Three positions stand out as options for Green Bay at the top of April’s draft.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73238228/1940074042.0.jpg)
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Now that the first couple of waves of free agency are being us, let’s take a look at the holes remaining on the Green Bay Packers’ roster and what they might look to do in next month’s NFL draft. When we asked you all to vote on the Packers’ biggest needs in the 2024 offseason back in February, before the start of free agency, safety was the runaway leader.
February 8th Results
- 69 percent: safety
- 21 percent: linebacker
- 7 percent: offensive line
- 3 percent: running back
Since then, the Packers have re-signed tight end Tyler Davis, cornerback Keisean Nixon, cornerback Corey Ballentine, linebacker Kristian Welch, running back AJ Dillon, cornerback Robert Rochell and linebacker Eric Wilson and have signed running back Josh Jacobs, safety Xavier McKinney and kicker Greg Joseph. That changes some things.
In my personal belief, the Packers still need to find a start at safety, as Anthony Johnson Jr., Benny Sapp III, Zayne Anderson and Tyler Coyle are currently Green Bay’s options to pair with McKinney in Jeff Hafley’s new 4-3 defense. That is neck-and-neck with off-ball linebacker as the team’s largest need, at least to me. At linebacker, the current starters would probably be Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson, if the team needed to play a game today. McDuffie and Wilson were backups who mostly contributed on special teams in 2023 and are both only under contract for one more season.
The wildcard here is the offensive line, which may or may not be a massive need for the team, depending on how you view the Packers’ internal options. Left guard Elgton Jenkins and right tackle Zach Tom have firmly established themselves, but there’s certainly room for improvement at left tackle (Rasheed Walker), center (Josh Myers) and right guard (Sean Rhyan.) Myers is also going into a contract year in 2024, while Walker and Rhyan are only under contract for two more seasons.
There’s little offensive line depth on the team, too, as the only backup who has seen a significant amount of playing time during his career is guard Royce Newman, who is also in a contract season. The offensive line may not be ranked as high as safety or linebacker as an immediate for the team, but it’s right up there in terms of the long-term team-building of the squad, especially with how much the guard and center markets jumped in free agency this year.
Report: Chiefs to sign Packers free agency target
Rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit is going to sign with Kansas City on Friday, per a report.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73238182/1802704694.0.jpg)
According to Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz, the Kansas City Chiefs will be signing former rugby star Louis Rees-Zammit to an NFL contract on Friday. Rees-Zammit had previously scheduled visits with the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns and New York Jets before taking the trip to Kansas City. It was reported on Tuesday that Rees-Zammit would visit the Green Bay Packers on Thursday. At the moment, it’s uncertain whether or not he’ll make that flight to Wisconsin.
So what’s all the hype around a player who has never suited up for a football game? Well, Rees-Zammit is a 23-year-old who not only played professional club rugby but also was a member of the Welsh national team. In January, he decided to transition to American football, joining the NFL’s International Player Pathways Program — a 10-week training program in Florida.
At his pro day on March 20th, he managed to run a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, which drew interest from NFL teams. Since his pro day, he’s been eligible to sign as a free agent — making him the first IPP player to sign a true free agent contract, rather than being allocated via the IPP process or being drafted in the traditional NFL draft.
Per Schultz, Reed-Zammit will be looked at as both a receiver and running back. There are probably a couple of reasons why he ended up choosing the Chiefs over the Packers. First of all, Kansas City is coming off of back-to-back Super Bowl wins, which is a hell of a recruiting tool. Secondly, the Chiefs don’t have the young stars at the receiver position that Green Bay does. On top of that, the Packers not only gave a big payday to running back Josh Jacobs, but AJ Dillon, who has recorded at least 170 carries in each season over the last three years, returns to the team in 2023.
So if Green Bay is going to add an IPP player this season, expect it to be one of Bayron Matos or Travis Clayton, two offensive line prospects, via the NFL draft. The NFL has yet to announce which squads will be allocated international players through the traditional IPP process, but it’s unlikely that the Packers will be one of them — as they were awarded pass-rusher Kenneth Odumegwu in 2023.
