Well, well, well – it seems like we have officially arrived to April. Of course, this means it just so happens to be NFL Draft month! And as we get closer to the NFL Draft, mock drafts will come flying from every direction! I, for one, love this time of year, but it does seem a little off. Doesn’t it? And I think I know what the problem is. The Green Bay Packers don’t have a first round pick!
And that’s not a bad thing – not at all, considering what the Packers got in return! There ain’t no way that Green Bay would have drafted a player of Micah Parson’s caliber in this draft or the next. Totally worth it!
But the lack of a first round pick, for some reason does put a bit of a damper on draft season (at least for me). And that’s okay. All of that being said, I’m not ready to do my own mock draft. So, that’s not what I’m going to do here – today or next week. Nope, I’m gonna look at expert mock drafts and see who they have the Packers drafting and then evaluate whether or not it is something they would do or not.
Let’s get started!
Packers Mock Drafts!
Draft Analyst NFL Network Chad Reuter
In Chad Reuter’s latest (April 3rd) Five Round Mock draft, Reuter mocked four different selections for the Packers. Being a national media person like Chad Reuter, it has to be tough to mock so many different draft picks for so many different teams. Let’s look into the four picks he has for the Packers:
Packers 2nd Round Pick
In the 2nd round with pick 52, Reuter had the Packers select Treydan Stukes. Stukes is considered a safety positionally but pigeonholing Stukes into a single position would be kind of a mistake. He actually was a boundary cornerback at first but later transitioned to playing slot corner. And of course, some at safety. Stukes can play all over in the secondary.
If you initially saw the safety title by his name, you might have immediately dismissed this whole mock draft, but as I mentioned before, Treydan Stukes isn’t just a safety. If the Packers view him as a slot corner/safety, then this absolutely will not be the pick. But if Green Bay can see the highly athletic and fast Stukes playing on the outside as a possibility, then I can see it. Gannon plays a ton of quarter coverage which means the corners have to be fast and be able to make tackles. That does describe Stukes making it a slight possibility.
Packers 3rd, 4th, and 5th Round Picks
The 3rd round mock selection just so happens to be edge rusher Keyron Crawford from Auburn. Crawford didn’t start playing football until his senior year in high school. Because of this, he is still learning the game. That being said, Crawford has great intangibles and seems like his best football could be very well in front of him. Because of his athletic abilities and his relentless motor, this could very well happen.
The 4th round pick is Zxavion Harris, defensive tackle out of Mississippi. Because of his great size (6’8″ and 330 pounds), Harris is a prototypical nose tackle which the Packers desperately need. But, really because of his versatility, he can play up and down the line. With his massive size, he can really plug up some running lanes. There has been some question about his effort but once again, I can see this pick happening too!
Finally, the 5th round pick is offensive tackle Travis Burke from Memphis. Talking about behemoths, Burke is just as big as Zxavian Harris. He has great arm length and once he gets someone, they are locked down. But because of his size, it is difficult for him to get into his pass blocking stance – which would be a bad thing. However, Burke is an absolute mauler in the run game. I can see Burke being a decent-to-great swing tackle and maybe as a 6th lineman on short yardage runs. And yep, also a possibility.
Overall Grade For Reuter
Honestly, Chad Reuter knocked it out of the park with this one. Normally, I’m very skeptical of national guys who have multi-round mock drafts, but every one of these selections are for sure a possibility. The only questionable one is Treydan Burkes because he played mostly in the slot, which the Packers already have filled with Javon Bullard. But, because of Burkes’ athleticism and versatility in the secondary, I can see it – especially if Green Bay believes they can move him to a speedy boundary corner guy.
Bengal
Nope, not talking about the Cincinnati Bengals here. I’m talking about the YouTuber Bengal, who just so happens to be a New York Giants fan. But Bengal has been posting NFL Mock drafts for the past several years and even has done a few dueling mock drafts with Daniel Jeremiah. Bengal has proven time and again that he is reliable in breaking down NFL draft prospects.
Most of the time, his mock drafts only go through the first round, but in his last mock draft, he did go through round two and thus was able to make a mock pick for the Packers. So, with pick 52, Bengal selected for the Packers Christen Miller, defensive tackle out of Georgia.
Bengal said it right, “Christen Miller is… such a Packer…the Packers love these Georgia defenders.”
Miller excels in run defense. That’s his bread and butter. However, he has underwhelmed in the pass rush department. He has the intangibles to do well in pass rushing the quarterback but hasn’t been able to put it together. If the Packers think they can get that out of him, then this would be a home run selection! It might already be if he can help stop the run. This is likely to happen in my opinion IF he can fall to pick 52.
Bengal doesn’t disappoint with this mock selection.
Packers Mock Drafts
As we get closer to the NFL Draft, there will be more mock drafts, but as of now, there are few that go beyond the first round. I’m looking forward to evaluating future Packers mock drafts next week.
But regardless of what happens…
Go Pack Go!
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Damon is a diehard, fully-immersed cheesehead who currently lives in southern Missouri. He teaches at a local high school and has a family YouTube channel about all things Packers. You can follow him on twitter at @packersfamily and on YouTube at The Packers Family.
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