Acme Packing Company
Take your pick at prospects. There is no favorite right now
It’s mock draft time. With a week of East-West Shrine Bowl and Senior Bowl practices in the books, general managers across the league are already turning their full attention to the new crop of college prospects, so why shouldn’t we?
With that in mind, I looked at who 11 recent mock drafts gave the Green Bay Packers in the first round. If you like several options to choose from instead of a consensus emerging, you’re probably going to enjoy the road Packers fans are about to travel this offseason. So far, there seems to be no consensus about who Green Bay might target with the 23rd overall pick in the draft. There doesn’t seem to be a Cooper DeJean for fans to cling to, at least yet.
2 of the 11 mock drafters gave the Packers offensive linemen, specifically tackles. If Green Bay takes a tackle in the first round of this draft, it would likely be as a future replacement for Rasheed Walker, as Zach Tom appears to be fairly locked into the right tackle spot. The Packers will return four of their five preferred starters, not including 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan, with only center Josh Myers being set to hit free agency in 2025.
It’s quite possible that a first-round pick drafted on the offensive line would have to battle with Sean Rhyan and Jordan Morgan for short-term playing time before Walker would become a free agent in 2026.
Despite a season-ending ACL injury, Ohio State’s Simmons, originally a starter at San Diego State, declared for the NFL draft early this offseason. Even though he was injured in mid-October, he was able to earn third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2024.
Conerly, meanwhile, was able to participate in Senior Bowl practices last week and was named the best offensive lineman in National team practices by his defensive line and linebacker peers. Cornely is a former super recruit who was a two-year starter for the Oregon Ducks and was named a first-team All-American and All-Big Ten left tackle in 2024.
To no one’s surprise, many mockers gave the Packers a defensive lineman, either on the edge or the interior. One of the fastest risers in the draft landscape right now is Marshall’s Mike Green, a Virginia transfer who led the FBS in sacks in 2024. He even got the best of Conerly in one of the biggest moments of Senior Bowl practices.
Other edges mocked to the Packers were Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer, who is currently ranked 38th on the consensus draft board, and Jalon Walker, a hybrid linebacker who might fit in with some teams as...
