The more darts you have to throw, the better your chances of hitting a bullseye.
That seems to be the Green Bay Packers’ draft philosophy when they determine that they have to overhaul a position. They did it with running back in 2017. In 2018, they did it with the corner and wide receiver positions. And in 2022 they heavily invested in wide receivers.
This year, the Packers double-dipped at tight end, using their first second-rounder on Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave and their third-rounder on South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft. It’s another example of the Packers identifying a considerable position of need on their roster and spending valuable draft capital on it. (I’m not going to count when the Packers took three offensive linemen in a draft, because there are always five offensive linemen on the field and the position takes up the most roster spots.)
The Packers have used this draft philosophy a few times in their history. In Brian Gutekunst’s first draft, he used a similar strategy to address the cornerback room. He looked at Green Bay’s current secondary depth chart and saw the likes of Davon House, Kevin King, Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, Kentrell Brice, Lenzy Pipkins, and Miami legend LaDarius Gunter. He laughed to himself and said, yeah, this ain’t gonna fly.
Gutekunst saw how that group fared against the Atlanta Falcons in the 2017 NFC Championship game. Was it a good idea to line up undrafted free-agent LaDarius Gunter against Julio Jones at the height of his power?
Good one.
Everyone saw how that went, and the Packers proceeded to rebuild the cornerback room — aggressively so. The Packers drafted Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson in back-to-back rounds to completely reshape the barren position group. Those investments have paid off splendidly. Alexander is an All-Pro corner. While Josh Jackson never stuck with the Packers, Alexander was able to provide great value as a first-rounder. Green Bay has since rebuilt its corner room into one of the best in the league.
Jackson was largely a bust, but Green Bay’s double-dipping strategy paid off. They did the same thing this year with the tight end room.
In Ted Thompson’s last draft, he gifted the Packers a pair of solid running backs, Aaron Jones and fan-favorite Jamaal Williams. While only one of these players still dons the green and gold, they arrived in the same draft. The Packers only needed one of them to be successful, but they both were, making Williams expendable.
In the same draft that they took both corners, they had a need for a receiver to play behind Davante Adams. They brought in three rookies to compete. J’Mon Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown came into camp with the opportunity to play. Only MVS and EQ made an impact in the league, but you could say both of those draft picks “hit.” While they are not playing for the Packers, the strategy of throwing a bunch of darts at a board and hoping one lands well is working.
They did the triple threat at receiver again in the last draft when they took Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Samori Toure. All three players made an impact and should be in featured roles this upcoming year. Watson and Doubs look like slam-dunk picks. Time will tell with Toure, but the coaches rave about him.
The Packers’ tight end room was lackluster last year. They had okay production from Robert Tonyan, and Marcedes Lewis was essentially a sixth offensive lineman. But there’s a lot to be desired there. Tonyan had the potential to step into that role as Green Bay’s receiving threat after his big 2020 season. However, he was hurt the next year and has not really been the same since. Lewis was never really a threat in the passing game, and while he was a top-notch run-blocker, it would be neat if the Packers had a tight end who could do both.
Since then, the Packers saw Tonyan sign with the Chicago Bears, wished Lewis the best in his future endeavors, and re-signed depth tight end Tyler Davis. The jury is still out on Josiah Deguara and whether he can be effective in this offense. Gutenkunst saw this disparity in production and double-dipped early at the position, with Luke Musgrave in the second and Tucker Kraft in the third.
Two new bodies in the tight end group who will both push the older guys and provide a youthful boost to the room. It would not be uncommon to see both rookies on the field together, as the Packers have run some two tight end sets in the past. Kraft and Musgrave both have traits that allow them to be used in special formations Matt LaFleur creates.
Two lottery tickets are better than one. Not putting all of their eggs in one basket is a strategy that has paid dividends in the past at other positions. The Packers don’t need Musgrave and Kraft to be superstars. I mean, it would be cool. But even if one of these guys turns into something, it would be a lifesaver for a group that really needs it.
