Packers Mock Draft 2022: A New Era In Green Bay

Packers MOCK DRAFT 2022

  For Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions fans, today’s a day to sit back, sip your tea, and celebrate. A third consecutive 13-win season, an MVP candidate under center, a COTY favorite, and the No. 1 seed in the NFC… and the Packers still joined their NFC North comrades on the offseason couch before February. A roster with Super Bowl expectations—and nothing less—the offseason has welcomed an overwhelmingly darkening cloud of uncertainty surrounding both the immediate and long-term future for Green Bay. With Aaron Rodgers expected to entertain options elsewhere and Davante Adams primed to enter free agency, the Packers have briskly found themselves with major questions they simply have no immediate answer for. Using our Mock Draft Machine, I looked at which prospects the Packers could target this April when the annual NFL draft rolls around. Here is my seven-round mock, including scheme fit, on each prospect:

Round 1 (No. 28 overall): Drake London, WR, USC

Whether Rodgers, Adams, both, or neither of them remain in town for 2022, general manager Brian Gutekunst must add talent on the perimeter. With the aforementioned Adams primed to entertain a bevy of suitors, joining him as UFAs are wideouts Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St-Brown. If it’s Jordan Love’s ship to captain moving forward, the WR1 door open to fill. One of the most dominant prospects in the class—when healthy—Drake London could immediately holster the workload of an ‘X’ wideout within an NFL offense. A dynamic playmaker who’s able to win in the tight areas of the offense while becoming one of football’s elite red-zone threats, London is just scratching the surface of the player he can be. https://twitter.com/FowlerRyan1/status/1484633258994413570 He has all the makings of an All-Pro at the wide receiver position. 

Round 2 (No. 59 overall): Devonte Wyatt, IDL, Georgia

With eerily similar measurables to that of interior stalwart Kenny Clark, at 6-foot-3 and a stoutly-built 315 pounds, Devonte Wyatt and Clark would present a heck of an interior duo to holster. A powerful 3-tech defensive lineman with the ability to move the pocket as a pass rusher with excellent vision and footwork to slide from gap to gap in the run, Wyatt was the unsung hero along a historic Georgia front four this fall.

Round 3 (No. 92 overall): Isaiah Likely, TE, Coastal Carolina

Robert Tonyan was a nice story last fall and Mercedes Lewis has continued to avoid father time at 37 years old, but Green Bay is in desperate need of a field-stretcher at the tight end spot. Isaiah Likely is one of the more athletically gifted prospects in the class. A consistent burner up the seam within the Chanticleers’ high-octane offense, Likely is an alignment-versatile talent who has shown the ability to stick his nose in as a blocker, while providing a sure-handed target with the burst to gain yards in chunks after the catch. He has the skill set to become a unique chess piece at the next level.

Round 4 (No. 128 overall): Tyler Vrabel, OT, Boston College

An upgrade over Billy Turner and pending UFA Dennis Kelly has been long overdue. A fundamentally sound prospect who is a refined talent out of school, Tyler Vrabel has excellent hands with enough nasty to his game to provide a sense of identity opposite All-Pro David Bakhtiari. The son of Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, the former Boston College standout presents excellent value here on day three as an immediate plug-and-play at right tackle.

Round 4 (No. 137 overall): Alec Pierce, WR, Cincinnati

A supremely gifted athlete, Alec Pierce earns his money primarily within the vertical third of the field, using his straight-line speed and length to pop the seal off the top of defenses. While he needs work within the intermediate areas of the offense that he will ultimately face on Sundays, he does tout the ability to elevate and extend to work through contact, which masks his limitations as a pass-catcher over the middle of the field. Whether he initially aligns on the perimeter or as a bigger option out of the slot, Pierce would garner a heavy workload alongside London in the revamped Packers offense.

Round 5 (No. 169 overall): Jeffrey Gunter, EDGE, Coastal Carolina

An ideal 3-4 OLB due to his limited length and pop as a pass rusher, Jeffrey Gunter will enjoy the most success as a run stopper early in his career. While it’s not to say he can’t develop into a multi-sack per year player in the NFL, increased snaps and improvement in his explosiveness/hand usage will allow Gunter to blossom along the front seven. 

Round 7 (No. 224 overall): Jack Sanborn, LB, Wisconsin

A homegrown talent by way of the Badgers, while Jack Sanborn’s skill set doesn’t jigsaw perfectly within an odd-front, you can’t do much better here as the draft nears its conclusion. A downhill thumper who will also provide much-needed value on special teams, Sanborn could fill the role of former Green Bay nucleus defenders Blake Martinez and Kyler Fackrell. 

Round 7 (No. 245 overall): Joshua Williams, CB, Fayetteville State

You can never have enough depth at corner. With Chandon Sullivan and Rasul Douglas set to enter free agency, Joshua Williams is a high ceiling defender who isn’t afraid to stick his face in the mud in the run game. His fluid feet and quick-twitch ability to flip his hips in man flashed on tape and are traits that should immediately translate to Sundays. Looking to become the first Bronco to be drafted since 1976, his performance at the Senior Bowl will hold massive weight towards his overall draft stock.