Re-grading Packers’ 2017 draft class five years later

With the 2022 NFL Draft on the horizon, I want to go back five years and take a look at the 2017 draft and grade all of the selections the Green Bay Packers made.

In the first round, the Packers traded their No. 28 selection with the Cleveland Browns for the No. 33 and No. 108 picks.

At the time, the trade back was a weird move for the Packers considering some of the players on the board. But looking back at it now, it was a terrible move for the future.

With this selection, the Packers could have gotten T.J. Watt before the Pittsburgh Steelers and brought one of the Watt brothers back to Wisconsin.

Last season, Watt tied the single-season sack record and has been an absolute monster for the Steelers, recording 22.5 sacks in only 15 games played.

Round 2, Pick 33: Kevin King, CB, Washington

Kevin King never lived up to his potential in Green Bay.

King was expected to be the #2 cornerback to help out the secondary, but was always a liability on defense. During his tenure in Green Bay, King was on injured reserve twice, non-football injury list twice, and gave up some huge plays on defense including a holding penalty on the final play of the NFC Championship in 2020.

While his play started to decline in 2020 and 2021, he did play decently in both 2017 and 2018. King also had five interceptions in the 2019 season.

In 2021, playing on a prove-it contract, King was a solid rotational cornerback and #3 guy for the defense. But his play was not enough and he was not re-signed by the Packers and is still a free agent.

Grade: C-

Round 2, Pick 61: Josh Jones, S, NC State

Josh Jones never proved his worth in Green Bay and was gone from the team within two years of being drafted.

In his rookie season, he had one interception and 71 combined tackles, but those numbers went down the following season. Jones was awful in coverage and although he could tackle players, he was always being burnt by someone when he was in the secondary.

Jones was waived in 2018 and eventually signed with the Dallas Cowboys, where he played in six games and barely did anything.

Following being cut by the Cowboys, he played with the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he allowed an astounding 86.8% completion percentage in his coverage, according to Pro Football Reference.

After being injured a couple of times, Jones has found himself out of the league entirely after being waived by the Indianapolis Colts.

Grade: F

Round 3, Pick 93: Montravius Adams, DT, Auburn

In his rookie season, Montravius Adams played only 15% of snaps due to an ankle injury in training camp.

During his four-and-a-half year tenure in Green Bay, Adams played in 16 games once, started only three games, and made only 1.5 sacks.

Adams now plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. For a third-round selection, Adams did not perform well in Green Bay and consistently played under 30% of all defensive snaps.

Grade: D

Round 4, Pick 108: Vince Biegel, OLB, Wisconsin

Vince Biegel was selected with the second pick acquired from the trade with the Browns. Before the start of the 2017 season, Biegel injured his foot and was placed on the PUP list.

In his one year on the Packers roster, he played in nine games and recorded 10 tackles and five assisted tackles.

In September 2018, he was waived by the Packers and played on both the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins’ practice squads before being promoted to the Dolphins’ active roster.

It is hard to grade Biegel because he has been injured so often, but he didn’t play for the Packers that long. Therefore, he gets a D- minus grade for recording 15 tackles in nine games.

Grade: D-

Round 4, Pick 134: Jamaal Williams, RB, BYU

Although Jamaal Williams never became the #1 back on the Packers’ offense, he was essential in helping Aaron Jones and became a great #2.

Grade: A

Round 5, Pick 175: DeAngelo Yancey, WR, Purdue

After being drafted by the Packers in the fifth round, DeAngelo Yancey never played a single snap and was cut by them in September 2017.

He eventually moved on to the XFL where he was placed on the injured reserve. It goes without saying that it was a terrible choice by the Packers’ front office.

Grade: F

Round 5, Pick 182: Aaron Jones, RB, UTEP

Aaron Jones has been a mainstay for the Packers and helped propel the offense into having a dominant run game, one that they had lacked for years up until this point.

Jones was a Pro Bowler in 2020 and has rushed for over 4,000 yards and 41 touchdowns for the Packers. Jones is a dual-threat running back and has been a standout player.

Grade: A+

Round 6, Pick 212: Kofi Amichia, T, South Florida

In September 2017, Kofi Amichia was cut and signed to a reserve/future contract.

Almost exactly a year later, Amichia was cut from the Packers and since then has bounced around from practice squad to practice squad. To this day, Amichia hasn’t played a single snap in the NFL.

Grade: F

Round 7, Pick 238: Devante Mays, RB, Utah State

In a running back heavy draft for the Packers, Devante Mays was the third RB off the board. Mays played in eight total games, where he had four rushes for one total yard.

Since his four rushes with the Packers, Mays hasn’t had a single carry in the NFL. The only reason why Mays does not get a F grade was because of his position in the draft and that he was the third running back taken by the Packers.

Grade: D-

Round 7, Pick 247: Malachi Dupre, WR, LSU

Malachi Dupre had a lot of potential but decided to forgo his final season at LSU and declare for the NFL Draft. Following the 2017 preseason, Dupre was cut and was a practice squad wide receiver for multiple teams.

Dupre was out of professional football from 2019 until he joined the DC Defenders in the 2020 XFL Draft.

Grade: F