Seven-Round Packers Mock Draft 10.2: Aggressive Trade Up In First Round

With the 2024 NFL Draft starting on Thursday, our final mock drafts of the year will be done with specific goals in mind. Here’s an aggressive trade to get an elite cornerback.

Toledo defensive back Quinyon Mitchell / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With the 2024 NFL Draft just days away, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst’s cellphone might be getting a workout as teams lay the groundwork for potential trades on Thursday night.

“Those calls won’t happen until we get closer into April,” Gutekunst said at the Scouting Combine. “I like the flexibility of maybe not feeling like we have to just stick. We can probably move around a little bit. It’ll be interesting how that unfolds. Particularly in the second round, with the two picks there and one of them being more in the middle, there might be some more movement there.”

The Packers own the 25th pick of the first round, the 41st and 58th pick of the second rounds, and the 88th and 91st picks of the third round. That gives Gutekunst plenty of options to move around the draft board to target a specific player or move if a position of need is getting short on talent.

That lends to all sorts of permutations, including getting a second pick in the first round. But what if Gutekunst really wanted a specific player? A top-of-the-class prospect at a position of need?

Since Gutekunst mentioned that second-round pick that’s “more in the middle,” let’s take No. 41 – the pick acquired in the Aaron Rodgers trade – and move up in the first round. According to the trade-value chart at DraftTek, pick No. 25 is worth 230 points and pick No. 41 is worth 146 points. That’s a total of 376 points, which could get the Packers all the way to No. 10. That would be a trade with … the Jets.

The Jets with Rodgers are in win-now mode, so they’re not looking to move back. The Vikings at No. 11 are more likely to package their first-round picks to get a quarterback. But let’s say the Broncos miss out on all the top quarterbacks at No. 12. Perhaps they’d like to move back so they can get Michael Penix or Bo Nix, whose value seems to be later in the first round.

So, the trade is Green Bay packages No. 25 and No. 41 to move up to No. 12 along with a fourth-round pick in 2025.

First Round: Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell

Mitchell has it all: size (6-foot 1/8, 185 pounds), speed (4.43), playmaking (six interceptions, 44 passes defensed the last two seasons) and toughness against the run. If you’re going to move way up in the first round, it needs to be for a difference-maker at a premium position. That’s Mitchell, who is our No. 1 cornerback. With Mitchell and Jaire Alexander, the Packers can match up against any passing game in the NFL.

Second Round: Yale OT Kiran Amegadjie

The fallout is the Packers miss all the top offensive tackles. The best tackle remaining is Amegadjie, who is loaded with upside but is going to need some time after missing most of his senior season to adjust to the level of competition. At linebacker, only Payton Wilson is gone. At safety, only Tyler Nubin is gone.

Just going on supply and demand, we’ll take the tackle – who the Packers clearly like. The Packers badly need a swing tackle should something happen to Rasheed Walker or Zach Tom. Amegadjie has the talent to become a starter.  It’ll be up to offensive line coach Luke Butkus to get him ready ASAP.

Third Round: Kentucky LB Trevin Wallace

At safety, Utah’s Cole Bishop is available but I don’t see that as realistic. Texas Tech’s Dadrion Taylor-Demerson and Georgia’s Tykee Smith might be too small, and Miami’s Kamren Kinchens might be too slow. So, safety will wait. At linebacker, Kentucky’s Trevin Wallace might be a bit too much like Quay Walker, but that’s the type of linebacker that fills this draft class.

Third Round: Wisconsin C Tanor Bortolini

Bortolini, who grew up about a half-hour from Lambeau Field, is the perfect Packers offensive line prospect with his athleticism and multi-position background.

Fourth Round: Washington S Dominique Hampton

It takes a special kind of safety to play in the box. That’s Hampton. At 6-foot-2 3/8 and 215 pounds with 33 1/2-inch arms, he’s got the size to withstand line-of-scrimmage duties. With a 4.51 in the 40, he’s got the speed for coverage. He had 109 tackles and nine passes defensed in 2023.

Fifth Round: Michigan DE Braiden McGregor

The Packers like bigger players on the edge. McGregor’s got the “tall” part of that taken care of at 6-foot-5 1/4. He had 4.5 sacks and nine tackles for losses in 15 starts last year. He can learn from Lukas Van Ness during the day and play hockey with him at night.

Sixth Round: Marshall RB Dylan Laube

Two players who I might have taken at this spot, Air Force safety Trey Taylor and Marshall running back Rasheen Ali, went at No. 200 and 201. So, at No. 202, I’ll take Laube, who would be an interesting gadget player for coach Matt LaFleur. He ran for 1,205 yards in 2022 and caught 68 passes in 2023. He lacks the breakaway speed I would have preferred.

Sixth Round: Texas Tech S Tyler Owens

One of the best size-speed athletes in the draft, Owens’ college career was rather nondescript with five-season totals of 69 tackles, one interception, seven passes defensed and two forced fumbles. For now, he can go cover kicks with the hope that he can put it all together.

Seventh Round: South Florida OT Donovan Jennings

Jennings had a predraft visit.

Seventh Round: Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman

There are a bunch of quarterbacks available at this spot, including Kentucky’s Devin Leary, South Alabama’s Carter Bradley and Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed. Let’s take Hartman, who started 57 games in six seasons and threw for 134 touchdowns. 

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Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

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