Green Bay Packers Biggest Takeaway From 2024 NFL Draft Revealed

By many accounts, the Green Bay Packers did very well in the 2024 NFL Draft. Not only did they address some areas of need on their roster, but they also found with the selections that were made.

Hitting on both will normally result in praise from analysts and evaluators. For the Packers, a lot of their focus in this year’s draft was on defense. After three underwhelming years under Joe Barry, the team has made drastic changes on that side of the ball.

That is why the biggest takeaway from the 2024 NFL Draft, in the opinion of Dalton Wasserman of PFF, is the infusion of talent to the middle of their defense. The Green Bay Packers made wholesale changes, saying goodbye to key parts of their defense from recent seasons.

Barry is out, replaced by former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley. He will have some new players to build a scheme with, as the Packers made a splash in free agency signing Xavier McKinney.

He was the first of what ended up being four new safety additions. In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected three more; Javon Bullard, Evan Williams and Kitan Oladapo. It is a unit that Hafley is looking forward to working with.

The second level of the team’s defense was also remade. Going from a 3-4 base under Barry to a 4-3 base under Hafley meant positional changes for some players. Edge rushers from recent years played linebacker, but will now be defensive ends.

Needing to replenish the linebacker corps, the Green Bay Packers addressed that during the draft, too. On Day 2, they came away with Edgerrin Cooper out of Texas A&M and Ty’Ron Hopper out of Missouri.

Cooper should be a Day 1 starter alongside Quay Walker. Hopper could factor into the mix as well alongside Isaiah McDuffie, especially with some of the ability he showed to get after the quarterback as a blitzer.

It is hard to argue against Wasserman’s biggest takeaway. The Green Bay Packers made it a point of emphasis to improve defensively and they have taken the necessary steps to achieve that in 2024 and beyond.