On Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft, Michael Pratt was spending his Saturday with his family, watching the selections unfold on television. As he stepped out of his family’s pool, his day took a turn.
He received a call from the Green Bay Packers.
“Well, get your jackets. Green Bay,” he said to his family and friends right after hanging up the phone.
Bleacher Report projected Pratt as a fifth-round pick, but Green Bay got him in the seventh. He played for four years at Tulane, completing 61% of his passes for 8,556 yards, 81 touchdowns, and 21 interceptions.
Given where analysts expected Pratt to be drafted, the Packers got decent value by taking him in the seventh round. Last year, Green Bay selected Sean Clifford in the fifth round, even though analysts rated him as a sixth- or seventh-round pick.
Although Clifford and Pratt require significant development to have a chance at a lasting NFL career, Pratt is the better quarterback and is more developmentally promising. He’s a more composed passer in the pocket. In contrast, during Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos, Clifford broke one key Tom Clements‘ rule on his single interception by not planting his right foot and throwing off his back foot.
Clifford finished the game at Denver with a 30.4 passer rating. For context, simply spiking the ball on every play results in a 39.6. passer rating
Pratt also didn’t have a strong performance against the Denver Broncos, but his flaws are fixable and translate to the NFL. For example, he needs to improve his touch. Not every pass needs to be a bullet. On one play, he had Grant DuBose open over the middle for what should have been a soft and easy throw. Instead, he threw a rocket that sailed high and behind DuBose.
Clifford has already had two off-season programs with Green Bay, and the Packers know his potential. In contrast, Pratt is in his first offseason working with Tom Clements and has been instrumental in Green Bay’s two-decade success in quarterback play. Pratt needs as much playing time as possible to develop. He had seven pass attempts against the Browns and played two full quarters against the Broncos.
The Packers will hold joint practices with the Baltimore Ravens this week. Matt LaFleur sounded uncertain about whether the starters will play in Saturday’s game. However, if Jordan Love takes the field, Green Bay will likely limit it to one series. That would leave the Packers to divide most of the snaps between Clifford and Pratt, with Pratt hopefully taking the most reps.
Brian Gutekunst has previously supported drafting quarterbacks to build competition at the position. However, Pratt presents the Packers with an opportunity to develop him and potentially gain additional draft assets through a future trade. With Love becoming the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history and set to be the starter for the foreseeable future, Green Bay could utilize Pratt similarly to Matt Flynn. Flynn left the team to sign with the Seattle Seahawks for $20.5 million in 2012 after they developed him into a competent quarterback.
Pratt needs as much playing time as possible against Baltimore. In the best-case scenario, Green Bay secures a first-round bye with a week or two to spare, allowing Pratt to gain regular-season experience. Considering how the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos reached for their quarterbacks, it’s plausible that Green Bay could secure a late Day 2 or early Day 3 pick in return for Pratt. NFL owners tend to be impatient and do desperate things when their franchise lacks a clear future at quarterback, which is why Green Bay’s steadier, more measured approach can pay dividends in uncommon ways.
