Thursday Cheese Curds: Packers will need to balance current and future needs in the Draft

The 2023 Draft class did a bit of both, finding developmental players and immediate contributors, the ideal scenario for any team.

It’s just two weeks away.

The 2024 NFL Draft will be here in exactly 14 days, finally putting an end to months of mock drafts and speculation. The Green Bay Packers sit with 11 picks, five in the top 100 overall, and should be in a great position to fill the needs on their roster.

But what do the Packers truly need now, compared to what they will need in future years? And just how much will the team focus on those needs instead of sticking to the traditional line of “best player available”?

In 2023, the Packers drafted for more of a long-term need in round one with Lukas Van Ness, but then addressed more immediate needs like tight end and wide receiver on day two. That balanced approach paid off right away last season with the players’ immediate contributions, and now that draft class sets up well to have wiped a few positions cleanly off the “need” list.

Can the Packers do so again this year? We’ll start to find out on April 25th. In the meantime, let’s continue to speculate!

Packers 2025 positional needs impact approach in 2024 NFL Draft | Packers Wire
The Packers certainly addressed 2023 needs in the 2023 Draft (looking at the tight end position in particular), and although they do have some urgent needs for the upcoming season, they are surely looking ahead to 2025 as well.

Kenny Clark aims to be ‘more disruptive’ in Packers’ new defense | Packers.com
One of those potential long-term needs could be at defensive tackle, with Clark set to be a free agent next offseason. An extension for Clark could be in the works, but it wouldn’t be crazy for the Packers to take another tackle to keep a quality pipeline going.

Is Rasheed Walker the Packers’ left tackle of the future? – ESPN
Meanwhile, how the first-round board falls could determine the level of competition that Walker has for his starting job this summer. With so many quality tackles likely to go in the first round, don’t be surprised if that position features the best player available at #25.

Packers and ‘The Beast’: Finding Day 3 draft gems could continue with these prospects – The Athletic ($)
Looking for some day-three possibilities? Here’s a player that the Athletic’s beat writer thinks we should know at each key position.

Packers and Eagles to play NFL season opener at Brazil club with ‘ban’ on green | NFL | The Guardian
Oh, the irony: the soccer team whose home games are in the stadium the game will be played in explicitly bans the color green in its stadium because that is the main color of its rival team.