The Green Bay Packers moved on from Aaron Rodgers after he did one too many ayahuasca trips and became way too annoying to have around the clubhouse. We all thought it would be insanely funny if they turned around and drafted a first-round weapon for new quarterback Jordan Love after nearly two decades of not doing that for Rodgers. Alas, they didn’t pull that off, but instead, they went with quantity over quality. When the dust settled, the Packers took seven(!) fantasy football-eligible players in the 2023 NFL draft. Let’s take a look at their 2023 fantasy football prospects.
FULL GREEN BAY PACKERS DRAFT RESULTS
| Rnd. | Pick No. | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 13 | Lukas Van Ness | DE | Iowa |
| 2 | 42 | Luke Musgrave | TE | Oregon State |
| 2 | 50 | Jayden Reed | WR | Michigan State |
| 3 | 78 | Tucker Kraft | TE | South Dakota State |
| 4 | 116 | Colby Wooden | DT | Auburn |
| 5 | 149 | Sean Clifford | QB | Penn State |
| 5 | 159 | Dontayvion Wicks | WR | Virginia |
| 6 | 179 | Karl Brooks | DT | Bowling Green |
| 6 | 207 | Anders Carlson | K | Auburn |
| 7 | 232 | Carrington Valentine | CB | Kentucky |
| 7 | 235 | Lew Nichols III | RB | Central Michigan |
| 7 | 242 | Anthony Johnson Jr. | S | Iowa State |
| 7 | 256 | Grant DuBose | WR | Charlotte |
Round 2, Pick 42 Overall: Luke Musgrave, Tight End, Oregon (6’6” 253 pounds)
Depth Chart
TE1 Luke Musgrave
TE2 Tucker Kraft
TE3 Josiah Deguara
TALENT
Luke Musgrave looked good on tape in his 2022 campaign, but there isn’t much tape on him at all. He played just two games last season thanks to a knee injury that he is just now recovering from. Musgrave plays a lot lighter than his frame would dictate, and he comes off as mostly an athletic tight end instead of a big boy like he should be. Overall, he has fluid movements, lots of awareness, and good hands & feel. He’s a very talented player, but the injury looms over him in his rookie year, and it gives me pause.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
With the Packers tearing their receiving options down to the studs (ironically, by removing the studs), Musgrave has a great chance at getting 85-90 targets this year, mostly as a dump-off option for Jordan Love. He was one of the top pass-catching options in this class thanks to his “wide receiver in a massive body” skillset. He has another great rookie tight end to contend with this season, as the Packers also took Tucker Kraft in the first eighty picks of the draft. He has as much chance as any to be a rookie tight end who turns in a great season.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Unfortunately, I am completely down on this offense, across the board. Jordan Love is a massive downgrade at QB1, and Christian Watson is a big step-down from Allen Lazard as WR1. He could come through as a great rookie tight end this season thanks to the opportunity afforded to him, but whatever opportunity afforded to him will also be split with fellow rookie tight end Tucker Kraft. Because of all of these reasons, I fear that the deck is stacked against him as being one of the rookie tight ends who matter in his rookie campaign.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 2, Pick 50 Overall: Jayden Reed, Wide Receiver, Michigan State (5’11” 187 pounds)
Depth Chart
WR1 Christian Watson
WR2 Jayden Reed
WR3 Romeo Doubs
WR4 Dontayvion Wicks
WR5 Grant DuBose
TALENT
Reed is a dynamic playmaker who can make life hell on opposing defenses when he gets the ball in his hands. That’s what makes him so dangerous as a return man. Unfortunately, the thing that makes him dangerous to have on your offense is the fact that he struggles to get separation, and is even worse at contested catches. He has a decent career ahead of him as a kick returner and a WR3 or WR4 in a good wide receiver corps but there isn’t much else here for him despite his measurables.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
Jayden Reed will have plenty of opportunities to produce in the Green Bay Packers offense, he steps in as the second option in the receiver corps (and third on the offense, behind Aaron Jones). But, he needs a lot of manufactured touches to matter, despite his athleticism. He is more than an athlete than a polished receiver at this point in his career, so I fear that he could fall behind even his fellow rookie tight ends when it comes to fantasy football opportunities. Given that he struggles with separation and contested catches, he doesn’t have a skill combination that is conducive to consistent fantasy football success. His path to usefulness comes with the Packers manufacturing his touches, but the LaFleur offense hasn’t been one to manufacture touches (think Kyle Shanahan and Deebo Samuel). All of this makes me somewhat itchy in touching him in 2023.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
The Packers’ offense isn’t one that I am going to go out of my way to find parts of on my redraft roster this season. Reed has the best chance at being a best ball darling (outside of Christian Watson, of course). However, there are plenty of options in your standard fifteen-round twelve-team draft that I would prefer ahead of Reed.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 3, Pick 78 Overall: Tucker Kraft, Tight End, South Dakota State (6’5” 254 pounds)
Depth Chart
TE1 Luke Musgrave
TE2 Tucker Kraft
TE3 Josiah Deguara
TALENT
Kraft is an incredibly promising prospect, especially since he already looks like every other already-successful member of the tight end blob. He’s big, fast, and athletic enough to make it all work for fantasy football at the next level, but nothing about him really jumps off the page. He could fall right into production his rookie year in the right situation, like Pat Freiermuth. But, there’s nothing inherently great about him, just a ton of above-average traits leading to being a player that I like, but not a player that I love.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
Kraft is a great prospect, but all reports out of Packers camp are that fellow rookie tight end Luke Musgrave has the inside track on getting whatever meager prime targets might exist in the offense. The Packers traditionally use two tight end sets, with the Packers in the top-three in most two tight end set usage and success metrics. This gives Kraft a bit of a better floor since he will be on the field. But, even then, he’s looking at being fourth in the pecking order, at best.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Rookie tight ends generally don’t find success, and they really don’t find success as the #2 tight end drafted by a team, in the third round. Because of this, I have no real interest in Kraft until he shows something.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 5, Pick 149 Overall: Sean Clifford, Quarterback, Penn State (6’2” 211 pounds)
Depth Chart
QB1 Jordan Love
QB2 Sean Clifford
QB3 Danny Etling
TALENT
Penn State didn’t task Sean Clifford with doing a whole lot. He was mostly a read-and-throw player who wasn’t there to extend plays, make a difference, or be the hero. Clifford was the ideal plug-and-play lower-level quarterback; he wasn’t going to win any games, but he wasn’t going to lose you any games, either. He’s mobile and has decent enough touch underneath. But, he isn’t a high-level NFL talent. In the right system, he could put together some decent fantasy football games. In every regard, he reminds me a ton of a slightly bigger Nick Mullens.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
The Packers, for all of Jordan Love’s question marks, are dead set on having him play all seventeen games this season, if he can. There’s no opportunity here for Clifford, who is ultimately a roster filler.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Who cares? I don’t!
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 5, Pick 159 Overall: Dontayvion Wicks, Wide Receiver, Virginia (6’1” 206 pounds)
Depth Chart
WR1 Christian Watson
WR2 Jayden Reed
WR3 Romeo Doubs
WR4 Dontayvion Wicks
WR5 Grant DuBose
TALENT
Dontayvion Wicks was a burner, deep threat, and home run hitter in college. Unfortunately, he’s a burner who only runs a 4.6 40-yard dash, an FBS-high drop rate, and difficulty creating separation with his routes (due to sloppy route running). Overall, he feels like upside roster depth at this point in his career, a dart throw for a Packers team doing a hard reset on the offensive side of the ball.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
The Packers are unlikely to be a high-flying offense that can optimize Wicks for fantasy football purposes. He’s going to top out as a DFS darling his rookie year.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
You can admire him from afar if he hits his 2% outcome of having fantasy football relevance. It’s not worth your roster spot to take that risk.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 7, Pick 235 Overall: Lew Nichols III, Running Back, Central Michigan (5’10” 220 pounds)
Depth Chart
RB1 Aaron Jones
RB2 A.J. Dillon
RB3 Lew Nichols III
RB4 Patrick Taylor
TALENT
Lew Nichols is a good runner who can maximize zone blocking and eat up yardage in a hurry. However, he doesn’t have a real ability to run between the tackles with any sort of consistency. He put up good numbers in college thanks to poor performance by his opponents. He’s a smooth and fast runner who is best suited as a change-of-pace speed back. Unfortunately, he isn’t a great pass catcher, run blocker, or anything else. He reminds me a lot of a less hefty Isiah Pacheco.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon combine to be one of the best duos in the NFL, and if one misses time, then the other will just soak up all the touches. There’s virtually no room for Nichols to break through into the rotation without any sort of injuries ahead of him.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Without multiple injuries ahead of him on the depth chart, Nichols has little chance of being anything than a part-time rotation back.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 7, Pick 256 Overall: Grant DuBose, Wide Receiver, Charlotte (6’2” 201 pounds)
Depth Chart
WR1 Christian Watson
WR2 Jayden Reed
WR3 Romeo Doubs
WR4 Dontayvion Wicks
WR5 Grant DuBose
TALENT
DuBose is a fun story (he fought for every scrap of football opportunity he’s ever had) but overall, he’s more of an athlete than a football player, at this point. He has great hands, but he’s completely unrefined. All of his highlights mostly come from him being faster and stronger than those around him. I do like his highlights, but down-to-down, he struggles to find any sort of consistency.
2023 OPPORTUNITY
DuBose is hitting the practice squad, and if the Packers use him in any sort of rotation, he isn’t going to make enough hay to matter for anything.
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
More like Grant Du Not Draft Him.
TALENT
2023 OPPORTUNITY
2023 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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