Green Bay Packers: Grading Day 2 picks in 2021 NFL Draft
By Lucas Schuh
Embroiled in quarterback drama, how did the Green Bay Packers fare on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft
Through the 2021 offseason, the Green Bay Packers remained relatively quiet. Green Bay made moves to bring back players like Aaron Jones and David Bakhtiari. Otherwise, however, all remained quiet in Green Bay.
The quiet offseason that the Packers were experiencing took a major turn heading into day one of the 2021 NFL Draft, however.
Out of seemingly nowhere, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Aaron Rodgers wanted out of Green Bay. Seemingly, the relationship between Rodgers and the Packers front office deteriorated to the point that the reigning NFL MVP has told people and players within the organization that he doesn’t plan on returning to Green Bay. Quite a prelude to the first round of the draft.
What did the Green Bay Packers do in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft?
With Rodgers being very upset with the Packers, many thought that they would target a wide receiver with their first-round pick, something they haven’t done since he became the starter; but that wasn’t the case at all.
Instead of going after a receiver, the Packers drafted Eric Stokes, a cornerback out of Georgia. Stokes is a ridiculously fast player who has a large amount of experience in press-man coverage. The problem with this is that Green Bay likely won’t call many press-man coverage plays. Stokes is a fine player but he will remain a question mark on how he fits the Packers defense.
Green Bay has had interesting draft strategies in recent years. General manager Brian Gutekunst loves to take supreme athletes and figure the rest out later. Look back to last year with the likes of Josiah Deguara and AJ Dillon, and now this year with Stokes.
That led us to Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft, where their curious strategy continued. We look at their selections and grade the pair of picks they made over the second and third rounds.