Packers Get One of Next Gen Stats’ Best Corners in Top Mock Drafter’s Mock

Here are the latest and greatest mock drafts for the Green Bay Packers, leading off with Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron.

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jahdae Barron (7) celebrates a turnover against the Clemson Tigers. / Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Mike Band, a researcher for NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, had the second-most accurate mock draft in 2024.

In using team needs, draft philosophies and schematic fits, he tries to “connect the dots” to predict who each team is going to draft. In his debut mock for NFL.com, he had the Green Bay Packers selecting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst, Band wrote, “loves drafting elite athletes on the defensive side in the early rounds, and Barron fits the mold. When you combine his measurables with his on-field production at Texas, this versatile defensive back is one of the top analytically supported prospects in this year's class, according to the Next Gen Stats draft model.”

Barron checks the boxes in terms of need, production, athleticism and versatility.

Need: The Packers signed Nate Hobbs in free agency but lost Eric Stokes and are expected to part ways with Jaire Alexander.

Production: In 2024, he led the SEC with five interceptions and finished with 16 passes defensed to win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back.

Athleticism: At 5-foot-10 3/4 and with 29 5/8-inch arms, he has below-average height and length, but he ran his 40 in 4.39 seconds at the Scouting Combine.

Versatility: Barron played mostly in the slot in 2022 (when he had 12 tackles for losses) and 2023 before moving to perimeter corner in 2024.

Barron was the second cornerback off the board. Azareye’h Thomas and Shavon Revel went after Green Bay’s spot in the first.

In 2024, Band had the second-most accurate mock draft. While he sent Cooper DeJean to the Packers, he had seven of the top nine picks correct.

“In a draft loaded with intriguing corners,” Band wrote, “Green Bay opts for one who checks the athleticism, character and medical boxes.”

CBS Sports: Receiver ‘Who Can Play the Position’

In the NFL.com mock, Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka was available at No. 23 but fell out of the first round. In Tom Fornelli’s new mock at CBS, the Packers selected the record-setting receiver.

While playing in the Buckeyes’ perennially star-studded receiver corps, Egbuka finished first in school history in receptions and second in receiving yards.

“Emeka Egbuka isn't going to wow you with his speed or his size, but he's just a good player, man,” Fornelli explained. “The Packers have taken plenty of guys based on their traits at WR and it hasn't worked out. This time, instead of drafting traits, they take the guy who can play the position.”

Texas receiver Matthew Golden went 25th. The Vikings at No. 24 selected a lineman and the Lions at No. 28 grabbed a cornerback.

33rd Team: Draft Visitor

This week, the Packers hosted Tennessee pass rusher James Pearce on a predraft visit. He was the pick in Marcus Mosher’s new mock.

Pearce had excellent production in 2023 and 2024 and showed elite athleticism at the Scouting Combine 2025. He’s undersized, though, especially by Green Bay’s standards.

But “the Packers need to start taking some big swings if they want to surpass teams like the Lions and Vikings in their division,” Mosher wrote. “Pearce offers tremendous upside as a pass rusher and is worth the gamble here at No. 23.”

Draft Countdown: Bigger Pass Rusher

If Pearce is perhaps too light, there are no concerns with Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton, who was Brian Lamb’s pick at Draft Countdown. He led the Big Ten in sacks at Purdue in 2023. The sacks were down with the Aggies in 2024 but he still produced a lot of pressure and physicality.

The Vikings took a corner and the Lions grabbed a versatile lineman.

Draft Wire: Receiver

USA Today’s Draft Wire went to its myriad of writers. In Green Bay, Zach Kruse made the call with Missouri receiver Luther Burden, a tackle-breaking, run-after-the-catch machine.

Kruse called Burden “a versatile and athletic receiver who can win to all three levels and gain yards after the catch. He could become the reliable, go-to target for Jordan Love and complete the receiver room after the Packers mostly missed out on the top options this offseason.”

Edges Shemar Stewart and Donovan Ezeiruaku and defensive tackles Derrick Hamon and Walter Nolen went at the end of the round.

College Sports Network: Big Corner

Had Shavon Revel not suffered a torn ACL at practice following the third game of the season, the 6-foot-2 defender might have been in the mix to be the top cornerback selected.

The East Carolina standout, who allowed a catch rate of just 44.2 percent in 2023 and the start of 2024, was the pick at No. 23 at College Football Network.

“The fact that he set career-high interception numbers in just three games this season tells you everything you need to know about the caliber of play we were expecting last fall,” Oliver Hodgkinson wrote. “He’s a size, speed, smart triple-threat who knows where he needs to be at all times and has the physical tools to get there.”

Revel was the second of four corners taken in the first round, ahead of Jahdae Barron and Trey Amos.

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