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Health is scare at the top of this cornerback class
With NFL Scouting Combine events kicking off tomorrow, let’s take a look at the early leaders that mock drafters have pegged for the Green Bay Packers in the first round. As always, we grabbed 10 recent mock drafts to profile.
Aside from the selection of Malaki Starks, the rest of these draft choices seem reasonable. In no way do the Packers need another safety, after taking three in the draft last season on top of adding free-agent All-Pro Xavier McKinney last offseason. Already, Green Bay is going to have a hard time getting Javon Bullard and/or Evan Williams on the field in base defense looks, which make up about a third of the downs played.
The most popular name in these mocks is Jahdae Barron of Texas, who was selected three times. If the Packers don’t address the cornerback position in free agency, the buzz about Barron to Green Bay is only going to get strong for one reason: He’s the healthy cornerback in this class.
After Travis Hunter and Will Johnson, who are both blue-chip prospects, the cornerback position becomes very risky. On the consensus draft board, there are only three other cornerbacks ranked in the top 40 prospects: Barron, ECU’s Shavon Revel Jr., who tore his ACL in practice last year, and Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison, who had a season-ending hip injury well before the Fighting Irish’s playoff run.
If you’re looking for a cornerback who can contribute immediately after the top 10-ish picks in this draft, it’s slim pickings. That will push Barron up throughout the process. If Green Bay doesn’t find a replacement for Jaire Alexander, who is expected to be released this offseason due to his high cap hit, then it’ll be close to an all-or-nothing proposition.
Beyond the cornerback position, mock drafters gave the Packers two tackles (Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State’s Josh Simmons) and two defensive tackles (Michigan’s Kenneth Grant and Oregon’s Derrick Harmon). All of those players are talented, though, Simmons comes with some injury concerns himself. Simmons, like Revel, tore his ACL in 2024. When healthy, he might have been the top tackle in the draft class.
Personally, the player I would be more excited about on this list is Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, as he has real Pro Bowl potential that is rarely found outside of the top 10 selections. While his production...
