100 Days of Mocks: Packers Go On Offensive

In five new mock drafts, including by ESPN.com's Todd McShay, the Green Bay Packers gave Jordan Love some fresh targets as well as some company in the quarterback room.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Of the Green Bay Packers’ last 11 first-round draft picks, 10 have been used on defensive players. The exception? Quarterback Jordan Love, of course, in 2020.

In a new two-round mock draft by The 33rd Team, the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers, then proceeded to use their first three draft picks on offensive players.

The first-round pick was used on Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Green Bay hasn’t used a No. 1 on a receiver since Javon Walker in 2002, so this would be a real trend-buster. But, as noted by the authors, Smith-Njigba’s “outstanding” hands and route-running ability would give Love a “reliable security blanket” in the middle of the field and provide some space to Christian Watson on the perimeter.

With the second-round pick obtained in the Rodgers trade, Green Bay landed Pittsburgh offensive tackle Carter Warren. Warren was Pitt’s starting left tackle. He allowed five sacks in 14 games in 2021 and one sack in four games in 2022, when he missed the end of the season with a torn meniscus.

“A lot of teams were asking me if I can play right tackle, if I could possibly play guard, and my answer was yes,” Warren said at the Scouting Combine. “I can do it all. I played left tackle for four years, but here and there at practice, I’d play a little right tackle, as well. I played a little left guard as a freshman, so I have experience at both of those positions.”

At 6-foot-5 1/2, Warren has 35 3/8-inch arms to help steer pass rushers around the pocket.

Green Bay’s own second-round pick, No. 45 overall, gave Love another marquee weapon with Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave. Musgrave is a catch-first tight end – his 6-foot-6 frame, 4.61 speed and 10 3/8-inch hands putting him in advantageous positions. He will not be drafted because of his blocking acumen.

The Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar stayed on the offensive. He pried a first-round pick from the Jets in his Rodgers trade. Armed with two first-round picks, he used them both on the offense with tackle Peter Skoronski and tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Skoronski, the grandson of Packers legend Bob Skoronski, could eventually replace David Bakhtiari at left tackle or start at guard. Farrar said Kincaid reminds him of Travis Kelce with his ability to win short, medium and deep and snare contested catches.

Farrar added another big-time tight end in the second round and a receiver in the third.

ESPN.com’s Todd McShay focused on harassing the quarterback by selecting Clemson edge Myles Murphy. Murphy fits the big-guy mold of Rashan Gary, Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith. With Gary missing the second half of last season with a torn ACL, the Packers finished 27th in sacks. Plus, he’d provide some edge-setting power vs. the run.

The offensive help came with Musgrave. “One watch of the tape” shows Musgrave’s immense potential, McShay said.

In a new three-round mock draft at Pro Football Focus, Mike Renner kept Green Bay’s defense and Georgia trends going by grabbing pass rusher Nolan Smith at No. 15. At 238 pounds, he is incredibly undersized by Green Bay’s standards but has elite athleticism.

“Smith fits the Packers’ newest first-round mold of ‘elite athletes from Georgia’” Renner wrote. “He is exactly what a team should want in a modern undersized run defender with his ability to track down plays in space.”

Renner got both of the Jets’ second-rounders in his Rodgers trade. With the first of those, he grabbed Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. Before his season ended with a torn ACL, Hooker completed 69.2 percent of his passes for 27 touchdowns vs. two interceptions.

Hooker has an exceptional skill-set – more than good enough to get him into the first-round conversation. It’s not just the injury that could pull him out of the first round, though. Tennessee’s offense took much of the thinking out of the quarterback’s hands. He’ll have to learn how to read a defense and go through full-field progressions.

This would not be an unprecedented move. In 2008, when the Packers handed the offense to Rodgers, then-general manager Ted Thompson used a second-round pick on Brian Brohm.

From there, Renner went tight end and defensive line in the second round and safety in the third round.

The Draft Network’s Damian Parson also picked Smith-Njigba at No. 15. Calling him a “perfect fit” alongside Watson and Romeo Doubs, Parson said Love would, well, love, JSN’s yards-after-catch ability.

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.

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

31 days: First-round receiver streak in Jeopardy

32 days: A Rodgers trade and a short story

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