The Green Bay Packers have found themselves in the center of yet another quarterback-driven controversy this week after Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 despite suggesting (hinting? alluding?) that he was, as he put it, immunized.

Rodgers will miss Green Bay’s Week 9 game against the Kansas City Chiefs while he spends time on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and he runs the risk of potentially missing Week 10’s game against the Seattle Seahawks too.

At this point, Packers fans could use a distraction from Rodgers, and if 2020 first-round pick Jordan Love shows out against the Chiefs on Sunday, they may just want to move on altogether. That would be a drastic and shocking development, though, so a better alternative for Packers fans to get their mind off of the Rodgers drama is, of course, a 2022 NFL mock draft!

TDN’s Kyle Crabbs published his third mock draft of the 2022 draft cycle this week, and lo and behold, he sent the Packers a first-round selection that would directly impact the quarterback. And no, it isn’t a wide receiver. Instead, Crabbs sends Green Bay Trevor Penning, the impressive offensive tackle prospect from Northern Iowa.

“Something, something, offensive line scarcity,” Crabbs wrote. “Penning has superb tools and despite being a small-school prospect he appears to have the functional strength to enter into the NFL and handle the power of NFL defenders. The ability to handle NFL speed is a different story, but I appreciate how even-keeled and well-tempered Penning has shown himself to be when playing in space and protecting on the edge. Green Bay has Billy Turner still manning the right tackle spot; and while he's a fine player, an upgrade could be explored here with Penning. Time will tell how the team handles both Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams but the transition to a run-heavy team feels inevitable.”

https://twitter.com/dpbrugler/status/1438516773087690759?s=20

Penning is considered one of the best (if not the best) small-school prospects in the nation this year, and he’s all but assured an opportunity to showcase his skill set against tougher competition at the top pre-draft all-star games this winter. Crabbs’ projection in this mock is, however, a bit higher than where Penning is slotted on the latest update to TDN100—the Draft Network’s top 100 prospects for the 2022 NFL Draft. In October’s revision, Penning checks in at No. 32.

As Crabbs noted, the Packers’ need at offensive tackle isn’t a glaring one. Turner hasn’t been great—his PFF season grade is a replaceable 64.2—while Elgton Jenkins has done a fine job starting at left tackle in five games so far this season. In fact, Jenkins has the best pass-blocking grade among all Green Bay offensive linemen this season and is an inexpensive player who’s under contract through 2022.

Granted, neither Jenkins nor Turner are players the Packers want to build an offensive line around, and the chance to land a first-round offensive tackle is always one to take advantage of, especially when the alternative is a choice between some journeymen veterans. So, yeah, Penning would make a ton of sense.

The only question that would remain if Penning is the pick is which quarterback he’s protecting in 2022.