New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito (15) talks with Green Bay Packers linebacker De'Vondre Campbell (59) after an NFL football game, Monday, Dec. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: What happens, for example, to the Green Bay Packers in 2020 when they draft poorly? It does indeed result in a weaker roster. Beyond that?
The good news as 2024 NFL free agency draws near is that none of those players have an urgent need to be re-signed, which helps the salary cap and eliminates the need to fill important holes in the lineup.
The bad news is that there won’t be many, if any, compensatory draft picks awarded in the event of those players’ losses.
These are the free-agency realities that general manager Brian Gutekunst will likely face, as he is unlikely to pledge much loyalty to his 2020 class.
The franchise avoided a drawn-out and agonizing rebuild thanks to the development of quarterback Jordan Love, the first-round selection in that draft.
Otherwise?
The top 150 free agents were released by Pro Football Focus recently. It depicts a series of choices that ought to be rather simple for Gutekunst. There really won’t be a need to increase spending in order to bring any of the players back.
Leading the way at No. 92 on PFF’s ranking, guard Jon Runyan is the best free agent available to Green Bay. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, he is a dependable workhorse with 50 straight starts in the regular season and a solid pass protection history. Still, the Packers made their decision months ago when they started dividing snaps between Runyan and 2022 third-round pick Sean Rhyan. Once Rhyan demonstrated he was good enough to keep playing, it became clear which way the team was going: Runyan would continue to start, while Rhyan would play because he was the younger player with two more full seasons remaining on his contract.
