Are the Packers in trouble if the draft goes chalk?

The Packers have a talented young roster but still have holes to fill. If the premium positions come off the board, where can Green Bay turn?

You may go to therapy, but the Green Bay Packers have needs too, maybe more than most realize. They barely have enough players to field a starting back seven, needing bodies at linebacker and safety. They don’t have a backup offensive lineman worth mentioning. They need depth at running back and GM Brian Gutekunst said he wants to take a quarterback.

The good news is most of these needs are best taken care of later in the draft based on history and this just happens to be a class where those positions don’t have players worth taking early. But … then where does that leave the Packers?

If we ordered Green Bay’s needs in terms of urgency, it might look something like this:

1. Safety

2. Linebacker

3. Center

4. Guard

5. Cornerback

6. Swing tackle

7. Running back

Draft history makes clear some positions make sense to draft in the first round while others simply do not. The NFL has been much better at ordering prospects at premium positions like wide receiver, cornerback, offensive tackle, and pass rusher than interior O-line spots, linebacker, and running back.

In other words, don’t have too much faith in your ability to evaluate positions the league has, over time, missed on at a higher rate. The average linebacker taken in Round 1 is not that different from those taken in later rounds. So, teams better have a really good reason for taking one early.

What’s more, the value of those other positions falls short of corner and tackle -- maybe even including swing tackle -- given the injury rate along the offensive line. Here’s the problem for the Packers: There’s a very real scenario in which every top tackle and cornerback comes off the board by pick 25, their top selection barring a move. Even if Green Bay can afford to wait on drafting linebackers, guards, and safeties, the team might not have much of a choice.