Packers prize athleticism at top of draft, and 2024 class provides robust options

If there's one thing we can say about whoever the Packers takes at the top of the 2024 draft, it's that he will be a truly elite athlete. They will have plenty of choices.

Not everyone can be a member of the Green Bay Packers. It’s not about how well a draft prospect carries the G, but in the first round under Brian Gutekunst, it’s about how fast the G on their helmet moves relative to how high it stands above the ground. Even more than Ted Thompson before him, the Green Bay general manager prizes athleticism at the top of the draft, and his prioritization of physical traits led to the success of in-the-moment head-scratchers like Rashan Gary and Jordan Love.

Every year, we can cross out a slew of prospects projected to go in the first round because they simply didn’t test well enough. This year, nearly every high pick that could be in play for the Packers fits what history says they want athletically, freeing Gutekunst to take the player they love the most on tape.

The Athletic Consensus Board, an index of ratings from draft analysts around the internet, fits nine collegiate offensive tackles in the top 34 players alone. All theoretically match what the Packers look for in offensive linemen: elite athletic profiles. Seven of the nine players boast Relative Athletic Scores over nine, a pre-requisite for a Gutekunst first-round pick. Alabama’s JC Latham didn’t test but did go through positional drills at his pro day, and Duke’s Graham Barton is expected to test at his pro day next week (and test well).

Joe Alt: 9.94

Olu Fashanu: 9.60

JC Latham: N/A

Taliese Fuaga: 9.62

Troy Fautanu: 9.47

Amarius Mims: 9.52

Tyler Guyton: 9.72

Graham Barton: N/A

Jordan Morgan: 9.22

Since Gutekunst took over, Green Bay’s first-round draft choices average over nine RAS with Darnell Savage and Jordan Love -- each still excellent athletes for their positions -- the only players who fell short.

These are the RAS scores for all these players at tackle even if Fuaga, Fautanu, Morgan, and Barton will be considered interior offensive linemen by many teams. Green Bay has long preferred to draft tackles to play just about everywhere for this very reason; if you’re athletic enough to play tackle, you’re athletic enough to play anywhere. It’s a primary driver of their success with tackle-to-guard conversions like Josh Sitton, T.J. Lang, Jon Runyan Jr., and others.

However, that doesn’t mean the Packers necessarily have the automatic greenlight with all of these players. In the past, the Green Bay front office under Ted Thompson prioritized lateral agility in offensive linemen, short shuttle times of 4.75 seconds or better, and three-cone times below 7.7.