The development of second- and third-year players is key to a team’s success in the NFL — especially in the era of rookie-scale contracts. Earlier this week, we talked about how the Packers’ second-year players have performed, and now it’s time to talk about the 2023 draft class.

That group isn’t as consistent, but there are some huge pieces of that group, especially on offense with wide receiver Jayden Reed and tight end Tucker Kraft. There are some question marks, too, and we will discuss their impact on the team this year and moving forward.

Lukas Van Ness

Van Ness was having a career year to start the season, generating 16 pressures over five games. However, a foot injury derailed his 2025 so far, making him miss seven games and most of the game when he tried to return against the Minnesota Vikings. Now, that creates a tough decision for the Packers.

Green Bay has to make a decision next offseason on Van Ness’ fifth-year option for 2027, and that estimation is $14.949 million. The Packers can simply pick it up projecting another step forward next season, and how expensive the edge market is, but that would be a fully-guaranteed amount — and the Packers are already investing a lot of money in the position with Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary, even though Gary may be a separate offseason conversation on his own.

Luke Musgrave

Musgrave never became what the Packers expected when he had a great start to his career in 2023. That stretch was certainly his best, but the tight end lost space to Tucker Kraft and hasn’t recovered it even after Kraft’s injury. The former second-rounder has a role in the passing game and has had some positive plays over the past few weeks, but his space is limited and he doesn’t seem to be a great fit to Matt LaFleur’s offense due to his inability to block.

Jayden Reed

Reed led the Packers in receiving yards in each of his first two seasons. And while he won’t be able to repeat that this year due to a broken collarbone that made him miss 10 games, the slot receiver returned and immediately showed how impactful he is for the offense.

At the time of the 2023 draft, the Packers made two trade downs before picking Reed with the 50th overall selection, and that proved to be an inspired sequence of moves by general manager Brian Gutekunst.

Tucker Kraft

That has undoubtedly been the best pick of this class so far, even though an unfortunate ACL injury prematurely ended Kraft’s magical 2025 season. He had already shown great signs last season, but he was ascending to a truly elite level amongst tight ends this year. An all-around player, he’s a good blocker, but his ability to generate yards after the catch is second to none. In 2025, he had 10.8 yards after the catch per reception, creating a 157.2 passer rating when targeted.

Despite the injury, it’s very possible that the Packers find a way to reach a contract extension with Kraft during the offseason, since he would be entering a contract year in 2026 — just like the rest of this draft class.

Colby Wooden

Wooden was just a part-time rotational player over his first two seasons. But with the Packers losing TJ Slaton in free agency and trading Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys, he became an integral part of the rotation — and even more now that Devonte Wyatt is out for season. He’s not exactly a disruptor, but Wooden became a solid run defender in a defensive front that badly needed one.

Sean Clifford

That was always a rough decision. The Packers overdrafted Clifford because they needed a cheap option to back up Jordan Love at that point, and there were no other quarterbacks with draftable grades on Gutekunst’s board. Clifford was QB2 as a rookie and spent his second season on the practice squad, but was eventually cut. He’s now on the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice squad.

Dontayvion Wicks

Now, we’re talking about the two picks that the Packers acquired by trading down in the second round. Wicks is a valuable roster piece at wide receiver, even if his volume numbers aren’t great. The fifth-rounder has two extremes: He’s one of the best separators in football, but has badly struggled with drops throughout his career — which was especially notable in 2024. Wicks might not be a star, but he is capable of having monster games like the did against the Detroit Lions two weeks ago.

Karl Brooks

Brooks was also drafted with a pick acquired in those trade downs, and he’s been an intriguing piece from the get go. Even though he was drafted two rounds after Wooden, Brooks has always played more — and better, especially as a pass rusher. The defensive tackle is not a great run defender, albeit he has shown improvement in this area, but his ability to create interior pressure is notable. He’s generated 22 pressures this year, which is tied with Devonte Wyatt for third on the Packers, just behind Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary.

Anders Carlson

That was likely the worst pick of the class, both in terms of process and results. First, the idea of drafting a kicker is already bad enough — history tells us the chances of getting a viable kicker by drafting one isn’t higher than just signing an undrafted free agent. And Carlson was a clear mistake, which included a missed 41-yard field goal that cost the Packers a playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. Green Bay cut Carlson after a season.

Carrington Valentine

It’s hard to get real NFL players in the seventh round, but the Packers got one starting-level piece at a premium position. Valentine is not perfect by any means, especially because of his flaws as a tackler, but the cornerback is a really good coverage player and has become a starter over Nate Hobbs — even when Hobbs is healthy. Valentine has the best PFF coverage grade (70.2) amongst Packers cornerbacks this season, ahead of Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs — and considering Javon Bullard as a safety.

Anthony Johnson

Johnson showed some signs of talent, but was a victim of a positional reconstruction that included signing Xavier McKinney and drafting three safeties in 2024. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants last year, and is now on the injured reserve.

Grant DuBose

DuBose had a good preseason in 2024, but couldn’t secure a roster spot. He went to the Miami Dolphins and suffered a severe head injury that ended his season. This year, DuBose spent some time with the Buffalo Bills, but injuries affected him once again. He’s been out of the league since August.

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