2024 NFL Draft: Daniel Jeremiah drops 1st big board

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network recently unveiled his initial 2024 NFL Draft big board on Tuesday. In it, he draws attention to the stark differences between elite players and some of the Green Bay Packers’ most pressing needs.

Let’s say you were to list the top four needs for the Packers in the offseason. In such scenario, you would most likely rank running back, offensive line, linebacker, and safety in some order, depending largely on personal preference. In 2024, Aaron Jones’ contract with the Packers comes to an end, and backup running back AJ Dillon will be free to sign elsewhere.

The offensive line is a toss-up, due to the unknowns at left tackle and right guard going into the 2024 season, in part due to David Bakhtiari’s status. Linebacker could see an opening, as De’Vondre Campbell headlines a crop of potential cap casualties this offseason. Safety is a position where the Packers were already weak in 2023, and now last year’s starters are set to hit unrestricted free agency.

But the Packers should be able to take care of most of these, right, with three picks in the top 58 of the 2024 draft, right? Not if you accept Jeremiah’s preliminary rankings.

There were no running backs or safeties in Jeremiah’s top 50. Safety is a bit of a surprise because he doesn’t appear to like Tyler Nubin of Minnesota or Kamren Kinchens of Miami, but neither does the consensus draft board have a running back selected in the top 50 players for the April selection.

For reference, the second-ranked running back on the consensus draft board is Texas’ Jonathon Brooks, who this time last year was coming off a season as the Longhorns’ third string back and is currently recovering from a season-ending ACL tear.

Another thin position is linebacker, where Jeremiah only projects three players to make it past the first round and a half of the draft. Payton Wilson of North Carolina State, who will be 24 years old on draft day, is his third-ranked linebacker. Wilson has played in college for six seasons and has already experienced three season-ending injuries since he began his playing career in high school. For those who follow baseball, he is also the brother of pitcher Bryse Wilson of the Milwaukee Brewers.

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