Cheese Curds, 5/1: Packers’ focus now shifts from scouting to coaching

The 2023 NFL Draft is over, and the Green Bay Packers acquired a massive number of players over the weekend. GM Brian Gutekunst made a whopping 13 picks over the course of the three days of the draft, giving head coach Matt LaFleur and his staff a ton of new faces to work into the organization.

Each of these players as well as the team’s handful of undrafted free agents and a host of tryout players will be in Green Bay quickly for the team’s rookie minicamp, which is set for the coming weekend. That will be the coaching staff’s first chance to get this crop of players on the field to see what they can do and to start installing some of the core concepts of the team’s schemes.

Of course, while the team’s immediate focus shifts from scouting players to training them up and developing them, draft grades and analysis will keep coming in over the next few days. We take a look back at this draft class in today’s curds to assess how the team filled some roster holes, how they used the value of the picks that they held, and what other roster moves might still lay ahead for the team in the next few weeks.

Here’s checklist of what this 13-player draft class does for Packers | Packers.com
Adding a multitude of receiving weapons? Check. Boosting the pass rush and defensive line depth? Check. Finding a likely backup quarterback and kicker? Check.

Beat writers’ favorite 2023 NFL Draft picks: One intriguing player from all 32 teams - The Athletic ($)
Jayden Reed gets the pick from one beat writer as his favorite pick of the Packers' draft class.

LeRoy Butler stars in announcing Packers picks during 2023 NFL draft | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
Butler is a legend and a treasure and he must be protected at all costs. It's no surprise that he was singing the praises of Packers fans and the team's ownership structure when announcing the team's two second-round selections.

From Walmart to Packers for final draft pick, Grant DuBose | Sports Illustrated
DuBose was the 256th pick in the draft, and his journey from working four jobs during the pandemic to now being chosen in the NFL Draft is worth reliving.

Despite draft picks, Packers not closing door on Mason Crosby, Adrian Amos | Packers Wire
Even despite the selection of a kicker in round six -- the same round Crosby was drafted in back in 2007 -- the team's GM suggested that there's a world in which the team brings him back to compete for a job again. The same goes for veteran Adrian Amos, who remains on the free agent market.

2023 NFL Draft: Final quick-snap grades for all 32 teams | NFL.com
The Packers get an A-minus overall, with A grades for days 1 and 3 and a B for day 2.

Arrest made after man slaps police horse at Leafs playoff celebration | CTV News
Sure, it was a big day for Toronto -- the Maple Leafs' first playoff series win in almost 20 years -- but maybe leave the giant police animals alone.