Packer Central

100 Days of Mocks Finale: Different Picks by Jeremiah, Brugler, Kiper

The NFL Draft begins today. Who will the Green Bay Packers select in the first round? Here are 35 predictions.

Bill Huber

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers haven’t drafted a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2022. They haven’t drafted a tight end in the first round for even longer, with Bubba Franks in 2020.

Will one of those streaks end during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Thursday night? With the Packers owning the 13th selection following the trade of Aaron Rodgers, here are 35 fresh mock drafts, including the picks of NFL Draft kingpins Daniel Jeremian, Dane Brugler and Mel Kiper Jr.

The Big Guns

NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah debated Utah’s excellent tight end Dalton Kincaid and Ohio State’s superior slot receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba before ultimately grabbing Kincaid as the “perfect fit” for Green Bay’s retooled offense.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler grabbed Smith-Njigba, who would be a “natural fit” alongside Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.

ESPN.com’s Mel Kiper Jr. considered Kincaid before taking Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright, a “plug-and-play” starter.

Wright probably is a right tackle rather than a left tackle, but long gone are the days when the left tackle was tasked with stopping the opponent’s premier pass rusher every week. In today’s NFL, that top pass rusher might face the right tackle in half the games.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Ari Meirov’s “Insiders” mock for The 33rd Team picked Smith-Njigba, who “has what it takes to be something special.”

NFL.com’s Peter Schrager selected Smith-Njigba, noting how good he was in 2021 alongside 2022 all-rookie receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.

NFL.com’s Charles Davis cast another vote for Smith-Njigba.

CBS Sports’ Will Brinson couldn’t help himself by picking Smith-Njigba.

“There is no way you can't convince me the Packers will use this pick to do anything other than shove the first-round wide receiver narrative in Aaron Rodgers face,” was part of Brinson’s summation.

In his 216th mock of the spring, CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards also grabbed Smith-Njigba.

Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network picked Smith-Njigba because he’ll “constantly be … open.”

Connor O’Gara of the college football site Saturday Down South selected Smith-Njigba. Yes, the Packers are “petty” enough to pick a receiver but he’s also a “special” talent.

Recognizing the need to set Love up for success, Evan Silva from Establish the Run selected Smith-Njigba.

Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice also took Smith-Njigba and had an eye on going tight end in the second round.

Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan took Smith-Njigba, as well, but said to keep an eye on offensive tackles Darnell Wright and Broderick Jones.

Tim Murray of the gambling site VSIN selected Smith-Njigba.

Nick Guarisco of the gambling site Action Network did the same.

Living on the Edge

Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Hanson cast his vote for Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness. With two picks in the second round, the Packers can take care of tight end on Friday. The pass rush evaporated without Rashan Gary following his torn ACL, and Preston Smith will turn 31 this season.

“Hercules,” as he was called at Iowa, “can win with … power, length and relentless effort.” At 272 pounds, he’s got the size the Packers covet.

USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz picked Van Ness, as well, for the same reasons as Hanson.

Draft Countdown’s Shane Hallam, the undisputed king of seven-round mock drafts, led off with Van Ness, as well. What about weapons in the passing game? Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave, a 6-foot-6 athlete with superb potential, was taken in the second round, towering Wake Forest receiver A.T. Perry was the pick in the fourth and Virginia receiver Dontayvion Wicks was added in the seventh.

At The Score, Dan Wilkins also took Van Ness. His colleague, David P. Woods, selected Smith-Njigba.

Yardbarker’s Seth Trachtman stayed on the edge but grabbed Clemson’s Myles Murphy with the Packers hoping to “complete an elite defense.”

The Ringer’s Danny Kelly selected Murphy. “The Packers value size and athleticism on the defensive front, and Murphy fits the bill in both areas,” he correctly wrote.

That was the pick by PFF’s Trevor Sikkema, as well, who noted the sentiment to take Smith-Njigba but flipped a coin to select Murphy over Wright.

What About Tight Ends?

Mike Renner, formerly of Pro Football Focus, tweeted an all-Packers mock draft that started with Kincaid.

Cris Collinsworth, the former NFL receiver, current NFL broadcaster and part of PFF, also went with Kincaid, who gives off some Travis Kelce vibes.

A three-round mock by Jeff Risdon of Draft Wire started with Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer – the type of player former Packers quarterback “would’ve loved” – before going outside linebacker, offensive tackle and Boise State safety J.L. Skinner.

Skinner is a super-sized, athletic safety who didn’t go through predraft testing following a pectoral injury. He’ll be on the field by June, a source said.

The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer stuck with his selection of Mayer.

CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso took Mayer, as well, calling him a “high-floor, three-down player.”

Protect the Quarterback, Etc.

Rob Rang of Fox Sports had an interesting theory on Ohio State offensive tackle Paris Johnson.

Yahoo’s Charles McDonald grabbed Tennessee’s Wright.

The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora picked Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones to give Love some long-term security on the blind side.

It was a different offensive lineman at SB Nation, with Northwestern’s Peter Skoronski – a familiar name in Packers lore – being the choice.

Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire selected Skoronski, as well.

Who needs weapons? A three-round mock by Mike Tanier of Football Outsiders included only one player on offense – talented Oklahoma tackle Anton Harrison in the second round. Can you imagine the fan reaction?

And, finally, a two-round mock by Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy contained some second-round fireworks with the Packers taking Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.

100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.

1 day: Is Mayer the Man?

2 days: Aaron Rodgers has been traded, so 12 fresh mocks

3 days: The legit best mock draft ever

4 days: Going short in ESPN seven-round mock

5 days: Two massive hauls in Rodgers trade

Packer Central’s all-visits seven-round mock

6 days: All-trades mock lands Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Packer Central’s eighth all-Packers mock

7 days: Seven mocks, three votes for Jaxon Smith-Njgiba

8 days: A wild three-team Aaron Rodgers trade among 10 mocks

9 days: Four pass catchers and Peter Schrager among 10 mocks

10 days: Breaking down seven-round mocks by Brugler, CBS

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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.

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