It is finally here. Draft day! Here is my final Packers mock draft...
1. Sam Cosmi, OT, Texas (previous: Christian Barmore)
Green Bay has David Bakhtiari, but they need a right tackle of the future with Rick Wagner being released. They also would prefer someone who can play immediately due to DBak’s injury, which will force him to miss the first little bit of the season. Why did the Packers and Chiefs lose to Tampa Bay? Offensive line play. Seeing the struggles of offensive lines around the league, you can never have too many quality offensive lineman. He fits all the Packers athletic thresholds and it would not surprise me if they take Cosmi in the first.
2. Paulson Adebo, CB, Stanford (previous: Amon-Ra St. Brown)
Kevin King was just re-signed to a one-year deal. Most Packers fans will never forgive KK for his giant dump he laid on Lambeau Field in the NFC Championship game. King will likely start and Chandon Sullivan, who also got dominated in the NFC Championship, will start in the slot. Needless to say, the Packers need to put more talent in the position outside of Jaire Alexander. I don’t know if the team wants two short corners starting on the outside, so I don’t know if they’d go for an Asante Samuel, Jr., even thought he is a beast. Adebo fits all the athletic thresholds the Packers like. Adebo looks like he’d be a Packers pick.
3. Payton Turner, EDGE, Houston (previous: Turner)
When you list the Packers needs, EDGE is not one that immediately pops to mind. After all, they have a tremendous 1-3 with the Smiths and Rashan Gary. However, they restructured Preston’s deal where they will be able to get out from his deal at the end of the season and Z will either be extended or gone as well. I anticipate them extending him, but the Packers need more than two pass rushers in order to give your starters a breather. The Packers love their athletic guys and Turner certainly is that. His RAS score is super high at 9.68/10 and had great explosion and agility scores. The productivity was there as well in 2020, recording five sacks in five games.
4a. Pete Warner, ILB, Ohio State (previous: Benjamin St.-Juste)
I think the Packers like both Khrys Barnes and Kamal Martin, but I do think they could take an ILB. Werner would be a solid pick and have him fight Barnes and Martin for a starting role.
4b. Shaun Wade, S, Ohio State (previous: Dan Moore)
The safety position will be more involved in this new defense. I don’t think Wade would be a good starter as a boundary cornerback, but as a nickel corner, he’d be a good pick in the early third day. Chandon Sullivan struggled in the NFC Championship game, so an upgrade is needed there too. A trio of Jaire, Adebo and Wade with King and King will be big. Wade could be a really solid player in the Raven Greene-type role.
5a. Johnathan Marshall, DL, Arkansas (previous: Robert Rochell)
The Packers have one glaring weakness on this team, which is the defensive line. Their run defense has improved a little bit as the season has gone along, but still not good. Green Bay re-signed Kenny Clark just before the season, but while Kingsley Keke has made a jump, Tyler Lancaster and Dean Lowry are not starting caliber players. They are good enough to have on the roster, but I don’t want them receiving a majority of the snaps. Keke needs to be more consistent and they need another starter. Regardless, you can never have enough strong defensive linemen, as the Eagles showed during their Super Bowl season of 2017. Marshall is an athletic freak who had an insane RAS score. If they could land him in the fifth, it’d be a really nice pick.
5b. Ihmir Smith-Marsette, WR, Iowa (previous: Ta'Quan Graham)
The Packers have wanted to upgrade the position, but they have their price. Last season, they tried to trade for Robbie Anderson. During the 2020 draft, they tried to trade up in the second for a receiver, but did not have a fourth round pick due to the Jordan Love trade. Once their target was drafted, they stopped trying. I still am guessing their target was Chase Claypool. Finally, they tried to sign Emmanuel Sanders as a free agent last offseason, but he opted for New Orleans. He would rather play in a big city in warmer weather. So the Packers have tried to upgrade the wide receiver position. Green Bay has no receivers under contract for 2022 and while they will very like re-sign Adams and Lazard, Smith-Marsette makes a lot of sense. He also would help in a big way in the return game. Green Bay’s special teams are.....well, not special. ISM could help change that in a huge way.
6a. Javian Hawkins, RB, Louisville (previous: Charles Snowden)
Even with the Packers re-signing Aaron Jones, the Packers will likely draft a running back on day three because the team likes to have three capable running backs. Hawkins could be a sleeper at running back who is a one cut and go back. He is an explosive running back who can hit a home run at any time.
6b. Darius Stills, DL, West Virginia (previous: Michael Strachan)
More depth/competition for a position that desperately needs a makeover outside of Kenny Clark. He had a high RAS score, which is what the Packers like.
7. Michael Strachan, WR, Charleston (previous: Avery Williams)
Like I mentioned before, the Packers don’t have any receivers signed past this season. While 17 and 13 will likely be back, the rest are unknowns. Strachan would come in and fight EQ and others for a roster spot.
