Green Bay snagged a former All-American with their second pick in the seventh round of the 2024 draft.
Just one year ago, some draftniks believed that Penn State cornerback Kalen King was a better NFL draft prospect than former Nittany Lion teammate Joey Porter Jr. — who went 32nd overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2023 draft. If you had told people that King would go 255th overall to the Green Bay Packers in the 2024 draft, hardly anyone would have believed you.
Posting 21 pass deflections in 2022, many expected that the first round was in King’s sights. Unfortunately, he had a down season last year, posting just two pass deflections and lost a head-to-head battle against future first-round pick Marvin Harrison Jr. when Penn State played the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Still, King declared for the draft before he had even turned 21 years old. At the combine, he didn’t help himself, though, when he ran a 4.61-second 40-yard dash. He improved that number to 4.55 seconds at his pro day, but the damage had been done.
On the consensus draft board, King entered with a projection of being the 165th player in the class. At pick #255, that’s still nearly 100 draft slots worth of value that the Packers took advantage of with this selection. Hopefully, he’ll join the likes of tight end Luke Musgrave and receiver Dontayvion Wicks, two 2023 rookie contributors who had much better college football seasons the year before they declared for the draft.
The top of Green Bay’s cornerback depth chart seems set, as the team returns Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon, but King should be put in a position where he can compete with Corey Ballentine and Robert Rochell — two veteran re-signings — for a roster spot.
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