NFL Draft: Packers get targets for Jordan Love, one with pick from Aaron Rodgers trade
Among the picks the Green Bay Packers got for trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets was No. 42 overall in this year's draft.
And with that pick, the Packers drafted a target Rodgers probably would have liked.
The Packers, who famously never drafted a receiver in the first round over Rodgers' career, didn't draft a receiver this time, but they did give new starting quarterback Jordan Love a nice option. With the second-round pick from the Jets, the Packers took Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave. It's the type of high pick to help the passing game that the Packers have rarely made the past few years, to the confusion of many.
Green Bay did pick some receivers and tight ends in the middle rounds for Rodgers over the years, including receiver Christian Watson in the second round last season, but taking a pass-catching tight end with a pick acquired from trading Rodgers is just too rich.
To double down on that, the Packers used their next pick on a receiver. With the 50th overall pick the Packers took receiver Jayden Reed out of Michigan State. In the third round they got another pass catcher, with South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft. That's the kind of investment they rarely made in skill position talent over the Rodgers era.
Musgrave is a bit of a projection. He had 11 passes for 169 yards in his first two games last season but didn't play more than that because of a knee injury. He has good size (6-foot-6, 253 pounds) and athleticism, and what he did in his limited college career was impressive.
Musgrave, Reed and Kraft should help new Packers quarterback Jordan Love. The old Packers quarterback might have noted the irony.
