Packers draw praise for surprising NFL Draft pick

There were a lot of selections by the Green Bay Packers who were liked by analysts, one of which was quarterback Michael Pratt out of Tulane. It was shocking to see him still on the board in the seventh round, where Green Bay snagged him with the No. 245 overall pick.

Pratt was the 2023 American Conference Player of the Year. He completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 2,406 yards, 22 touchdowns and only five interceptions, adding 289 yards and five more scores on the ground.

Many evaluators believe that the Tulane product is an excellent development player with the potential to carve out a long NFL career. With Jordan Love entrenched as their starter, could the Green Bay Packers have found a long-term backup for him?

That is one of the reasons that ESPN’s Matt Miller liked this selection so much. In a recent piece, he detailed the biggest steals, fits and best picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. Not surprisingly, the Packers coming away with Pratt landed on his list, coming in at No. 67.

“The Packers seemingly struck gold with Jordan Love, but how about a young quarterback to develop behind him? Pratt could have come off the board in the fourth round and been a good selection for a team. He’s accurate, poised and tough as nails. He has the makeup of a really good QB2 for a long time. That’s great value in Round 7,” wrote Miller.

Last year the Green Bay Packers used a fifth-round pick on Sean Clifford out of Penn State. He was the backup for Love, with former USFL MVP Alex McGough as the No. 3 quarterback. 

With McGough transitioning to be a wide receiver, Michael Pratt will compete with Clifford for the backup job. If he doesn’t win that job this year, at the very least he will be Green Bay’s new developmental prospect at the position.

Normally, evaluators don’t make much about seventh-round picks, but the Packers are receiving a ton of praise for this one. Pratt is a prospect people are very high on, as Green Bay found immense value landing Miller’s No. 129-ranked prospect at No. 245.