The final day of the 2023 NFL Draft is in the books, so the 2023 Green Bay Packers draft class is set! We previously handed out Packers draft grades for Lukas Van Ness, Luke Musgrave, Jaylen Reed and Tucker Kroft. Here, we will grade the picks of Colby Wooden, Sean Clifford, Dontayvion Wicks, Karl Brooks
In the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected defensive lineman Colby Wooden, who is a solid player who fills a need. The fifth round got off track, as Green Bay selected Sean Clifford and Dontayvion Wicks.
The sixth round saw Karl Brooks and Anders Carlson get drafted, then Green Bay took Carrington Valentine, Lew Nichols III, Anthony Johnson Jr. and Grant DuBose in the final round.
Let’s hand out 2023 Green Bay Packers draft grades for all of these players.
2023 Green Bay Packers Draft Class
| PICK | PLAYER | SCHOOL |
| 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, DL | Auburn |
| 5, 149 | Sean Clifford, QB | Penn State |
| 5, 159 | Dontayvion Wicks, WR | Virginia |
| 6, 179 | Karl Brooks, DL | 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., DB | Iowa State |
| 7, 256 | Grant DuBose, WR | Charlotte |
Colby Wooden Highlights
Green Bay Packer Draft Grades
Round 4, Pick 116 – Colby Wooden, DL, Auburn
Colby Wooden has the one thing that the Green Bay Packers value over anything else — versatility. He spent about half of his snaps as a 3-technique for Auburn last year, and this is where he plays best. However, Wooden played the other half of his snaps on the edge and he only weighs 273 pounds.
Wooden is a work in progress, but he does possess coachability and he has great tools to improve on. In a perfect world, Wooden will be the replacement for Dean Lowry. However, the worry with this Packers regime will forever be drafting players to play them out of position.
Still, Colby Wooden in the fourth round is not a bad choice. Yes, there are greater areas of need and solid players still available to fill those needs, but this isn’t a terrible pick.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: B
Round 5, Pick 149 – Sean Clifford, QB, Penn State
Gutekunst was tired of hearing about all of his terrible draft picks in recent seasons, so he decided to add a new name to the list. Not only should the Packers have not taken a quarterback at No. 149, Sean Clifford shouldn’t have been drafted by anyone. Period. Antonio Johnson is still available… what are we doing?
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: F
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Round 5, Pick 159 – Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Virginia
This is another pick that likely shouldn’t have been made, but at least Dontayvion Wicks deserves to be drafted around this area. Wicks is another receiver who has great ball skills and is clearly competitive, but he struggled to create separation in college and that is only going to be worse in the NFL. His speed isn’t great, he has an issue with drops, and he plays with a lack of attention to detail overall.
This wide receiver pick is more of an addition to the Packers’ special teams. Don’t expect much of Dontayvion Wicks on offense.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: D+
Round 6, Pick 179 – Karl Brooks, DL, Bowling Green
Prior to the NFL Draft, I had been saying that not enough people are talking about Green Bay’s need on the defensive front. Well, it appears the team knew that, which is why we have another Packers draft pick on the defensive line with Karl Brooks.
Brooks has the tools to play in the NFL. Coming from Bowling Green, there is a lot that we still need to find out about Brooks, as he needs to be tested to see what type of player he truly is. Still, he should get snaps on the interior defensive line for the Packers in his rookie year. He can collapse the pocket and get after the passer in a variety of ways. Due to a lack of length, he must continue to get stronger and add moves in order to hang around the NFL.
Yes, it would have been nice to address another need. However, I’m not mad at the specific pick itself.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: B
Round 6, Pick 207 – Anders Carlson, K, Auburn
As we said earlier this offseason, the Packers should not bring back Mason Crosby. As a result, Green Bay needed to get a kicker. A couple went early in this draft, so the Packers didn’t really have a chance to grab one of the best prospects. With that being said, they could have done much better than Anders Carlson.
Anders Carlson is the brother of Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, which is seemingly the only reason why Anders was drafted. On top of suffering a torn ACL over a year ago, he hit over 72% of his field goals just once in his college career. Hell, he was only 13/23 in his senior year of high school; how did he get the job at Auburn?
Hopefully, something will click for him, but I won’t hold my breath. This pick gets a passing grade solely because it is a position of need.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: C-
Round 7, Pick 232 – Carrington Valentine, CB, Kentucky
Carrington Valentine is an aggressive outside cornerback. While he probably shouldn’t be playing valuable defensive snaps in his rookie year, he does have the tools to develop into a good depth cornerback. He should be able to earn his keep as a special teamer this season.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: B+
Round 7, Pick 235 – Lew Nichols III, RB, Central Michigan
Lew Nichols III is a sturdy running back that brings plenty of power and explosiveness. While he doesn’t have much speed, he was productive at Central Michigan. He doesn’t bring much that will be useful to the offense, but maybe find his way onto the field via special teams.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: C
Round 7, Pick 242 – Anthony Johnson Jr., DB, Iowa State
Anthony Johnson Jr. is a player I have talked about here quite a bit, and I thought he would be drafted earlier. He transitioned from cornerback to safety last season and played well.
Given the state of the Packers’ defense, Johnson may be a Day 1 starter despite being a seventh-round pick. He would slot in well as a nickel, though I assume Green Bay will play him solely at safety. Here’s hoping he is used correctly, because this could be the steal of the 2023 Green Bay Packers draft class if he is.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: A
Round 7, Pick 256 – Grant DuBose, WR, Charlotte
Grant DuBose is a long, well-built wide receiver that is perfect as a seventh-round draft pick. He has the physical tools to play on Sundays, despite lacking in speed. DuBose has great ball skills, has creative releases, runs good routes and he is tough as a blocker as well. As long as he stays healthy and gets good coaching, he could develop into a solid NFL wide receiver.
Green Bay Packers Draft Grades: A
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