What Are The Green Bay Packers’ Team Needs In The 2022 NFL Draft?

The 2022 NFL Draft starts on Thursday, April 28. As a lead-up to the draft, we’ll be giving a team-by-team breakdown for positional needs. For each team, we’ll give an overview of the current depth chart and how big of a need each position is in the upcoming draft. You can find the rest of the team needs (as they’re updated) and the rest of our draft content in the 2022 NFL Draft hub.

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What Picks do the Green Bay Packers have in 2022

The Green Bay Packers have 11 picks.

Round 1 (22)
Round 1 (28)
Round 2 (53)
Round 2 (59)
Round 3 (92)
Round 4 (132)
Round 4 (140)
Round 5 (171)
Round 7 (228)
Round 7 (249)
Round 7 (258)

Green Bay Packers Top POSITIONS OF NEED

WR, OL depth, Front Seven

Green Bay Packers Strength of Schedule, 2022

The Green Bay Packers have the 13th easiest NFL strength of schedule for the 2022 NFL season.

Green Bay Packers Offense

By Rich Hribar

QUARTERBACK

Aaron Rodgers
Jordan Love
Kurt Benkert
Danny Etling

Aaron Rodgers signed a three-year extension this offseason that has locked up through the 2026 season. Of course, the deal has relatively no shot to see the end how it is currently written, but Rodgers is for certain locked up through the 2023 season. 

Jordan Love still has two seasons remaining on his rookie contract while the team still has Kurt Benkert and Danny Etling signed for this upcoming season. 

The Packers would collectively melt the fanbase again if they selected a quarterback. 

RUNNING BACK

Aaron Jones
A.J. Dillon
Kylin Hill
Patrick Taylor

The Packers are set up top in their backfield as Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon were one of the league’s best combos, producing 2,306 yards and 17 touchdowns as a pair in 2021.

Both backs are still under contract for multiple seasons. Green Bay could get off the contract for Jones after this year, but he still carries a $9.6 million dead cap hit. 

Green Bay does not need to look at the running back position in April unless they want to add depth at the tail end of day three.

WIDE RECEIVER

Allen Lazard
Sammy Watkins
Randall Cobb
Amari Rodgers
Rico Gafford
Malik Taylor
Juwann Winfree
Chris Blair

We now reach the heart of darkness and the largest need on the offensive side of the ball for the Packers.

This offseason, the Packers traded Davante Adams to the Raiders while also losing Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown from their roster via free agency. While Adams is the primary loss in terms of just how much of the passing pie he occupied, the Packers were left with a wide receiver room that collectively caught 82-of-123 targets for 1,005 yards and 13 scores a year ago from their team. 

The only addition so far this offseason has been Sammy Watkins. After Watkins posted 1,047 yards in his second season in the NFL in 2015, he has yet to top 673 yards in any of the six seasons since. Watkins will turn 29 years old this June, coming off a 27-394-1 season on 49 targets in 13 games played with the Ravens in 2021.

On top of that, the only player here that is signed beyond this upcoming season is Amari Rodgers, who was selected in the third round a year ago. 

Not only should the Packers finally attack the receiver position with high-end draft capital, but they should also be selecting multiple players at the position. 

TIGHT END

Robert Tonyan
Marcedes Lewis
Josiah Deguara
Dominique Dafney
Tyler Davis
Alize Mack

The Packers were at the bottom of the league in output from their tight ends in 2021, with the group ranking 23rd in targets per game (5.6), 20th in yards per game (43.1), and 26th in touchdowns (four). 

Robert Tonyan suffered an ACL injury eight games into the season. He was in the middle of expected regression from his 2020 breakout. Tonyan was brought back on a one-year deal this offseason. 

The team also retained veteran run blocker Marcedes Lewis. Lewis has 51 receptions over his four seasons with the Packers.

The only tight end here under contract beyond this season is Josiah Deguara. The Packers have enough bodies to push through the 2022 season, but there also still is not a lot of talent here that would prevent adding to the position if they liked one of these rookie tight ends. 

OFFENSIVE LINE

LT: David Bakhtiari/Yosh Nijman
LG: Jon Runyan
C: Josh Myers/Jake Hansen/Michal Menet
RG: Royce Newman
RT: Elgton Jenkins/Cole Van Lanen

The Packers fielded a battered offensive line last season. 

David Bakhtiari appeared in just one game (playing 27 snaps) after a late-season ACL injury in 2020. Elgton Jenkins appeared in just eight games due to his own ACL injury. Josh Myers played just six games due to his own knee injury. 

Guards Jon Runyan (a sixth-rounder in 2020) and Royce Newman (a fourth-rounder in 2021) led this unit in snaps played in 2021, with Runyan checking out 50th in grade among guards at Pro Football Focus while Newman was 65th. 

So far this offseason, the Packers have already lost Lucas Patrick (967 snaps) and Billy Turner (866), while Dennis Kelly (361 snaps) remains a free agent. 

While the Packers are adding to this unit just by getting players healthy, Jenkins enters 2022 in the final year of his contract. The Packers should explore the tackle position for depth and insurance if they are unable to retain Jenkins while also adding depth across the entirety of the line. 

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Green Bay Packers Defense

By Dan Pizzuta

Interior Defensive Line

Kenny Clark
Jarran Reed
Dean Lowry
Jack Heflin
Tedarrell Slaton

Kenny Clark has been the rock in the middle of the Green Bay defensive line for years and his 2020 extension has him under contract through 2024. Last season, he ranked 13th among defensive tackles in pressure rate, per SIS. Clark played 72% of the defensive snaps, but the biggest concern was who was lining up next to him, which wasn’t much.

Jarran Reed was brought in as a free agent on a one-year deal. With the Chiefs last season, Reed was 50th among defensive tackles in pressure rate at the position but he’s been able to be a disruptive force inside throughout his career.

Dean Lowry has been the other constant on the interior and had a career-high five sacks in 2021 but 2022 is the final year of his contract.

EDGE

Rashan Gary
Preston Smith
Tipa Galeai
Jonathan Garvin
LaDarius Hamilton
Randy Ramsey

The Rashan Gary breakout actually happened in Year 3. Gary’s playing time has increased from 24% to 48% to 68% over his three seasons. His quarterback hits have gone from three to 11 to 28 (seventh in the league). Gary ranked sixth in pressure rate among edge rushers per SIS.

Preston Smith ranked 50th among edge rushers in pressure rate and spent more time rushing the passer than he had in previous years with a 90% rush rate. Smith is locked in through 2026 with a four-year extension just signed this offseason.

Behind them, there’s not much depth. Jonathan Garvin slid in as a rotational rusher, played 36% of the snaps, and ranked 71st in pressure rate. 

Off-ball Linebacker

De’Vondre Campbell
Krys Barnes
Isaiah McDuffie
Ty Summers
Ray Wilborn

De’Vondre Campbell was a pleasant surprise in a breakout season that had him playing at an All-Pro level. After coming in on a cheap one-year deal, the Packers re-signed Campbell on a five-year contract. Campbell was 23rd among linebackers in yards allowed per coverage snap while he played 91.6% of the defensive snaps.

The Packers played dime at the sixth-highest rate in the league (24%), which kept Campbell on the field and lessened the load on other linebackers. Krys Barnes has flashed when he’s been on the field and is a serviceable No. 2.

Cornerback

Jaire Alexander
Eric Stokes
Rasul Douglas
Shemar Jean-Charles
Keisean Nixon
Kabion Ento

Jaire Alexander missed a significant amount of time last season and only played 20% of the defensive snaps in the regular season, but was still a plus corner when he returned. Alexander has been a top corner and his versatility to play inside adds another element to his game that opens up possibilities for the rest of the secondary. He’s in line for a massive extension.

Eric Stokes played well for a rookie corner, something that is difficult to do. Stokes was 44th among 93 qualified cornerbacks in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap last season. He should continue to develop in Year 2.

The biggest surprise was the play of Rasul Douglas, who wasn’t signed until October. Douglas ranked fifth in Adjusted Yards allowed per coverage snap last season and he was re-signed for three more years.

Chandon Sullivan played well filling in for various corners, getting on the field for 77% of the defensive snaps, but he left in free agency. That role will now fall on Shemar Jean-Charles, a 2021 fifth-round pick, who played just 3.4% of the defensive snaps as a rookie.

Safety

Adrian Amos
Darnell Savage
Vernon Scott
Shawn Davis
Innis Gaines

Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage have formed one of the better safety duos over the past few seasons and neither of them comes off the field. In 2021, Amos played 97% of the defensive snaps and Savage played 96%.

Henry Black was the team’s third safety last season, who played 24% of the defensive snaps as the team got into some defensive back-heavy looks, but his contract finished in 2021 and he is still a free agent. That leaves not much depth and some unknowns after the top two stars at the position.

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