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Rob Demovsky, ESPN Staff Writer
GREEN BAY, Wis. — There was one word Brian Gutekunst used more than any other last weekend after each day of the draft: competition.
The Green Bay Packers‘ general manager said it six times after the final day alone.
His first-round pick, Jordan Morgan, will provide competition at tackle, which could have a trickle-down effect to other positions on the offensive line that include fifth-rounder Jacob Monk at center.
He drafted three safeties to battle it out for the starting spot next to Xavier McKinney, the blockbuster free agent signing.
He used two Day 2 selections on inside linebackers to fill a major need in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 scheme.
He even picked a quarterback, which means last year’s backup Sean Clifford will have to win the job behind Jordan Love again.
Among the initial class of undrafted free agents, there’s even a long-snapper who could push incumbent Matt Orzech for the job.
“We talked a little bit about it over the weekend in here — I think maybe learning a little bit last year about giving guys opportunities and allowing that competition to take place — how that can positively affect your football team,” Gutekunst said. “I’m excited for this group to join our veteran guys and see where they go. But I do think, for the most part, most of our rooms are going to be highly competitive.”
With free agency and the draft in the books, the bulk of the Packers’ offseason roster is in place. Here’s a look at how the competitions shape up:
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Quarterback
Enter seventh-round pick Michael Pratt of Tulane. It doesn’t mean Green Bay is down on Clifford, who won the backup job in impressive fashion last summer. Gutekunst said several times that he wants to get back in the habit of drafting and developing quarterbacks.
ESPN draft analyst Matt Miller had Pratt ranked as his No. 8 quarterback and 129th-ranked player overall in the draft. He ended up being the last of 11 quarterbacks drafted, and the Packers got him at No. 245 overall.
“I think he’s a guy that he definitely is a tough, fearless thrower, and that to me is a prerequisite with the position,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said: “You gotta be able to stand in there and throw in muddy pockets, throw in the face of pressure, and I think he exhibited that. I think he’s a winner, so we were excited. We were kind of shocked that he was still there in the seventh.”
The Packers had a fourth quarterback on the roster, Alex McGough, but he is moving to receiver.
Running back
It’s a different look with Josh Jacobs instead of Aaron Jones atop the depth chart, and RB2 could be different as well with the addition of USC’s MarShawn Lloyd as a third-round pick. He’ll compete with AJ Dillon for the backup job.
“I’ve watched a lot of tape of Josh Jacobs,” said 5-foot-9, 220-pound Lloyd. “A lot of people compared me to him, with a similar build. Being shorter but having a similar build to Josh Jacobs, a lot of my coaches compared us.”
The rest of the running back group includes Emanuel Wilson, Ellis Merriweather, undrafted rookie Jarveon Howard from Alcorn State and fullback Henry Pearson.
Wide receiver
The Packers didn’t add a single receiver on draft weekend, and they didn’t need to. Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks were all major contributors last season. Malik Heath and Bo Melton also showed flashes.
The most important thing here was getting Watson’s recurring hamstring issues figured out. To that end, they sent him to a specialist at the University of Wisconsin, and the reviews have been positive.
“He looks great; he’s had a really good start to the offseason,” LaFleur said. “We just gotta keep it going that way.”
The rest of the group includes Grant DuBose, Samori Toure and Thyrick Pitts.
Tight end
As with receiver, Green Bay felt good about this spot. The only draft-weekend addition was undrafted rookie Messiah Swinson of Arizona State. The same group, minus Josiah Deguara, will be back. The returnees are Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Ben Sims, Tyler Davis and Joel Wilson.
Offensive line
Get ready for a wild summer on the offensive line. Morgan looks like a left tackle, and, assuming he beats out Rasheed Walker, the Packers will have a new starter there.
But don’t rule out playing Morgan at guard if that means getting the best five linemen on the field.
“I think he can play all four spots,” Gutekunst said. “We’re fortunate enough that we’ve got a lot of guys in our group right now that can do that, and so I think we’ll kind of let the best five battle it out and see where that ends up.”
Zach Tom excelled at right tackle last season, but Green Bay might eventually want to move him inside to guard or center, where the Packers think he can be elite. But they drafted a center, Duke’s Jacob Monk, in the fifth round. Incumbent center Josh Myers is entering the final year of his deal.
There will be a new starting right guard after Jon Runyan left in free agency. Third-year pro Sean Rhyan is the leading candidate for that spot. But Green Bay drafted a third lineman, Georgia State’s Travis Glover, in the sixth round, and thinks he can play guard or tackle.
With David Bakhtiari officially out of the picture, left guard Elgton Jenkins is the senior member of the group that also includes Royce Newman, Caleb Jones, Luke Tenuta, Kadeem Telfort, plus undrafted rookies Donovan Jennings from South Florida and Trente Jones from Michigan.
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Defensive line
With the switch from a 3-4 scheme, the players formerly known as outside linebackers are now defensive ends: Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox Jr., Keshawn Banks, Arron Mosby, Kenneth Odumegwu, Deslin Alexandre and Deandre Johnson.
The Packers are holding out hope that Enagbare can be ready for the season opener. What was once thought to be a complete right ACL tear during the playoffs turned out to be less serious, and he never underwent surgery.
Kenny Clark leads the defensive tackle group that includes Devonte Wyatt, T.J. Slaton, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden and Jonathan Ford. The only additions to this group were undrafted rookies James Ester from Northern Illinois and Rodney Mathews from Ohio.
Linebacker
Second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper from Texas A&M was the first inside linebacker to come off the board, and Green Bay thinks he makes the perfect pairing for Quay Walker to make up a speedy combination.
“I think our defense will be fast,” said Jon-Eric Sullivan, Packers vice president of player personnel. “Quay can run. Cooper, that’s one of the main things that attracted us to him is his speed is different. When he hits the gas and he’s running things down, there’s a ‘whoa’ factor to that.”
Isaiah McDuffie looks like the third backer in the base, although third-round pick Ty’Ron Hopper from Missouri could give the Packers two rookies among the top three. Eric Wilson, Kristian Welch and Christian Young return. Undrafted rookie Ralen Goforth from Washington was also signed.
Safety
A near total overhaul here with a marquee free agent, McKinney, plus three draft picks: second-rounder Javon Bullard of Georgia, fourth-rounder Evan Williams of Oregon and fifth-rounder Kitan Oladapo of Oregon State.
“Those guys we added are versatile pieces,” Gutekunst said. “We feel like Bullard can play nickel or safety. We feel like Williams has that flexibility, and Oladapo is probably more of a true safety, but he can play whatever you want to coin it, the big nickel/Will backer. So those guys are all movable pieces.”
The only returner who played significant snaps is second-year pro Anthony Johnson Jr. (303 snaps last season). Benny Sapp III, Zayne Anderson and Tyler Coyle also return.
Cornerback
This is another position the Packers didn’t touch last weekend, which must mean they feel good about Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon as their top four.
Early reports on Stokes sound positive regarding his recovery from last season’s hamstring injury. They also re-signed veteran Corey Ballentine, who played nearly 500 snaps last season, and brought back Robert Rochell, Anthony Johnson, Zyon Gilbert and Gemon Green.
“We’ve got a lot of players that we’re confident in, in terms of going out there and playing at a high level,” LaFleur said of the position.
Specialists
Three kickers and two long-snappers ensure competition at two of the three spots. Only punter Daniel Whelan is running unopposed at this point.
Veteran kicker Greg Joseph and rookie Jack Podlesny were signed after Anders Carlson‘s up-and-down rookie season. Wisconsin’s Peter Bowden, ranked by some as the top long-snapper in the 2024 class, was signed as an undrafted rookie to compete with Orzech.
Source: www.espn.com