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The Green Bay Packers were one of the better teams in the NFL during the 2024 season. However, the Packers need to continue adding talent to their young roster if they want to get over the hump. One NFL insider believes they should add an explosive playmaker on the defensive side of the ball.
ESPN’s Field Yates paired the Packers with Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams in his latest 2025 NFL mock draft.
“He has the 6-foot-5, 260-pound frame and 34⅜-inch arm length to get into the chest of blockers and swat passes at the line of scrimmage,” Yates wrote about Williams. “He’s coming off an ankle injury that limited him in 2024, and I think major improvement is ahead for the 20-year-old.”
Williams’ ankle injury is a concerning part of his scouting profile. However, the fact that he is 20 years old gives him plenty of time to heal and still be one of the younger players in the NFL.
Yates did note a few other players the Packers could have picked instead.
“The Packers had the second-highest percentage of snaps in zone defense last season (70.7%), which has more to do with their personnel limitations than coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme preference,” Yates added. “Teams can play more man coverage when they have a dominant pass rusher or a shutdown corner. The latter could be the move here, with guys like Texas’ Jahdae Barron and Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston on the board.”
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst may not agree with Yates’ pick.
Gutekunst said in a recent interview that Green Bay should not feel the need to “go chasing” edge rushers in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“We can do everything we need to do from the players we have on our roster right now,” Gutekunst said, via Ryan Wood of USAToday. Because I think there’s a significant amount of improvement from those guys, not only Year 2 in the scheme, but individually.”
The Packers currently have Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness as their top edge rushers. It seems that many fans want Gutekunst to upgrade this position in the draft.
Even if Gutekunst does not want to “chase” an edge rusher, Packers fans could still end up with one.
The 2025 draft class is incredibly deep at the position, so there should be plenty still on the board when Green Bay picks at 23rd overall.
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