Packer Central

Packers Select Ohio State Lineman in Daniel Jeremiah’s Latest NFL Mock Draft

In Daniel Jeremiah’s second mock draft at NFL.com, the Green Bay Packers selected Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons.

Bill Huber

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive tackle Josh Simmons
Ohio State Buckeyes offensive tackle Josh Simmons / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive line overwhelmed the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card playoffs before doing the same to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

That weakness was addressed by Daniel Jeremiah in his second mock draft at NFL.com with Ohio State’s Josh Simmons.

“Simmons is coming off a knee injury,” Jeremiah wrote, “but he’s as gifted as any offensive lineman in the class. He also has the tools to play multiple spots on the O-line, something Green Bay has always valued.”

On the offensive line, Simmons was the choice over Oregon’s Josh Conerly Jr.

In pass protection, Simmons allowed one pressure in six games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In the first five games, he allowed zero pressures in almost 150 pass-protecting snaps before allowing one in his abbreviated appearance against Oregon.

At 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, Simmons is the total package in terms of size and athletic ability. The immediate question is how quickly until he’s fully healed from a torn patellar tendon.

Simmons is Jeremiah’s 30th-ranked prospect.

“Simmons is a gifted left tackle prospect,” Jeremiah wrote. “The main question with Simmons is health. What he put on tape this fall should generate plenty of optimism about his chances of becoming a quality starting left tackle in the NFL.”

The Packers are set at tackle with Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom, though both will be playing their final season of their rookie contracts in 2025. The only potential vacancy on the line is at center, with Josh Myers set to be a free agent.

Among the possibilities: The Packers could draft Simmons to play right tackle – that’s where he played at San Diego State in 2022 – and move Tom to center.

Regardless, the depth would be much better with Simmons and last year’s first-round pick, Jordan Morgan, fighting for roles.

Simmons transferred to Ohio State for his final two seasons. He won the starting job at left tackle in 2023. PFF charged him with one sack and 15 pressures with eight penalties in his debut season. In 2024, he allowed just one pressure with one penalty.

The position change was difficult. So was the change in competition.

“Physically, obviously, you got to be ready,” Simmons said via Buckeye Huddle, “but I think mentally, that’s where you’ve got to start tightening up a little bit because then you start playing in those Notre Dame games, those Penn State games, and then you realize a penalty like that can literally destroy the whole game. And once you kind of look at that lens, you know those are no-no’s. It can’t happen.”

Facing all of those blue-chip recruits on the Buckeyes’ defensive front helped his development.

“That's something that Coach Day says you need do is to play with confidence,” Simmons said in September. “I go against the best D-line unit in the country every single day. I think that alone will build your confidence. It's time to lock in and floor it on gameday.”

Communication was important, too, because it showed the all-around growth in his game.

“His communication level, just talking more, is probably the best thing he’s done so far,” Buckeyes offensive line coach Justin Frye said. “He’s a highly, highly talented guy. We’re just developing the skills and discipline, and those just go into communication. So, as he communicates and talks, that’s probably the biggest thing I’ve seen from him. I think volume and communication equals confidence.”

Simmons was one of three consecutive first-round picks from Ohio State, with the rival Minnesota Vikings taking running back TreVeyon Henderson to potentially replace Aaron Jones and the Houston Texans taking receiver Emeka Egbuka. Another Ohio State player, guard Donovan Jackson, went to the Detroit Lions. 

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.