Packers' pre-draft visits offer valuable insight into their plans and priorities
Every day, you open social media and there's a new report about a player that the Green Bay Packers — and 31 other teams — have hosted for a visit. It's difficult to track everything and keep updated. And here goes a shoutout to Easton Butler, who does it better than anyone else on the […]
Every day, you open social media and there's a new report about a player that the Green Bay Packers — and 31 other teams — have hosted for a visit. It's difficult to track everything and keep updated. And here goes a shoutout to Easton Butler, who does it better than anyone else on the Packers' coverage.
The visits themselves might not matter much. The Packers have a decent track record of truly drafting some of these players, but some other teams (and Green Bay, too, eventually) use this tool to spread misinformation about their plans.
However, looking at everything at once is an interesting and valuable way to understand what general manager Brian Gutekunst wants to prioritize in two weeks.
Tackles
There's a discussion about what the Packers will do to reinforce their offensive line. If the top 30 visits offer a clue, it's that tackles are more important than guards and centers.
Green Bay did some work with interior linemen during the Combine, but of the 15 reported top-30 visits, there are three offensive linemen, and two of them are tackles expected to go high in the draft — Tyler Guyton and Amarius Mims. The only guard on the list is Zak Zinter, who's projected to go in the third round.
We know Gutey loves defense
Gutekunst has spent much more draft capital on defense since he took over as the general manager in 2018, and it seems like his trend will continue in 2024. From the 15 reported visits, 11 are defensive players.
And the focus is evident: five defensive backs and four linebackers are there. Two interior defensive linemen round out the group.
No receivers
There's no wide receiver on the top 30 list so far. Even at the Combine, the Packers only had formal interviews with Texas' receivers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy. Looking at the entire list of interviews and visits, receiver is one of the rarest to find.
It seems like the Packers are happy with their wide receiver room — not only the top, but also the depth, which makes it hard for a prospect to justify the draft capital investment.
Type of quarterback
Gutekunst said he wants to take quarterbacks. The highest-projected quarterback they talked to is Bo Nix, who's the 32nd player on the consensus big board — the Packers would only draft him, most likely, if he had a significant fall.
The other options are mid- to late-round prospects, like Michael Pratt, Joe Milton, and Spencer Rattler. The Packers even had contact with some quarterbacks who are not projected to be drafted, like Devin Leary, John Rhys Plumlee, and James Cahoon.
Check out the full list of reported visits and interviews (again, thank you Easton Butler for your work):
Top 30:
- OL Zak Zinter (Michigan)
- OT Tyler Guyton (Oklahoma)
- OT Amarius Mims (Georgia)
- RB Ray Davis (Kentucky)
- CB Jarrian Jones (FSU)
- CB Ja'Quan Sheppard (Maryland)
- CB Omar Brown (Nebraska)
- DB Kiton Oladapo (Oregon State)
- DB Chris Edmonds (Arizona State)
- LB Ty'Ron Hopper (Missouri)
- LB Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M)
- LB Trevin Wallace (Kentucky)
- LB Bryce Gallagher (Northwestern)
- DL Michael Hall (Ohio State)
- DT Khristian Boyd (UNI)
Packers Formal Visits Combine:
- QB Michael Pratt (Tulane)
- QB Bo Nix (Oregon)
- RB Braelon Allen (Wisconsin)
- RB Jonathon Brooks (Texas)
- RB Audric Estime (Notre Dame)
- WR Adonai Mitchell (Texas)
- WR Xavier Worthy (Texas)
- OT Matthew Goncalves (Pitt)
- OL Taliese Fuaga (Oregon State)
- OL Graham Barton (Duke)
- OL Kingsley Suamatia (BYU)
- CB Nate Wiggins (Clemson)
- DB Sione Vaki (Utah)
- S Javon Bullard (Georgia)
- S Tyler Neubin (Minnesota)
- S Evan Williams (Oregon)
- LB Trevin Wallace (Kentucky)
- DE Jared Verse (Florida State)
- DE Chop Robinson (Penn State)
- DL Byron Murphy (Texas)
Informal/Unkown Meeting Status:
- OT Kiran Amegadjie (N/A – Informal) (Yale)
- CB Max Melton (N/A) (Rutgers)
- CB Ennis Rakestraw (N/A) (Missouri)
- S Kamren Kitchens (informally) (Miami)
Pro Day:
- RB Kimani Vidal (Troy)
- WR Jermaine Burton (Alabama)
- OT Travis Glover (Georgia State)
- CB Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama)
- CB Kamari Lassiter (Georgia)
- DT Norell Pollard (Virginia Tech)
- DL Khristian Boyd (UNI)
- DT Norell Pollard (Virginia Tech)
College Gridiron Showcase:
- WR Cam Johnson (Northwestern)
- OL Marcellus Anderson (U-Mass)
- DL Justin Blazek (D3) (UW-Platteville)
Shrine Bowl:
- QB Devin Leary (Kentucky)
- OL Doug Nester (West Virginia)
- OL Donovan Jennings (USF)
- OL C.J. Hanson (Holy Cross)
- CB MJ Devonshire (Pittsburgh)
- S Trey Taylor (Air Force)
- S Omar Brown (Nebraska)
- DL Myles Murphy (UNC)
- DT Khristian Boyd (UNI)
- LB Edgerrin Cooper (Texas A&M)
- LB Curtis Jacobs (Penn State)
- LB Steele Chambers (Ohio State)
Hula Bowl:
- QB John Rhys Plumlee (UCF)
- OL Doug Nester (West Virginia)
- DB Rayshad Williams (Texas Tech)
- DB Akeem Dent (Florida State)
- DB AJ Woods (Pittsburgh)
- LB Winston Reid (Weber State)
- K Brayden Narveson (NC State)
Senior Bowl:
- QB Joe Milton (Tennessee)
- QB Spencer Rattler (South Carolina)
- RB Kimani Vidal (Troy)
- WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (Georgia)
- WR Jacob Cowing (Arizona)
- OL Tanor Bortolini (Wisconsin)
- CB Max Melton (Rutgers)
- CB Chau Smith Wade (Washington State)
- DT T'Vondre Sweat (Texas)
- DT Keith Randolph Jr. (Illinois)
Podyum All Star Bowl:
- QB James Cahoon (D3 Bridgewater State)
Misc. Visits:
- RB Aidan Robbins (BYU)
- RB Trey Benson (FSU)
- OL Deiyantei Powell-Woods (Central Michigan)
- CB Renardo Green (FSU)
Virtual Visits:
- CB Tarheed Still (Maryland)
Five quarterback options for the Packers in the draft
Gutekunst said he wants to evaluate passers in this class