With barely a week to go until the real thing, here are the Green Bay Packers’ selections from the latest and greatest NFL mock drafts.
The Green Bay Packers need to address their pass rush in next week’s NFL Draft. That is obvious. What is not clear is how they’ll accomplish it.
In a combined mock draft at ESPN.com, Mel Kiper and Field Yates alternated picks. With the Packers up at No. 23 of the first round, Yates selected Texas A&M’s potential-packed Shemar Stewart.
Stewart is all upside. On one hand, his Relative Athletic Score was a perfect 10.0. On the other hand, he had 1.5 sacks in each of his three seasons.
“Stewart has some of the most intriguing traits in the class,” Yates wrote. “His speed, length and power all pop on tape and were on full display at the Combine. However, he managed just 4.5 sacks in three seasons at Texas A&M. This would be a bet on his potential for Green Bay, but there’s no doubt the Packers could use his upside and ability to get pressure off the edge.”
Stewart was the pick over Georgia’s Mykel Williams and Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku on the edge and Arizona’s Tetaiora McMillan at receiver.
With Iowa State’s Jayden Higgins, Missouri’s Luther Burden III and TCU’s Jack Bech off the board at receiver, Green Bay’s second-round choice, which was made by Kiper, was Iowa State receiver Jaylin Noel.
Noel caught 245 passes in four seasons, including 80 receptions for 1,194 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024. For added appeal, he had just four drops and averaged 15.3 yards per punt return during his final season.
Noel is small at 5-foot-10 1/4 and 194 pounds but he’s got 4.39 speed and a 41 1/2-inch vertical.
In making the pick, Kiper noted Green Bay’s strong second-round history of receivers. “Noel has the hands to haul in tough catches and the elusiveness to tack on yards after the catch.”
The Packers could have taken a bigger receiver with TCU’s Savion Williams. Maryland’s Tai Felton, who had a predraft visit, went in the third round, as did Ole Miss’ Tre Harris.
Yates went back to the defensive line with his third-round pick, South Carolina’s T.J. Sanders, who had a predraft visit.
“Green Bay can continue to add to its pass-rush presence — this time on the interior — with Sanders, who had 8.5 sacks over the past two seasons,” he said.
In a YouTube mock draft for Pro Football Focus, Cris Collinsworth went with Ezeiruaku.
Collinsworth, who holds a majority interest in PFF, considered a first-round receiver but couldn’t pass on a prospect who could help fulfill the Packers’ desire to improve their four-man pass rush.
“They haven’t had one [a first-round receiver] in 30 years or whatever (but) I just kept watching this Donovan Ezeiruaku. He’s a blur,” Collinsworth said. “If I had to bet all my money on one guy beating one guy in a one-on-one matchup, I’m not so sure it wouldn’t be him.
“I don’t know if he’s that big. I don’t even remember what his size was, but I just kept looking. I wouldn’t want to be on offense and trying to block him. Now, is he going to be everything that I think he’s going to be? I don’t know, but I do feel like that if you’re looking for just a guy that is going to be a nightmare to block in one-on-one situations, I think he’s the one.”
Ezeiruaku finished second in the nation with 16.5 sacks in 2024. When Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley was the Eagles’ head coach, Ezeiruaku had 8.5 sacks and 14.5 tackles for losses in 2022. One PFF analyst called him a “pass rusher’s pass rusher.”
Said Collinsworth: “The thing that’s impressed me not only the quickness in the and what he was able to do but he had actual pass rush moves.”
In a seven-round mock draft for The Athletic, Dane Brugler also picked an edge rusher and defensive tackle, with his choices being Toledo’s Darius Alexander and Texas’ Barryn Sorrell.
Finally, in a three-round mock draft at Bleacher Report, its scouting department with a couple familiar names at the start with Georgia edge Mykel Williams in the first round and Iowa State’s towering Higgins to fill the receiver void in the second round.
As part of a longer explanation, Matt Holder wrote: “Green Bay could use some help at edge-rusher and general manager Brian Gutekunst has leaned toward drafting projects with a lot of physical traits at the position. Williams might be a year away from being a significant contributor but has enormous potential.”
The third-round choice was William & Mary’s Charles Grant, who will be among the few Day 2 offensive tackles with the potential to develop into a starter. At 6-foot-4 7/8 and 311 pounds, he’s got 34 3/4-inch arms and 5.09 speed. He was a two-time FCS All-American at left tackle.