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.
Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio State
- NFL.com
Josh Conerly Jr., OT, Oregon
- Yahoo! Sports
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.
𝑩𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮: Oregon's Josh Conerly Jr. was named top OL on National squad in vote from DL & LB position groups at Practice Player-of-the-Week awards ceremony today at 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl. 📈#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/R3JYheAFu9
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) January 31, 2025
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.
Mike Green, EDGE, Marshall
- New York Post
- Sportsnaut
Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
- NFL Mocks
Jalon Walker, LB/EDGE, Georgia
- Fansided
Omarr Norman-Lott, DL, Tennessee
- On3
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.
Mike Green😳
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 29, 2025
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 an off-ball blitzer than an every-down edge rusher. Green Bay could look to address the position this offseason, but it’s worth noting that head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst have stated time and time again that they believe their edge rusher room can get the job done, despite their pass-rushing production. A change in defensive line coach from Jason Rebrovich to former New England Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington signals that they’re serious about that.
The wildcard of all these mocks is probably the selection of Tennessee’s Omarr Norman-Lott, a 6’3”, 307-pound defensive tackle who originally began his college football career at Arizona State. Norman-Lott is currently going around the turn of the second and third rounds in mock drafts, so it would be a bit of a surprising pick. A selection of a defensive tackle early would probably mean the end of any hopes that Devonte Wyatt, the Packers’ 2022 first-round pick, will ever develop into a full-time starter.
Jahdae Barron, CB, Texas
- Pro Football Network
- Pro Football Focus
Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
- The Draft Network
Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East Carolina
- NFL Spin Zone
Injuries. Injuries are going to be the key to this cornerback class. Beyond Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Michigan’s Will Johnson, players who are expected to go off the board within the first 10 picks of the draft, the prospects in first-round contention Are Texas’ Jahdae Barron, Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison and East Carolina’s Shavon Revel Jr.
Morrison injured his hip against Stanford in mid-October and never returned to the field for Notre Dame, despite their deep run to the national championship. Revel was hurt in practice, where he suffered a non-contact ACL tear in September. The medical reports for those two players will be studied in depth by teams looking to get any production out of them in their rookie seasons.
That’s why Barron, who was considered a firm second-round pick until recently, has slowly been rising up draft boards. Someone is going to want a cornerback who will unquestionably be ready to suit up for training camp, and after Hunter and Johnson, Barron is that guy.
Depending on what the Packers do with cornerback Jaire Alexander, who is due a $16.15 million base salary in 2025, Green Bay could be on the look for a new outside cornerback, too. While the team seems confident that Keisean Nixon will start for them in 2025, there are still doubts that Carrington Valentine, who was rotated in and out of the lineup in 2024, will start across from Nixon for 17 games.
