Now that the combine has passed, and it seems that the Packers will be relatively quiet in free agency, a more accurate mock draft can be made. The Packers are notorious for drafting players in the first three rounds with high RAS scores. RAS stands for relative athletic score based on performance compared to players in the same position group at the combine or pro days. It’s on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being elite. Looking back at the 2022 draft for Green Bay, their first five selections all had a RAS score above 8. Using these metrics, let’s dive into the mock draft 2.0.
Round 1 Pick 15 – Jaxon Smith Njigba WR: 9.41
Jaxon Smith Njigba feels like the only wide receiver that the Packers are going to consider taking in the first. In the Packers last drafts, they have shown a preference to bigger receivers, they need to be at least 6’0 and 200 lbs. He has the size required, unlike Addison, and tested well into 9 for the RAS score. Njigba dominated the 2021 season with 1,600 yards and 9 touchdowns. He’s such a fluid receiver, and doesn’t rely on speed to get open on deep routes. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have elite speed, because he can still blow the top off the defense in a go route. His hands are phenomenal for a guy coming out of college and genuinely catches anything tossed his way. JSN also was an underrated blocker for the Buckeyes, and wasn’t afraid to get physical. It makes too much sense for the Packers to draft Njigba at 15. Let’s just hope they don’t draft another quarterback in the first round.
Round 2 Pick 45 – Isaiah Foskey EDGE: 9.32
With Rashaan Gary out at least a quarter of 2023, and Preston Smith’s production falling off a cliff, I have the Packers drafting Isaiah Foskey out of Notre Dame. Foskey had an elite season in 2022 being rotated from the edge spot and defensive line. He tallied 12 sacks and 33 pressures while also achieving 26 stops on the run. He has elite strength and play recognition, being able to use it to his advantage to decide whether to go outside or inside. Foskey is also a phenomenal athlete, being 6’5 and 264 but moves like a linebacker. He is a little raw and needs some development on fine tuning his pass rush moves. Foskey should pair nicely to Gary for the future and is an extremely solid pickup for the Packers.
Round 3 Pick Pick 78 – Sam LaPorta TE: 9.25
Since Jermichael Finley, the Packers tight end group has been pretty poor to say the least. The leading receiver as a tight end since Finley has been Jimmy Graham, who was god awful with us. Tonyan did have an 11 touchdown season in 2020, but fell off pretty fast. LaPorta has a ton of potential coming into the league. The Iowa tight end runs routes as a wide receiver and tight end, and is a very reliable pass catcher. The kid is an athletic freak for a tight end and can take advantage of being matched up with a slower linebacker. His blocking is highly suspect, but using two tight end sets would allow for Deguara to be the blocker and LaPorta to act as a receiver. It’s always something he can work on, especially if Lewis comes back, but as is he has to be prioritized in the passing game.
Round 4 Pick 116 – Jakorian Bennett CB: 9.58
The Packers secondary is going to go through some changes this offseason. Stokes will be back and healthy, but he, Jaire, and Rasul don’t merge together that well. Either Stokes or Douglas needed to play slot corner, and they both sucked at it. There’s talks of moving Rasul to safety, which is a great move, so why not add a corner that is designated for the slot. Bennett has blazing speed for a corner so he can keep up with the shifty small guys. He’s super physical as well and can be sent off a blitz and blow up a play. The guy is also a super sure tackler, which is something the Packers desperately need. He’s still a pretty rough around the edges prospect but it can all be resolved with a secondary as elite as ours.
Round 5 Pick 151 – Dorian Williams LB: 8.54
Green Bay’s linebacker room is going to look a little thinner following free agency. Key depth players like Krys Barnes, Justin Hollins, and Eric Wilson most likely departing. These guys didn’t have insane impacts, but made a difference on special teams or when given the chance. Williams is a well built defensive back that plays linebacker. His hits are insane and he definitely has the talent to make an immediate impact on the team. His main downside is inconsistent hustle on plays. He also struggles in rushing the passer and can lose his footing in pursuit. Williams has a lot of potential, but as of right now he would be a great rotational piece for the defense.
Round 5 Pick 171 – Andrei Iosivas WR: 9.92
The sleeper of the draft class. Andrei Iosivas is Christian Watson 2.0 and is being heavily slept on by a lot of teams. The guy is 6’3 and 205 lbs, while also being able to run a 4.4 40 yard dash. That doesn’t say much, but in the 2022 season, he hit a nationwide high of 22.2 mph.This is 1.23 mph faster than Christian Watson’s fastest speed all year. His acceleration is insane off the line and has a great mix of smoothness and balance. He has a pretty large catch radius and gets a lot of balls in traffic. He can make defenders miss after the catch, and blow by with his blazing speed. He does need to work on catching with his hands rather than his chest on deep balls. Iosivas has a lot to prove coming from the Ivy league and running a pretty limited route tree.
- Round 7 Pick 234- Trey Dean III S: 7.04
- Round 7 Pick 237- Mohammed Ibrahim RB: N/A
- Round 7 Pick 244- Richard Gouraige OT: N/A
- Round 7 Pick 256- Daniel Scott S: 9.87
- Round 7 Pick 259- Devonnsha Maxwell DT: N/A
