SI Publishers Mock Draft: Bulldog of a Blocker

In a mock draft compiled by NFL team publishers, the Green Bay Packers wound up with Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Here’s why.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – General managers like the Green Bay Packers’ Brian Gutekunst can talk until they’re blue in the face about taking the best player available.

Sure – at a position of need.

The Packers have a lot of important and immediate needs headed into the 2023 NFL Draft. Receiver, tight end and defensive line are at the top of the list. Plus, they’re one injury away from trouble at offensive tackle and outside linebacker. It's trouble they know all too well with season-ending injuries to left tackle David Bakhtiari and outside linebacker Rashan Gary in recent seasons.

So, how should Gutekunst attack the first round on April 27?

In our Sports Illustrated/FanNation team publishers’ mock draft, there were plenty of good options when Green Bay was on the clock with the 15th overall selection. On defense, outside linebacker Myles Murphy or defensive tackle Bryan Bresee? At receiver, Quentin Johnston or Jordan Addison? At offensive tackle, Broderick Jones or Darnell Wright? My pick of the tight ends or running back Bijan Robinson?

If it was best available player, Robinson would have been the no-brainer selection. He’s possibly the best player in the draft. But with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon under contract for at least one more season, running back doesn’t make a lot of sense unless coach Matt LaFleur is going to run wishbone with new starting quarterback Jordan Love.

I don’t know how Gutekunst will view his draft board when it’s time to make the selection. What I do know is the depth at tight end is really good. Maybe Gutekunst loves Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer or Utah’s Dalton Kincaid as first-round options, but he might really like Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave or South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft in the second round.

Same thing at outside linebacker. He might love Clemson’s Murphy but he could like some of the Day 2 possibilities.

Where the options run out in a hurry is offensive tackle. It’s a premium position. The Packers have been blessed with almost a decade of stellar play from Bakhtiari, but fourth-round left tackles who are studs are incredibly rare. Of the 32 projected starters, 19 were selected in the first round.

Georgia’s Jones could be that next blind-side-protecting stud. As a redshirt sophomore, he started every game for the national champions. Not only did he not allow a sack, he was not flagged for holding against cream-of-the-crop competition. At 6-foot-5 3/8, with 34 3/4-inch arms and with a 10-yard split of 1.67 seconds, he checks all the boxes.

Even if Bakhtiari’s three-times-repaired knee is ready to give him another handful of excellent seasons, his cap charge via a back-loaded contract and some annual restructures will push past $40 million in 2024. The Packers will need a new left tackle in 2024. They might as well draft him in 2023.

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The #Packers have an obvious need at receiver with only five under contract and with just three having caught a pass.

Here's our top six prospects - a list weakened when you get rid of the short guys.https://t.co/xYaXSB8Eiz

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