Options for a Packer Mock Draft

Before Brian Gutekunst hands in his selections for each of the Packers 10 draft picks, he will be looking at the remaining players ranked on the Packers “Big Board.” As the 19th pick in the first round approaches and the Washington Football Team nears being, “on the clock” the Packer draft team will assess who has been drafted and who is available. The Bears draft 20th. If the Packers want to swing a trade, history says they have enough draft capital to reach Washington at 19. The likelihood of the Bears trading with the Packers at pick 20 are negligible.

Mock drafts on draft sites don’t give fans the feeling of being in the draft room with an assortment of picks and trade options at their disposal. This will be a Total Packers attempt to put you in the virtual room with a board full of options at your disposal. For this article, we will concentrate on round 1. To truly try to simulate a draft room scenario we must pick 18 players to be off our board as already selected by teams ahead of the Packers. The players selected are the top players picked in the most mock drafts by SI, ESPN, CBS, PFF and NFL websites.

The draft picks will be listed by position, not draft order:

QB: (5)

Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
Zach Wilson (BYU)
Justin Fields (Ohio State)
Mac Jones (Alabama)
Trey Lance (SDST)

Offensive Tackle: (4)

Penei Sewell (Oregon)
Rashawn Slater (Northwestern)
Elijah Vera-Tucker (USC)
Christian Darrisaw (V-Tech)

WR/TE: (3)

Ja’Marr Chase (LSU)
Jaylen Waddle(Alabama)
DeVonta Smith (Alabama)
Kyle Pitts (Florida) TE

CB: (3)

Caleb Farley (V-Tech)
Patrick Surtain III (Alabama)
Jaycee Horn (S Carolina)

DL: Christian Barmore (Alabama)

ILB: Micah Parsons (Penn State)

For the Packers, the more quarterbacks taken high in round one, the better. If less than five are taken, another player at a Packer position of need will be gone when they pick. Note that there is not one edge player in the top 18 picks of this “consensus” mock. Some mocks have three edge players going in the top 18. One mock has Kwitty Paye of Michigan going ninth.

The three edge players most often picked in the top 18 are:

Kwitty Paye (Michigan)
Azeez Ojulari (Georgia)
Jaelan Phillips (Miami)

(I did not include these three players in the big board below but feel free to include them in your selection options.)

Round one potential choices:

When the Packers pick in round one, 29 players will be off the table — IF, the Packers don’t use draft capital to move up in the round. In 2020, the Packers had to give up pick number 136, a pick near the end of the fourth round, to move from pick 30 to pick 26. With two fourth round picks that are both trade eligible in 2021 (picks 135 and 142) no one would be surprised to see Gutekunst trade up in the first if a player he covets is available around pick 19 and he can swing a deal.
Potential players available in the 2021 draft around the 19th pick could include the following players:

Creed Humphrey OT Oklahoma (6’5”/307)
Alex Leatherwood OG/OT Alabama (6’6”/312)
Jalen Mayfield OT. Michigan (6’5”/320)
Landon Dickerson C/T. Alabama (6’5”/320)
Rashod Bateman. WR. Minnesota (6’2”/210)
Kadarius Toney WR, Florida State (5’11”/189)
Greg Newsome II, CB. Northwestern (6’1”/190)
Asante Samuel Jr. CB FSU (5’10”/184)
Tyson Campbell CB Georgia (6’2”/185)
Nick Bolton ILB. Missouri (6’/232)
Zaven Collins. ILB Tulsa 6’4”/260)
Baron Browning ILB Ohio State (6’3”/240)
Trevon Moehrig. S. TCU (6’2”/202)
Alim McNeill DT. NCST (6’2”/320)
Marvin Wilson DT, Florida State (6’3”/319)
Levi Onwuzurike DT. Washington (6’2.75/290)
Osa Odighizuwa. DT UCLA (6’2”/280)
Daviyon Nixon DT Iowa (6’3”/305)
Tommy Togiai. DT. Ohio State (6’2”/300)

Because pundits are predicting a run on quarterbacks, offensive tackles, corners, and pass catchers, there are a number of defensive lineman available. Offensive tackles, a short list of corners, and high talent wideouts are still available at 19. In the next ten picks where the Packers are sitting at 29, you could watch the last of the elite corners, wideouts and offensive tackles leave the board.

Some recent data that may influence your draft decision includes Bateman’s tweet that he ran a sub 4.4 forty at his pro day workout. Newsome also broke the 4.4 barrier but PFF quoted scouts who said he looked stiff and winded in position drills. Campbell also ran an unofficial sub 4.4 time. Dickerson had a knee injury and operation in December but seems to be recovering well. Could the injury make him available on day two? Browning has his pro day coming March 30th but all the scouts know he runs well and his Senior Bowl work had scouts naming him as the linebacker with the highest potential ceiling in the draft.

At draft position 19 in our mock draft, only defensive tackle Christian Baremore-Alabama is off the board, the rest of the entire draft d-line class is available. Unfortunately, sure fire all pro defensive lineman are not presently graded in this Covid limited draft class. At pick 19, The corners have dwindled to a very short list and the inside linebackers left are questionable, according to analysts, as impact players in the NFL.

You could trade down and perhaps get the lineman you want, or you could gamble and miss the one player destined to achieve greatness. If you have the pick at 29 and you fear the difference makers will be gone when you pick, who is the player worth giving up multiple draft picks that you would trade up for? The Bears will need corners and offensive lineman and ultimately a quarterback, but the top five may be off the board. They may have already traded up to try and snatch a QB. Or, you could keep the 29th pick, and try to move up in the 2nd round.

Most pundits see round 2 having runs on offensive lineman, defensive lineman , defensive backs and wide receivers. It is possible that every player on the list above is gone by the time the Packers draft in round 2. You are the GM, what is your choice? You are on the clock…..