5 draft mistakes that continue to haunt Packers in 2024

2. CB Eric Stokes

With Aaron Rodgers coming off of an MVP season in 2020, the cries for the Green Bay Packers to go out and get him some more help in the 2021 NFL Draft could not have been louder. And at this time, the noise wasn't just coming from Packers fans, but from pundits all across the football world.

The Packers, however, didn't pay any mind to those cries for help (for Rodgers). They stuck with their own brand, and Brian Gutekunst took Georgia cornerback Eric Stokes in round one. Early on in Stokes's career, this pick was looking like a pretty good one, too.

Stokes allowed a completion rate into his coverage of just 49.5 percent as a rookie. Although teams certainly tested him by targeting him 97 times as a rookie with Jaire Alexander on the other side of the field, Stokes looked like a legit starter after his first year in the NFL.

With all his size and athletic traits, and the way he played in his rookie year, it was really hard to argue with the Eric Stokes pick after year one. But fast forward to the present moment, and the Packers are now clinging to Stokes's potential with two injury-plagued seasons leaving them with a very tough decision regarding his fifth-year option.

Stokes has played just 12 games over the last two seasons for the Packers, and many fans were adamant about the team making a mistake passing on Oklahoma center Creed Humphrey at the time. And Humphrey has developed into one of the league's best centers.