While the draft is about far more than immediate improvement, the 2024 NFL Draft aligns oddly with the Green Bay Packers’ biggest needs.
The two biggest gaps on Green Bay’s roster are safety and off-ball linebacker. Safety has been a need for some time, and even adding a star like Xavier McKinney doesn’t completely solve the problem. The switch to a 4-3 front means the Packers require more bodies at inside linebacker. This year’s draft class isn’t viewed as particularly strong in either area.
However, experts view this draft class as deep for offensive linemen, and that’s the team’s biggest need on that side of the ball. The Packers lack depth at tackle and the inside, and they could upgrade a few starting spots.
Despite need and depth aligning well, many draft analysts don’t expect Green Bay to look to the offensive line early. Citing draft history and the fact that the interior offensive line is not viewed as a premier position, it’s a common belief that the Packers won’t target an offensive lineman in Round 1. While history shows the team likes to wait, I don’t think it precludes them from taking the right player in 2024.
Recent history shows the Packers don’t invest Day 1 draft capital on the offensive line. Bryan Bulaga was the last offensive tackle they took in the first round after he slid toward the end of the round in 2010. The last time they took an interior lineman was in 1994, when they selected guard Aaron Taylor as the 16th overall pick. Taylor was talented, but injuries drastically shortened his career.
Few teams are as good as the Packers at finding and developing quality offensive linemen, especially in the later rounds. Ted Thompson built dominant offensive lines stocked with Day 3 players, and Brian Gutekunst has similarly found success on Days 2 and 3.
The Packers made last year’s line by drafting players on Day 2 or later:
- Rasheed Walker was a seventh-rounder.
- Elgton Jenkins and Josh Myers were second-rounders.
- Jon Runyan was a sixth-rounder.
- They took Sean Rhyan in the third round.
- Ascending star right tackle Zach Tom was a fourth-rounder.
Green Bay usually waits to target offensive linemen because they are so good at finding later-round talents.
Even when the offensive line appears to have a need (like right now), the Packers have waited to fill the position, and their efforts have mostly been good. And it’s not like being drafted early guarantees success — plenty of “can’t miss” prospects end up busting. Ted Thompson took Jason Spriggs in the second-round pick, and he was one of Green Bay’s biggest offensive line draft busts.
In general, interior offensive linemen aren’t considered premium positions like offensive tackle, edge, and quarterback.
Add it all up, and the Packers will wait to address their offensive line needs, especially on the interior. But this history isn’t a definitive case against the concept. It all depends on how the board falls and the Packers feel about individual players.
By the time Green Bay picks at 25, at least four quarterbacks will be taken, and many of the top defensive and pass-catching options will be gone. There will be a run on offensive tackles. But depending on when it starts, Green Bay could still have a fine opportunity to grab a guy they like. While some top options are likely off their board due to size or scheme fit concerns, if they truly love a prospect, they shouldn’t wait. I’d rather see the team break tradition and take a tackle they like than overdraft a defensive player to fill a position of need.
It doesn’t stop at the interior for me, either. The free-agent market for interior offensive linemen skyrocketed in 2024 after teams gave guards and centers seven of the top 10 highest-paid offensive line contracts. It’s a position growing in value. The iOL market is looking a lot like the wide receiver market, where it’s good to draft early and often.
Brian Gutekunst has already drafted two starting interior linemen in the second round. While Jenkins can play tackle, Myers was a true interior-only prospect. Conversely, like for wide receivers, Green Bay hasn’t needed to look to the first round when they’ve done well later.
But it all comes down to individual players rather than checking boxes at a position. We know the Packers like to draft premium positions in the first round, but they don’t always. Gutekunst drafted Jordan Love in 2020 when it looked like the team was a piece or two away from a Super Bowl. In 2021, he drafted a raw, off-ball linebacker and an older defensive lineman. Gutekunst does what he wants.
So a star prospect like Duke’s Graham Barton shouldn’t be completely discounted because “they don’t take linemen in the first round.” We can’t discount a player with the third-highest RAS for an interior lineman, and his short arms don’t mean he can’t be successful at tackle. If Green Bay loves the prospect, by all means, take him early.
There’s a good chance the Packers will stick to what we think we know and wait until later to address the offensive line. Outside of Jordan Love and Bryan Bulaga, the Packers haven’t looked to the offense in the first round. But with the talent level at the top of this class, the rising value of interior offensive linemen, and Gutekunst’s tendency to go against the grain when the mood strikes, I’m not willing to count a change of direction out.
