Lessons from 50 Days of Packers Mock Drafts

Hello, Packers Nation. I started a project in February where I conducted a Mock Draft every day to see how the consensus rankings and my preferences would change through the Combine and free agency. These picks were all taken in the first 3 rounds (sometimes I traded back to get additional picks). Full results are at the bottom of this post. Here are my 3 main lessons learned for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

The Packers Can Draft Cooper DeJean

Given how QB top-heavy this NFL Draft is expected to be, the Green Bay Packers will likely have a few of their 15 top prospects slide to 25. As the QBs started heating up during the cycle, Cooper DeJean began to fall into the mid-20s. In the first 25 days, I could rarely draft him only grabbing him 4 times, but recently there was a shift and I was able to get him quite often, 14 of the 25 days. When I began, drafting DeJean was too costly, but now it seems well within the realm of possibility. As I argued in my draft profile, the Packers should trade into the teens to secure him. He may actually slide to 25, but why risk it?

 The Packers Should Draft Edgerrin Cooper at 41

The Linebacker position is one everyone knows the Packers will address in this draft. As we’ve seen in recent years, the players they bring in for one of their 30 Visits is a good indicator of who they’ll eventually draft. Edgerrin has already visited Green Bay and talked to the Packers, so we know he’s on their radar in a significant way. As I explained in my Cooper profile, he is the one player Green Bay can’t afford to miss in this draft. My mocking taught me that hoping Edgerrin makes it to 58 is a fool’s errand. While he sometimes makes it there, it doesn’t happen often enough to plan on it. Maybe a trade up from 58 back into the top 50 is the move if a top prospect slides to 41, but betting on him to make it to 58 isn’t wise.

 The Packers Should Wait to Draft Lineman

I have written about both OL and DL prospects that I love, but the Packers would be wise to wait. Using Dane Brugler’s Top-100 as a guide, there are only 2 LBs in the top 60 players. Conversely, there are 8 OTs, 8 IOLs, and 5 DTs. They likely won’t get their favorite by waiting until 58, but a good player or two will be available at this pick. As you can see below, every time I wait until the 3rd pick to take an upfront player, I usually get a top 2-3 guy at the given position.

Draft Results