We are nearly a few months removed from the NFL Draft and the Packers will look a bit different this year, as Jordan Love will be the lead guy under center for the Green & Gold. With that, I decided to make a 2024 Packers mock draft…..and yes, I think Aaron Rodgers will play 65 percent of snaps to give Green Bay a second first round pick. So here you go…
1a. Joe Alt, OT, Notre Dame
I have seen Alt go top five and then I’ve seen him go in the
mid-first. I will go with more the mid-first, which is where I think Green Bay
will be picking. I don’t see David Bahktiari coming back in 2024, especially at
his cap number. With him gone and Yosh Nijman being an unrestricted free agent,
I think offensive tackle will be a major position the Packers go for early in
the draft. He has tremendous size and athleticism for the position and could be
the franchise left tackle of the future, protecting Love’s blind side. I also
really like Zach Tom, but he could man the right side or even kick inside to
center if Josh Meyers continues to disappoint.
1b. Kamren Kinchens, S, Miami
If there is one position that the Packers need more than
most is safety. Going into the season, the Packers don’t really have a
starting-caliber safety on the roster. Darnell Savage is still on the roster,
but just because he has a guaranteed contract after picking up his fifth-year
option last offseason. He will likely start, despite being benched late last
year, with the hopes he can re-gain his 2020 form. After him, your guess is as
good as mine as to who will start with the fifth-year man out of Maryland. If
you were to tell me any one of Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford, Tarvarius Moore and
Anthony Johnson Jr. start with Savage, I could see it. With that, Johnson is
the only player under contract after 2023. Kinchens has tremendous athleticism
with great ball-hawking ability. He would be a day one starter for the Green
& Gold.
2. Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin
You had to know he’d be on here, right? The Packers will
have a situation on their hands next offseason, as Aaron Jones’ contract number
explodes in 2024 and won’t be back at that number. Add in the fact that AJ
Dillon is a free agent and you have a big need at running back. Allen has been
the work horse at the position for Wisconsin. Fortunately for him, his body
won’t be as beat up next season with the Badgers set to put the ball in the air
more under offensive coordinator Phil Longo. He has some speed, evidenced by
numerous runs of at least 50 yards. An extremely young prospect, the bruising back
doesn’t turn 20 until January. Catching only 22 passes in his previous two
seasons for less than 150 yards, he’ll have a chance to improve his
pass-catching ability this season. He also needs to show more durability
because he was banged up toward the end of each of his first two seasons.
3. Chico Bennett Jr., EDGE, Virginia
You can never have too many EDGE rushers. Green Bay has a
good 1-4 group right now, but Preston Smith may be a cap casualty, which leaves
them with Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare. A group of four
capable rushers is what they should strive for. Bennett is a candidate to
actually shoot up draft boards and is actually in the first in a few mocks, but
most have him in this range. In his breakout 2022 campaign, he tallied 34
tackles to go along with 7.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also had an
ACL injury the year before and will be one year more removed from it and could
have a monster season.
4. Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
As it stands right now, the Packers are not in need of an
inside linebacker, but De’Vondre Campbell will need to return to 2021 form
because last season was a disappointment. If he does and he is kept moving
forward, I doubt inside linebacker is a need. But if he doesn’t, Campbell could
be a cut candidate and the team could save a few million dollars. A tackle
machine, Stutsman can also run and cover and could be a candidate to move up
draft boards after one more year under Brent Venables.
5. Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota
Everything I mentioned under the Kinchens pick could be
mentioned here. With only one player at safety under contract past 2023—Anthony
Johnson, Jr., a 2023 seventh round pick—the team could very well pick multiple
safeties in this draft. Nubin could go much higher than this with a good 2023
season. For a unit that has been so bad against the run in the last several
seasons, having Nubin would help big time, as his 83.4 run-defense grade in
2022 was 11th among power five safeties.
6. Caelen Carson, CB, Wake Forest
The Packers tend to take a cornerback in every draft and I
don’t think this one will be any different. Rasul Douglas has been a good
player in his two seasons in Green Bay, but a release of him prior to next year
would say more than $6 million. Another thing is that Eric Stokes is coming
back from multiple scary injuries and they will need quite a bit of depth in
case he is not back to his rookie season self. He is another guy who could
shoot up draft boards with a terrific season.
7. DeWayne Carter, DL, Duke
The Packers always are on the lookout for defensive linemen,
especially since they have yet to find a Robin to Kenny Clark’s Batman. They
also can never stop the run, so they need to find someone who can help. His
pass rushing is what stands out for him, though. Last season, he tallied 5.5
sacks. He also batted down four passes and forced/recovered three fumbles.
