Packer Central

Mecole Hardman-Style Free Agents at Packers’ Positions of Need

Are there bargains to be found on young players with draft pedigree, similar to the Green Bay Packers’ signing of Mecole Hardman? Yes, and here are some possibilities.

Bill Huber

Julian Okwara pressures Carson Wentz in 2022.
Julian Okwara pressures Carson Wentz in 2022. / Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers officially signed receiver Mecole Hardman. Will Hardman be a difference-maker? Will he even make the team?

Who knows, but getting an extended look at a 27-year-old, former second-round pick who has a legit NFL resume was smart.

Focusing on the Packers’ biggest positions of need, here are several Hardman-style free agents – young players who have shown some promise in the NFL who could be worth a look. (Ages are as of Week 1.)

Receiver

Terrace Marshall (25): Marshall was a second-round pick by the Panthers in 2021. While Hardman is more of a slot and returner, Marshall is a pure perimeter threat. At 6-foot-2 1/2 with 4.40 speed and a 39-inch vertical, he’s got big-time physical tools.

He doesn’t have big-time production, though, which, of course, is why he was released by the Panthers at the end of training camp last summer and caught three passes in seven games for the Raiders.

In 2022, Marshall caught 28 passes for 490 yards. Of 92 receivers who were targeted at least 45 times, Marshall ranked third in yards per target.

Interior Offensive Line

Dillon Radunz (26): A second-round pick in 2021, Radunz has 31 starts on his resume – including 15 at right guard in 2024. For his career, he’s played 2,081 snaps on offense. According to PFF, here’s the breakdown: 162 at left tackle, 322 at left guard, 1,080 at right guard and 504 at right tackle.

Chances are he’s looking for a chance to start or at least compete for a starting job. So, even if Green Bay wanted him, he might not want Green Bay.

So, a better fit for this story might be Nate Davis. The 28-year-old was a third-round pick by the Titans in 2019. He started 54 games in four seasons in Tennessee, then signed a three-year deal with the Bears in 2023. He started 11 games in 2023 and two games in 2024 but lost his job and was released. All 4,511 snaps came at right guard.

Offensive Tackle

Jedrick Wills (26): Former Rams tackle Joseph Notebook, a third-round pick in 2018, would be a great pickup but he’ll turn 30 in June so doesn’t fit the tenor of this story.

Wills, who has excellent athleticism, was the 10th of the 2020 draft. He’s started 57 games in five seasons but only eight times in 2023 and four times in 2024. Other than a little extra-tight-end work, every snap has come at left tackle, where he struggled. As a former first-round pick who failed to reach expectations, he’d be an Andre Dillard-style signing.

Another option would be Jack Driscoll (28), a fourth-round pick by the Eagles in 2020 who also has excellent athleticism. In five seasons, he’s started 18 times. Of his 1,467 snaps, 151 came at left tackle, 551 at right guard and 744 at right tackle.

Edge

Julian Okwara (27): A third-round pick by the Lions in 2020, Okwara had five sacks in 2021 but just five sacks in 32 games the past three seasons. Last year, he played in 13 games (one) for the Cardinals and had one sack.

Charles Omenihu, a fifth-round pick in 2019 who will turn 28 during training camp, has 19.5 sacks in six seasons. Trevis Gipson, a fifth-round pick in 2020 who will turn 28 in camp, had seven sacks for the Bears in 2021. James Houston, a 26-year-old who was a sixth-round pick by the Lions in 2022, had eight sacks in seven games for the Lions as a rookie but just one the last 13 games.

Defensive Tackle

James Lynch (26): Lynch was a unanimous All-American at Baylor in 2019, when he dominated with 13.5 sacks, 19 tackles for losses, three forced fumbles and two blocked kicks. College stats don’t mean NFL production, though. He was a fourth-round pick by the Vikings in 2020. He had one sack in 2020, one sack in 2021 and missed 2023 with a torn ACL. With the Titans last year, he played in all 17 games with one sack and two TFLs.

Cornerback

Asante Samuel (25): It’s pretty clear that the shoulder injury that cost Samuel most of last season is a concern for teams. It’s the only way to explain why the 2021 second-round pick, who started 31 games and played in all 34 in 2022 and 2023, remains unsigned.

During each of his first three seasons, Samuel had two interceptions and at least 11 passes defensed.

If health is too big of an issue …

C.J. Henderson (26) was the ninth pick of the 2020 draft by the Jaguars – the highlight of his rookie season was forcing a fumble by Davante Adams – but was traded to Carolina in 2021. He started a total of 17 games for the Panthers in 2022 and 2023. Last year, he spent time with the Texans and Steelers but didn’t play in a game.

He’s got good size (6-foot 3/4) and speed (4.39 in the 40). However, according to PFF, he’s allowed a 70.5 completion percentage and a 113.9 passer rating in his career.

More Green Bay Packers News

Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.