100 Days of Mocks: First-Round Receiver Streak in Jeopardy

The Green Bay Packers haven't selected a receiver in the first round since 2002. That's the second-longest drought in the NFL. Here's why that could change this year.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Let’s do this, Jeopardy! style.

The answer: First-round receiver.

The question: What haven’t the Packers done since the 2002 NFL Draft.

Could that two-decade drought – second-longest in the league – end this year.

Before you laugh so hard and so long that your cheeks cramp and you get a bellyache, CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson makes a good point in his new three-round mock draft.

Allen Lazard, who led the team in receptions, signed with the Jets. Robert Tonyan, who was third on the team in receptions, signed with the Bears. Randall Cobb, who was sixth on the team in receptions, is a free agent. Combined, they had 40.4 percent of the team’s completions. That’s a lot of firepower that’s walked out the door.

“Even though the Packers have not historically used first-round picks on wide receivers, this might be the year,” Wilson wrote. “And with this tight end class being so deep, Green Bay can address that need with their 45th selection.”

So, at No. 15, Wilson picked USC receiver Jordan Addison. When he won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver for Pittsburgh in 2021, he caught 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. At USC in 2022, he caught 59 balls for 875 yards and eight scores.

Addison is a legit deep threat – never mind being only 5-foot-11 with 4.49 speed – with inside-outside versatility. According to Pro Football Focus, Addison topped 1,200 yards on the perimeter and in the slot during his final three seasons. He dropped only two passes last season.

The Day 2 picks were used on the defense with Texas A&M’s Antonio Johnson and Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey, the school’s career leader in sacks.

In a new mock at Pro Football Focus in which its simulator addressed top needs, the Packers wound up with a completely different style of receiver with TCU’s Quentin Johnston. In 2022, he caught 60 passes for 1,069 yards and six touchdowns. For his career, he averaged 19.0 yards per catch. At 6-foot-3 and 208 pounds, he’s got a 40.5-inch vertical. (He did not run a 40 at the Combine; TCU’s pro day is set for March 30.)

“Johnston slips here well beyond where many expect him to go off the board,” Ben Cooper wrote. “The irony of the Packers drafting a wide receiver in the first round for the first time since 2002 in presumably Aaron Rodgers’ first season away from the team is also at play. Johnston … would be a massive weapon for Jordan Love, Green Bay's expected starting quarterback in 2023.”

Finally, in a new mock for The Draft Network, Keith Sanchez went with a receiver disguised as a tight end, Oregon State’s potential-packed Luke Musgrave.

“It’s not a receiver, but the Packers draft an offensive weapon for Jordan Love to help surround him with as many pieces as possible,” he wrote. “Luke Musgrave has as much upside as any true tight end that has come through the draft in the last 10 years. He should immediately step in and be a reliable receiver in the middle of the field that could become a security blanket for Love moving forward.”

Musgrave caught 47 passes for 633 yards and two touchdowns in his career. Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer and Utah’s Dalton Kincaid had single seasons with significantly larger numbers. His 2022 campaign might have been his breakout with 11 catches for 169 yards and one touchdown in his first two games before a knee injury ended his season.

At 6-foot-6, he’s got 4.61 speed.

“I've been skiing since I could walk,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “It's my mom's big sport. It definitely helped me a lot. I can attribute my big legs to it. It really did help me. I've got big quads because of it and I'm thankful I did it.”

It makes sense for the Jets to want to acquire Aaron Rodgers from the #Packers for 2024 draft picks. It makes sense for Green Bay, too. Here are some reasons why.https://t.co/RKtAaprrvT

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 27, 2023

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.

32 days: A Rodgers trade and a short story

33 days: Breaking down NFL.com four-round mock

34 days: Kincaid rests his case

Packer Central’s third seven-round mock draft

35 days: You can bet on Michael Mayer

36 days: Defensive tackle with “special” skill-set

37 days: Seven-round mock shows challenge I Kiper 3.0 I Jeremiah 3.0

38 days: Rodgers traded, Smith-Njigba picked

Packer Central’s second seven-round mock

39 days: Bryan Bresee leads seven-round mock

40 days: A big, bad Bulldog

41 days: Trading back, helping defense