This is why the Packers may not draft an edge rusher in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
The Green Bay Packers need to add talent in the 2025 NFL Draft. Green Bay is in one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions, the NFC North. The Packers could use all the help they can get, on both sides of the ball, to compete for an NFC North title in 2025.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper has the Packers selecting Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams in his latest 2025 NFL mock draft.
“Williams was hindered by an ankle injury in 2024, which kept him to five sacks over 12 games,” Kiper wrote. “But he has the explosive traits to be an extremely effective edge rusher.”
However, Mark Oldacres over at Packers Wire does not agree with Kiper’s assessment.
Oldacres argued that Green Bay actually seems to value production over traits for the pass rushers they’ve drafted since 2016. In this case, production was measured by pressures.
Oldacres showed that the Packers have picked edge rusher who average roughly 37.5 pressures in their final collegiate season. There are few exceptions to this rule.
Oldacres used this rationale to argue that Green Bay may not target athletic freaks like Shemar Stewart or Mykel Williams because they don’t check that box.
“But even for the traits-loving Packers, they might not be productive enough,” Oldacres wrote. “Stewart averaged just 26.33 pressures per year in his final three seasons at Texas A&M, while Williams only managed 28.33 in three years at Georgia.”
In fact, the few players who seem to check Green Bay’s boxes can easily be acquired outside of the first round.
Ultimately, Oldacres concluded that the Packers are unlikely to draft an edge rusher in the first round.
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Packers GM does not want to “go chase” edge rushers in 2025 NFL Draft
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Oldacres’ assessment seems to align with what the Packers have publicly said about the 2025 NFL Draft.
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst does not believe the Packers need to “go chasing” an edge rusher in the 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 USA Today. “Because I think there’s a significant amount of improvement from those guys, not only Year 2 in the scheme, but individually.”
In this interview, Gutekunst leans on the improvement of younger players as the reason why edge rusher may not be the team’s priority.
Oldacres’ argument could be a contributing factor to why Gutekunst is not high on this year’s edge rusher class.
It will be fascinating to see which position the Packers address first in the 2025 NFL Draft.