Packer Central

100 Days of Mocks: Kincaid Rests His Case

Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid, the pick in a new NFL.com mock draft, didn’t test at pro day but will be ready for rookie minicamp.

Bill Huber

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid didn’t test or go through drills at the Scouting Combine due to a back injury suffered late in his senior season. At the time, his intention was to put on a show for scouts at Utah’s pro day.

That pro day was held on Thursday. Kincaid watched from the side, having been only recently cleared to start working out. He said he should be full-go for offseason practices.

“Since I’ve been cleared and been able to do more, it’s deciding if I want to train to run a 40-yard dash or do I want to train to get ready for (training) camp,” he told reporters. “For me, I’m preparing for camp, and I want to come in in my best shape for that.”

Kincaid is in the running to be the No. 1 tight end off the board. There is no pure consensus among scouts. It’s all in what you’re looking for. If a team is looking for a proven pass-catching threat, Kincaid’s the guy.

The Packers might be looking for a receiving threat to complement young receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs and grow alongside Jordan Love. That’s why Kincaid was the choice in a new mock draft by NFL.com’s Charles Davis.

“Tight end is a trendy pick for the Packers here, and I concur. So, the best pure receiver at the position heads to Titletown,” Davis wrote.

Kincaid started his career at San Diego. He transferred to Utah for his final two seasons and caught 106 passes with 16 touchdowns.

Kincaid has been a popular pick for the Packers in mock drafts. In fact, he’s the most-popular pick, including a couple on Thursday.

“Honestly, it’s more for my dad. He enjoys it a lot more,” Kincaid said of the draft projections. “If I was to go in the first round, I think it would be awesome. I think it would be a great reflection of this program. That would mean the most to me — reflecting coach (tight ends coach) Freddie Whittingham, coach (Kyle) Whittingham and coach (Andy) Ludwig and what they’ve all sacrificed and done to get me in this position. If anything, I’d be super-grateful to have that opportunity so they carry that with them, as well.”

You know who might be a better receiving threat than Kincaid? Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was the choice in a new mock by Fox Sports.

“It'll be amusing if Green Bay uses a first-round pick on a receiver as soon as it trades Aaron Rodgers, but losing Allen Lazard makes this an important position to upgrade for Jordan Love,” Greg Auman wrote. “Smith-Njigba missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury but went off in 2021 with 95 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns. The Buckeyes have been a receiver factory of late, and that will only continue with Marvin Harrison Jr. next year.”

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was at Ohio State’s pro day on Wednesday. Smith-Njigba ran his 40 in the neighborhood of 4.50 seconds. Players are allowed two; he ran one.

“I didn't feel the need to run a second one,” Smith-Njigba told reporters after his workout. “I thought it was one and done, so to say.”

Smith-Njigba had a monster season in 2021 playing alongside Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave but missed most of 2022 with a hamstring injury. Marvin Harrison Jr. stepped up to the fill the void.

At pro day, Smith-Njigba said Harrison was the best player he’d ever seen at OSU. Harrison’s response?

“I think Jaxon needs to look in the mirror. The answer to his question's right there,” Harrison said. “Jaxon is a tremendous player, definitely one of the most naturally talented players that I've seen in my life. I can't even put into words the things he can do on the field.”

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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.

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

42 days: Van Ness leads off PFF three-rounder

43 days: Van Ness at No. 13 and No. 15 in new mocks

44 days: Four-rounder starts with pass rusher

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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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