above an 8.0. Seven had scores above 9.0, while Zack Kuntz of Old Dominion had a perfect 10. Despite the Packers having their own grading system, we know their ideal targets tend to be above 8.0.
Notably, the last two tight ends Gutekunst drafted, Jace Sternberger and Josiah Deguara (both third-round picks) had lower RAS numbers.
The Packers should use pick 15 elsewhere, either on one of the draft’s top receivers like Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba or an elite pass-rusher. Still, Gutekunst should go nuts on tight end with the rest of his top-100 picks.
It doesn’t mean a ton at this point, but the Packers met with the top four prospects at the combine: Dalton Kincaid, Michael Mayer, Darnell Washington, and Luke Musgrave. They are clearly doing its homework on the top options, and it wouldn’t be too silly to go for more than one if the board shakes out the right way.
Deguara is the team’s only experienced tight end on the roster. They’ve used him more of an H-back, and he hasn’t been someone Rodgers likes to throw to. A Jordan Love offense could mean more passing game opportunities for Deguara, but the team can’t bank on that.
Taking one of the top four options in the second round feels right, providing Unnamed Packer Starting Quarterback with a ready-to-use weapon in the passing game. The Packers could also theoretically drop their third-rounder on one. Third-round picks haven’t done well in Green Bay, so it’s worth doubling down on a needed position to swing for the fences.
Even if the Packers don’t want to spend two top-100 picks on tight ends, they should still double down somewhere in the draft. This class is so athletically-gifted that the Packers could find a star in the fourth or fifth round to develop into a future threat.
Matt LaFleur’s offense runs on the philosophy of the illusion of complexity, but we didn’t see that as much last year. I’m one of the biggest Marcedes Lewis fans out there, but it’s clear the Packers used him more as a lineman that could occasionally catch the ball. Meanwhile, Robert Tonyan was mostly a conversion receiver without the same juice he had before injury.
We know LaFleur loves blocking wide receivers more than most, but having multiple true double-threat tight ends can truly get back to that core philosophy.
The team has other needs, but a difference-making tight end can take the offense to new levels. It’s easy to say “find the next Travis Kelce” as a team-building exercise. However, that’s much harder to accomplish. Green Bay needs more offensive weapons, and the more versatile those weapons are, the better they fit into LaFleur’s offensive philosophy. This tight end class is stacked with appealing options, and tight end is one of the Packers’ biggest needs. Brian Gutekunst needs to invest early and often in the position.
