Packers: How free agency signings could impact draft plans

How could free agency impact the Green Bay Packers’ draft plans?

The NFL’s legal tampering period began yesterday, and teams wasted no time signing their favorite players. One of the teams involved was the Packers who made a pair of signings in linebacker Christian Kirksey and offensive tackle Ricky Wagner.

Entering the offseason, it was clear that inside linebacker and right tackle were going to be positions of need on this team and within the first few hours of free agency, both positions were addressed.

Now it’s time to look ahead towards the draft and figure out how these two signings will affect the team’s draft strategy.

Before these deals were done, it was widely believed the Packers would target an inside linebacker like Patrick Queen or Kenneth Murray with their first pick. Now that Kirksey is in the mix, those plans have likely changed.

The same cannot be said about right tackle. While Wagner will provide a solid stopgap, he is not the long-term solution at right tackle and the Packers will likely look to add a rookie early in this year’s draft.

That being said, Wagner’s addition does give the team some flexibility in where they must select a tackle.

The biggest takeaway I got from these two signings’ is that the Packers are preparing to draft a first-round wide receiver for the first time since 2002.

If so, the team could not have picked a better year to do so.

Even while holding the third-to-last pick in the first round, the Packers still have a very good chance of watching an elite receiver fall right into their lap.

Now the question is – who?

To make things a bit easier, let’s eliminate CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy, and Henry Ruggs being that they will all almost certainly be picked inside the top 30.

That leaves guys like LSU’s Justin Jefferson, TCU’s Jalen Reagor or Colorado’s Laviska Shenault Jr. as the Packers top potential targets at 30th overall.

While any of these guys would bring an immediate impact to the Packers offense, it’s Justin Jefferson who has been gaining the most hype as of late.

Even after finishing an extremely successful career at LSU, there were still doubts about Jefferson’s speed, and then the combine happened.

Jefferson measured in at 6-foot-1, 202 pounds, and still ran a blazing 4.43 40-yard dash which was good enough for eighth overall at the wide receiver position. That is the kind of performance that will have general managers salivating at the chance to draft him.

Looking at Reagor and Shenault, both share similar qualities in that they are extremely versatile players who are electric with the ball in their hands and a nightmare to tackle in the open field.

I can see any one of these three guys fitting into a Matt LaFleur style offense but it’s Jefferson who stands atop the list. He has extensive experience in the slot and has played against some of the toughest competition in all of college football making him more pro-ready than most college wideouts.