Packers 2018 Draft Class | Ticket King Green Bay

It’s hard to believe but the 2018 NFL Draft has come and gone. New Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst ran the Green & Gold war room for the first time. By the time he was done wheeling and dealing, he ended up with 11 selections. Let’s go through each one of them.

Round One: Jaire Alexander/CB/Lousiville- Brian Gutekunst put one over on Saints GM Mickey Loomis with this one. By the time he was done dealing, Gutekunst had basically swapped a third-round draft choice for a fifth-round draft choice, picked up an extra first next year, still got the guy he wanted at 18 instead of 14, and will get to pay him a little less because of draft slot. There’s nothing not brilliant about this. Since Sam Shields suffered the first of his last two concussions, which cost him all but two games over the final year and a half of his Green Bay career back in 2015, the Packers have been getting torched vertically over and over again. So Gutekunst and McCarthy finally said enough is enough with this selection. Alexander can fly and his calling card is deep ball coverage “on an island” as well as ball-hawking. This is a great pick up.

Round 2: Joshua Jackson/CB/Iowa- It was nothing short of a complete joke that Jackson was available for the Packers when the draft reached the 45^th selection in round two. The Packers couldn’t send their runner to the podium any faster when they made this choice. They would have gotten good value picking Jackson at 14 in round one, and they got him at 45 in round two. Jackson has coverage skills that don’t grow on trees, and that goes along with his size and great hands. Gutekunst did a tremendous job of shoring up the Packers cornerbacks situation this offseason.

Round 3: Oren Burks/LB/Vanderbilt- The Packers traded up into round three to draft Burks, the athletic linebacker from Vanderbilt. Burks takes the “versatile linebacker” position to the next level. He can play in either a 3-4 or a 4-3. He can play middle linebacker or outside linebacker in a 4-3. He can play inside linebacker or rush linebacker in a 3-4. He will play rush linebacker in Mike Pettine’s defense.

Round 4: J’Mon Moore/WR/Missouri- With the big defensive needs taken care of, the Packers turned to offense on day three. Moore was the first of three wide receivers the Packers took. He has nice size at 6’3” with big hands, and could be a big contributor, even a starter, down the road.

Round 5 – First Pick: Cole Madison/OT/OG/Washington State- The Packers have a long history of drafting and developing great lineman in rounds 3-7. Standing 6’5” ad 308 pounds, Madison could be the next in line. Whether he can come in and compete to start at guard in year one remains to be seen, but he did play in a pass-happy offense at Washington State, so that helps his cause here.

Round 5 – Second Pick: JK Scott/P/Alabama- This was a surprising selection, but still a good one. Scott has a big leg and can put the Packers minds to rest with the punter position for the next decade-plus.

Round 5 –Third Pick: Marquez Valdes-Scantling/WR/South Florida- This was a “We may have won the lottery.” selection for the Packers. “MVS” has the size and speed coaches dream of, at 6’4”, 205 pounds, 10 inch-plus hands, and he runs a 4.37 40-yard-dash. This one won’t pay off for the Packers this season so be patient. He needs to be developed. With some great coaching, his ceiling is through the roof, as in, yes, he could be one of the best in the business someday.

Round 6 - Equanimeous St. Brown/WR/Notre Dame- This was another choice where it was crazy that this caliber player was available in this spot. St. Brown was a projected as an early third-round draft choice, and the Packers got him in round six. St. Brown is huge- 6’5”, 215 pounds, and a 4.48 40-yard dash time. The Packers got three good receivers in this draft.

Round 7 – First Pick: James Looney/DE/California After three wide receivers, an offensive lineman, and a punter, the Packers went back to defense in round seven. Of all their choices this year in rounds 3-7 Looney has the lowest ceiling. Looney stands 6’3”, 287 pounds, and for a man who runs a 4.9 in the 40 he will have to bulk up, or his NFL career will be very short.

Round 7 – Second Pick: Hunter Bradley/LS/Mississippi- Yes, they used a draft choice on a long snapper, and for good reason. The Packers long snapper issues were well documented last year and it would have cost them the game in Dallas had it not been for Aaron Rodgers’s late-game heroics. Bradley could be the Packers long snapper for the next 12-15 years. Good job.

Round 7 – Third Pick: Kendall Donnerson/OLB/Southeast Missouri State- This is a truly raw prospect. Donnerson has off the charts physical ability but is very raw and undeveloped. He will spend year one on the practice squad.