100 Days of Mocks: Tight End Leads Off Seven-Round Mock

With 11 days until the 2023 NFL Draft, here are five fresh mock drafts. In one of them, the Packers traded back and missed out on Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have used their first-round pick on a tight end just twice in franchise history. Thirty years separated Rich McGeorge in 1970 from Bubba Franks in 2000. Could the timing be right to take a tight end in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft?

In a seven-round mock draft by Cam Mellor of Pro Football Network, the Packers used their No. 1 selection on Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid.

Kincaid, who recently was cleared from a back injury that sidelined him for the end of his senior season, will have a predraft visit with the Packers on Tuesday.

Kincaid left Utah ranked No. 1 among active tight ends in receiving yards. In 2022, he caught 70 passes for 890 yards (12.7 average) and eight touchdowns. He ranked second in yards per pass route, second in catches of passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield, second in missed tackles forced and fourth in drop percentage.

“The top athlete on the board at the tight end position, Kincaid is essentially a wide receiver trapped in a tight end’s body,” Mellor wrote, noting Kincaid’s penchant for “highlight-reel catches.”

Mellor handed new starting quarterback Jordan Love two more weapons with Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman in the second round and Stanford receiver Elijah Higgins in the seventh round.

Higgins, who caught 59 passes for 704 yards in 2022, is an interesting player. At 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, he’s almost the size of a tight end. He’s an easy projection as a player capable of growing into an Allen Lazard-type role.

The draft was rounded out by a safety in the third round, back-to-back edge defenders in the fourth and fifth rounds, cornerbacks in the fifth and seventh rounds and a pair of offensive linemen in the seventh round.

Mellor overlooked defensive line, a position group that also has a glaring need. No trades were made in this mock, which means there were no bonus picks for trading Aaron Rodgers. Had that been done, Wisconsin’s Keeanu Benton was among the defensive linemen on the board in the second.

Kincaid also was the pick in a mock by The Associated Press’s Rob Maaddi. In his simulation, the Packers traded back from No. 15 to No. 20. This trade would create conversation for years. Should the Packers pick Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was available, or Kincaid?

Fantasy Pros’ Matthew Jones also picked a tight end: Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer.

The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs grabbed Clemson edge Myles Murphy, who fits what Green Bay is looking for from a size-upside perspective. Murphy, who at 268 pounds ran his 40 in 4.53 seconds, had 18.5 sacks and six forced fumbles in three seasons.

“My main goal is to be the most disruptive player on the field at all times,” he said. “With me being the most disruptive person on the field, other things come with that, including beating your one-on-one competition and getting the sacks, tackles for loss and quarterback pressures. If I am not being huge in the box score, I am still affecting the quarterback or the ball carrier in some type of way.”

CBS Sports’ Jeff Kerr went with Georgia edge Nolan Smith, who has the speed for double-digits sacks every season if used in a “Hasson Reddick-type role.” It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall of Green Bay’s draft room to see if the 238-pounder is even on the board.

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.

12 days: Rodgers traded to Jets for first-rounder

13 days: Packers trade back, pick tight end

Packer Central’s seventh all-Packers mock draft

14 days: “Ideal” picks among 10 fresh mocks

15 days: The worst mock ever?

The Sports Illustrated publishers mock draft

16 days: Mel Kiper’s fourth mock draft

17 days: Van Ness leads seven-round mock

18 days: Easter

19 days: “Consensus Mock Draft”

20 days: Two seconds for Rodgers in NFL.com four-rounder

21 days: Some seven-round mocks