100 Days of Mocks: Packers Get Two 2s for Rodgers in NFL.com Four-Round Mock

With 20 days until the start of the 2023 NFL Draft, here are eight mocks - including four of three-plus rounds. Leading off: Jaxon Smith-Njigba in an NFL.com four-round mock.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers traded Aaron Rodgers and gave new starting quarterback Jordan Love plenty of help in a new four-round mock draft by NFL.com.

In the first round, Chad Reuter went with sensational Ohio State slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“I just think my playmaking ability is second to none in this draft,” Smith-Njigba said at the Scouting Combine. “I see myself as a top-five player, not just receiver. I see myself as a top-five player in this draft, just being able to make plays and given the opportunities. You know, you throw me the ball seven to nine times, I can win you the game. And I think that speaks for itself.”

The Packers had three picks in the second round – their own at No. 45 and the New York Jets’ picks at Nos. 42 and 43 in the Rodgers trade.

At No. 42, the pick was potential-packed Georgia tight end Darnell Washington. He was a “role player” at Georgia, to use his term, because of the presence of Mackey Award-winning tight end Brock Bowers. But at 6-foot-7, he’s a giant of a man with power for perimeter blocking and surprising athleticism.

“They’re getting a large human being that’s a target that can block and do so many things,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at the Bulldogs’ recent pro day. “He’s done a tremendous job. I think his weight was 264 at the Combine. He played at high 270s, even 280s.

“He’s a much bigger passing threat than people probably understand when he’s at 264. I think he becomes a weapon in that league. He’s such a great target and he’s hard to cover. They’re going to get a really good player on and off the field. Excited to see him do well.”

A defensive tackle and offensive tackle rounded out Round 2 and an incredibly athletic safety filled a void in Round 3.

Why not another target for Jordan Love? That was the pick in the fourth round with Iowa State receiver Xavier Hutchinson. He caught 254 passes in three seasons, including 107 grabs for 1,171 yards and six touchdowns in 2022. At 6-foot-2, he ran his 40 in 4.53 seconds at the Combine.

Click here for the full mock.

Not only could the Packers draft a tight end in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, they should draft one.

That’s what NFL.com’s Adam Rank said in his new mock draft. Four tight ends were selected in his first round, but they were all on the board for the Packers. Rank went with Utah’s smooth receiving threat, Dalton Kincaid.

“I know it's not necessarily the biggest need, but I would love this for you,” Rank wrote. “Jordan Love would love this for you – and himself. Give the 24-year-old as much talent as possible to go out and prove himself as the long-term answer at quarterback.”

In a three-round mock draft by The Athletic, Nick Baumgardner led off with versatile Alabama safety Brian Branch, then grabbed South Dakota State tight end Tucker Kraft in the second round and Louisville pass rusher YaYa Diaby in the third round.

Branch has embraced the comparisons to Minkah Fitzpatrick, another star safety who has been excellent in the slot. “I love his game,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “The way he's able to play every position in the back end and able to do it at a high level, I think I've been able to do that my years at Alabama.”

Diaby, who was completely ignored during the recruiting process, is one of the draft’s most underrated players. At 6-foot-3 and 263 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.51 seconds. Yeah, but is he any good? He had nine sacks and 14 tackles for losses in 2022.

So long as the Packers can trade Rodgers, this draft would be “an outstanding starting point” in a rebuild with Love, Baumgardner wrote.

Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon also produced a three-round mock draft. He led off with cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in the first round, with Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith in the second round and Houston receiver Tank Dell in the third.

This draft makes no sense whatsoever. The Packers are stocked with perimeter corners with Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. At this point, Stokes is a first-round pick without a spot on the defense. And Dell at 5-foot-8 falls 2 inches below Green Bay’s usual standards.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli also went with a first-round corner, for some reason, with Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez.

Pro Football Network’s Joe Broback grabbed massive Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones, who also seems a poor fit by Green Bay’s historical preferences. In this three-round mock, Green Bay grabbed Florida defensive tackle Gervon Dexter in the second round and Kraft in the third.

“Tucker Kraft’s best days are still ahead of him, though the Packers will need to help him fine-tune some things,” Broback wrote. “He’s a willing blocker who’s also improved as a pass catcher, and his ceiling should give Green Bay plenty to work with in their offense.”

At DraftKings, Chet Gresham went with Iowa pass rusher Lukas Van Ness, who can “help from all angles on the line.”

It’s the law to have Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer as a first-round pick. CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards obliges.

Green Bay Packers NFL Draft Coverage

Some light reading for this morning. Here's our top six prospects at tight end, a major need for the #Packers.

- Measureables
- Stats
- Analytical stats
- Some scouting
- Personal stories.https://t.co/XwLnTu4nLj

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 7, 2023

Packers seven-round mock draft 6.0

First-round prospect: Darnell Wright

First-round prospect: Lukas Van Ness

First-round prospect: Jaxon Smith-Njigba

First-round prospect: Darnell Washington

NFL Draft: The top six tight ends

NFL Draft: The top six running backs

NFL Draft: Ranking eight Packers prospects at quarterback

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.

21 days: Some seven-round mocks

Packer Central’s sixth seven-round mock draft

22 days: Tackle before tight ends

23 days: On the offensive

24 days: A 10-mock Monday

25 days: The Wright tackle?

26 days: A “plug-and-play” tight end

27 days: NFL.com picks Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Packer Central’s fifth seven-round mock draft

28 days: An “Energizer bunny”

Breaking down ESPN.com’s seven-round mock

29 days: Tannenbaum takes a tackle

30 days: Three mocks, three different first-round tight ends