The Green Bay Packers entered the 2024 NFL draft looking to take the next step.
They were coming off a season where they finished 9-8, but optimism was flying high after winning a road playoff game in Dallas and pushing the San Francisco 49ers to the brink of elimination.
The Packers augmented their roster by signing Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs in free agency before turning their attention to the draft.
They got instant impact from some of their choices; others gave them hope for the future, and some are still unknown at this point.
Knowing what we know now, however, it looks like all of the top picks from the 2024 draft are slated to play big roles in 2025. While it’s truly hard to evaluate a draft class after just one season, instant impact is the name of the game in today’s NFL.
Here is who they took, and how things shook out.
Round 1: Jordan Morgan
Morgan was a controversial pick at the time simply because the Packers insisted Morgan was going to play tackle for them, despite the consensus thought being he was better suited at guard.
As it turns out, at least for his rookie season, Green Bay agreed. Morgan hardly repped at tackle during training camp. He never played there during the season, mostly competing with Sean Rhyan to play right guard.
Morgan never fully usurped Rhyan for the job. He never took more snaps in a game than Rhyan did.
Eventually, Morgan missed time due to a shoulder injury. He did return but only to reaggravate the shoulder, which ended his rookie season on injured reserve.
Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst have both said this offseason that the plan is for Morgan to compete with Rasheed Walker at left tackle when training camp opens.
If Morgan were to win that job, it would make the Packers’ decisions along the offensive line easier for the future.
Zach Tom, Rhyan and Walker all have contracts expiring at the end of 2025. The best bet is that if Morgan does not win the left tackle job, he’ll be penciled in as the starter at right guard in 2026.
Either way, it was tough for Green Bay’s fanbase to watch Morgan end his season on injured reserve, while the player they wanted to pick — former Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean — returned an interception for a touchdown on Super Bowl Sunday.
Grade: Incomplete
Round 2: Edgerrin Cooper
The star of the show was Edgerrin Cooper. The only complaint about him was his availability. He suffered an injury in training camp that kept him on the sideline, which limited his ability to make an impact early in the season.
Once he was on the field, however, he was immediately a standout.
When Cooper is able to hunt the ball, his ability is special. He has a closing speed the Packers have not seen at the linebacker position since Nick Barnett was at his peak.
Cooper finished the season with 13 tackles for loss in 14 games. That gave him the high mark for the entire defense during the season.
He added an interception, forced fumble and fumble recovery.
As he gets more experienced in Jeff Hafley’s defense, he should have an opportunity to become a star in the future.
Grade: A
Round 2: Javon Bullard
Bullard looked to be the rookie most likely to make an instant impact when the rookies got to training camp.
He was inserted as the starter at safety next to Xavier McKinney.
He stayed there until the regular season.
He had to move between safety and slot corner due to injuries in the secondary during the season.
The moving around the defense is part of his draw, but it clearly affected him as he appeared to be swimming upstream as a rookie.
He did make a nice play, forcing a fumble in Green Bay’s 24-22 loss to the Chicago Bears in the team’s final regular season game.
With the addition of Nate Hobbs, Bullard appears to be in competition to find his way onto the field.
There is not a clear path at the moment for him, so he’ll need to earn his reps.
Grade: C
Round 3: Marshawn Lloyd
After hip and hamstring injuries sidelined Lloyd for most of the summer, he injured his ankle just six carries into Green Bay’s home opener against Indianapolis.
After being placed on injured reserve, Lloyd appeared to be on the cusp of returning to the active roster in mid-November when he was sidelined with appendicitis and forced out for the rest of the season.
Grade: Incomplete
Round 3: Ty’Ron Hopper
Hopper was probably the pick that caused the most raising of eyebrows in this draft class.
The Packers hosted Hopper on a predraft visit, but many thought he’d be a choice much later in the draft.
Instead, the Packers chose Hopper at pick 91. He was the second of two linebackers taken in the top 100, and third they’ve used a high pick on since 2022.
Once he was on the team, however, he was injured with a sprained ankle. He missed some of training camp but really struggled when he found his way onto the field at the end of preseason.
He did not play much as a rookie. With Isaiah McDuffie returning to the team, there’s questions as to how much he’ll be in the plans on defense, if at all.
Grade: D
Round 4: Evan Williams
During training camp, it felt like Williams was catching more passes than some of the team’s wide receivers.
Despite making a play per day, Williams did not play a single snap in the team’s season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Eventually, he did usurp Bullard as the team’s preferred option at safety next to McKinney.
Williams is a smart, heady player with ball skills.
Perhaps the defining play of his career thus far was a short yardage situation where Williams was assigned to the quarterback on a zone-read.
After the fake from the quarterback, he was one-on-one with Williams.
The quarterback was Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray.
Williams stoned Murray behind the line of scrimmage, giving the Packers the ball back.
It was a small play in the moment, but it gave a glimpse into how smart Williams is. He stuck to his assignment instead of chasing the ball and took down one of the more elusive quarterbacks in all of football.
Williams finished the season with just one interception, a game-sealing pick on Anthony Richardson’s Hail Mary attempt in the team’s 16-10 win in their home opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
When Williams was available, he looked to be the better player than his draft classmate, Bullard.
As of now, he should be the odds on favorite to start next to McKinney in 2025.
Grade: A
Round 5: Jacob Monk
Monk looked like he was trending toward becoming the Packers’ next diamond in the rough of offensive linemen the Packers have found on Day 3 when training camp progressed.
Monk was rotating in with the starting lineup. He had a great line given to him by offensive line coach Luke Butkus, who claimed he was ready to rip someone’s lips off before his preseason debut in Cleveland.
Monk was active until midway through the season, where he became a healthy scratch.
Perhaps the most telling part about how Monk’s season progressed was the team moving Rhyan to center, a position that Monk is suited to play, instead of putting Monk in the lineup during the team’s 22-10 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Monk will likely be fighting for a spot on the back of the roster with the Packers likely to add more depth on the offensive line through this year’s draft.
Grade: D
Round 5: Kitan Oladapo
Oladapo was a healthy scratch until being put into the starting lineup for the team’s final game of the regular season.
He’s got an opportunity to compete for a spot on special teams this year in training camp but did not make any headway there as a rookie either.
Grade: D
Round 6: Travis Glover
Glover made his NFL debut in surprising fashion.
His first extended action came when Elgton Jenkins left during the team’s loss to the Eagles in the playoffs with a neck injury.
Instead of KaDeem Telfort, who had been ahead of Glover most of the season, it was Glover.
His time on the field was short lived.
He was flagged twice in 12 snaps and beaten badly for a pressure on Jordan Love.
Glover was a project when he was drafted; he’ll get more chances to become the team’s swing tackle.
Grade: D
Round 7: Michael Pratt
Pratt was drafted to compete with Sean Clifford to be the team’s backup quarterback.
Both Pratt and Clifford struggled mightily in training camp and the preseason.
Pratt became one of the rare draft choices that was released by Gutekunst after training camp.
He was not brought back to the practice squad, and the team did not make any effort to bring him back.
Grade: F
Round 7: Kalen King
King had some nice moments during the preseason but did not make the final roster.
He was elevated once during the regular season but did not play any snaps of significance.
He’ll need to compete again to be on the 53-man roster but also for a spot on the practice squad.
Grade D
In summary, Cooper looks like a bona fide star in limited action. He could be the next great Packers linebacker.
Williams, another player who was an immediate contributor, has a leg up in the competition to be the team’s starting safety next to McKinney in 2025.
Morgan and Lloyd can essentially be looked at as outside additions to the team after they hardly played as rookies due to injuries.
Morgan will compete to be the team’s left tackle. Lloyd should be the team’s primary running back behind Josh Jacobs.
The depth on the offensive line is relying on their Day 3 selections taking a step forward in 2025. If the season were to start tomorrow, neither of the offensive linemen selected on Day 3 looks like they would be ready to play meaningful snaps in a game.
Overall Grade: B
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