We will be simulating our own mock drafts every week until the end of April to see how Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst can approach his perceived requirements to help bolster a club that made it to the NFL playoffs’ divisional round.
After using the Pro Football Focus simulator last week, we used the Pro Football Network simulator for this mock draft.
This is the way it worked out. Round 1, Pick 25:
LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. Yes, the year the Packers choose a receiver in the first round is the one in which you believe they do not need one.
In this instance, the offensive lineman class was a little lackluster, and all of the defensive backs that were worth selecting in the first round were gone. Maybe in the first round, Gutekunst will consider a scenario like that and attempt to acquire a luxury pick. Christian Watson and Thomas have a lot in common. At 6-foot-4 on the list, he’s large and fast. For an LSU offense that saw Jayden Daniels win the Heisman Trophy, he was a big-play machine. Having scored 24 touchdowns during his collegiate career, he has a nose for the end zone.
The fact that the Packers lack a player who can blow apart a rival defense when Watson is not in the starting lineup is one possible complaint regarding the receiver room. Watson is seeing doctors in an attempt to diagnose the hamstring problems that hampered him in 2023, but having insurance is always a good idea.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling was not covered by insurance when he was with the Packers, which restricted the offensive output. As the Packers continue to surround Jordan Love in the offense, Thomas brings another potent weapon to the mix.
DARIUS ROBINSON, EDGE, MISSOURI, ROUND 2, PICK 41
Robinson is probably loved by the Packers if they loved Lukas Van Ness. Among the Senior Bowl’s stars was Robinson.
His stature was 6 feet 5 inches, 286 pounds, and 34 3/4 inches in the arms. Robinson was a dominant senior in his fifth year, recording 14 tackles for losses and 8.5 sacks. PFF claims that Robinson produced 42 pressures. Although they could use one, pass rushers are not considered Green Bay’s most pressing need. In November, Preston Smith will turn thirty-two. While Brenton Cox is a relative unknown and Kingsley Enagbare suffered an ACL tear in the playoffs, Rashan Gary is one of the team’s mainstays and Van Ness is a growing player.
The Packers could use a little more juice because of the way they usually prefer to rotate their pass rushers. Given his size, he ought to be able to assist both inside and outside on passing downs.
Round 2, Pick 58:
Texas A&M, LB’s Edgerrin Cooper When it comes to juice in the front seven, Cooper would bolster the Packers’ linebacker corps, which has to grow stronger as they move to a 4-3 configuration. Despite his improvement from his debut campaign, Quay Walker is still unreliable. The future of De’Vondre Campbell with the squad is uncertain. While Isaiah McDuffie has played for new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley in the past, he has had trouble with injuries whenever he has seen a significant amount of playing time. This takes us to Cooper, the first linebacker off the board and the 22nd choice in the 2022 draft who has been compared to Walker. Cooper would add additional athleticism to a linebacker group that desperately needs it, but in this scenario, they did not need to go to that lengths to locate a guy that was comparable.
GEORGIA’S JAVON BULLARD, S., ROUND 3, PICK 88
I think Gutekunst’s biggest pet peeve right now is the safety position. He has no contracts with any of his main contributors from the previous season. Of the returning bunch, only rookie Anthony Johnson (drafted in the seventh round) saw any meaningful action. Bullard had five passes defensed and two interceptions in 2023. In Green Bay, those two interceptions would have tied for the team lead. Pro Football Focus reports that in 2023, Bullard gave up a 34.0 quarterback rating. He received an astounding 88.4 coverage grade as a result. In 2022, he also recorded seven tackles for losses. Bullard’s tackling abilities will need to be improved, as they are not always consistent. In his last season as a Bulldog, he missed seven tackles. Pick 91 in Round 3: Jayleigh Wright, RB, Tennessee It seems likely that Wright will be a favorite to play for Green Bay in these scenarios. The Packers need a backfield player like him because he makes a big difference. Wright, who is incredibly quick, caught 22 of 25 receptions in the previous season and may provide much-needed athleticism to Green Bay’s backfield, which may lose AJ Dillon this offseason. Wright is a big play waiting to happen when you combine his speed with his ability to break tackles.
PICK 126 (ROUND 4):
ZAK Michigan, ZINTER, and OG Zinter’s tattoo “product of the trenches” is more than a showpiece. It’s on his right arm. It’s an attitude. Zinter embodies the epitome of an offensive lineman. His powerful, rough demeanor contributed to Michigan winning three straight Big Ten titles, which culminated in his last season winning a national championship. Zinter might not have been available at this position if he hadn’t sustained a horrific leg injury against Ohio State, but since he was, if the Packers are satisfied with his medical reports, he could be a serious candidate to play on the interior, where the team may be searching for a new starter as right guard Jon Runyan is expected to hit free agency.
ROUNDS 5-7: INCLUDE RUNNING BACK AND CORNERBACK
Josh DeBerry, CB, Texas A&M; Ben Sinnott, TE, Kansas State; Rasheen Ali, RB, Marshall; Quinton Newsome, CB, Nebraska; Sione Vaki, S, Utah. I took the same approach that Gutekunst has always taken, which is to double up at some spots, since I was unable to select a cornerback early in the draft. I was able to select two cornerbacks on the third day of the draft, hoping that one of them would be a diamond in the rough rather than drafting one early.
In 2022, Newsome intercepted ten passes, and in 2023, he made his only interception. After recording four interceptions in four seasons with Hafley at Boston College, DeBerry had two interceptions and nine passes defensed in 2023.
The other intriguing choice in this group is Rasheen Ali from Marshall. Ali had injury problems in college, but he may still provide some juice to Green Bay’s backfield. He grabbed 28 receptions and ran 1,135 yards in 2023. He fits well with coach Matt LaFleur’s wide-zone offense if he stays healthy.
WHAT SUCCESSFULLY WORKED?
Although Thomas is placed in the top-15 of Dane Brugler’s draft rankings for The Athletic, the first two picks may be considered a luxury. In the modern NFL, offense is crucial, and a club can never have too many playmakers. Furthermore, it can’t hurt to have insurance against Christian Watson’s quickness, which he brings to the offensive. With the correct defense, Robinson and Cooper, two players with a lot of potential, might become stars.
They can aid in improving Green Bay’s front seven, which requires greater constancy. The Packers need at least one new running back to emerge out this offseason as Aaron Jones’ obvious successor because Wright is a playmaker. Specifically, what didn’t work? It wasn’t until much later in the draft that I could select a cornerback.
In the event that the draft proceeded as planned, Gutekunst would be depending on Carrington Valentine and Eric Stokes’ healthy returns and large leaps. Furthermore, neither Luke Tenuta nor Caleb Jones dropped to a position where it made sense to add an offensive tackle, so assuming they move on from David Bakhtiari and decide not to re-sign Yosh Nijman, Tenuta or Jones will grow into the team’s swing tackle.
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