The Packers passing game is full of guys on expiring contracts. Some may be retained, but it’s almost impossible to keep them all.
Regardless of who plays quarterback, it’ll be necessary for the Packers to get some pass catchers this year. There’s no telling what round they might start, but for this draft, we started early to see who might be available.
Here are the results:
.
Round 1
Chris Olave – Wide Receiver
Profile: With average size at 6’1 190 and average speed, Olave gets open by running great routes. Quick and fluid, he may actually be the best route runner in the draft. He isn’t strong enough to dominate contested catches but he creates enough separation to be effective and get yards after the catch due to his ability to create space.
Analysis: The Packers could find themselves desperate for bodies at the wide receiver position, depending on how free agency shakes out. This could be the rare year where the Packers go with a receiver in the 1st round and Olave fits LaFleur’s offense, which is predicated off good route-running to scheme receivers open.
.
Round 2
Jeremy Ruckert – Tight End
Profile: At 6’5 250, Ruckert uses his body well as an isolation receiver and excels in red zone. He doesn’t have a giant vertical, but he’s good at timing his jumps and high pointing the ball. His film is loaded with one-handed catches and he’s improved as a blocker.
Analysis: As Chris Olave’s pass-catching partner at Ohio State, he brings some route familiarity with the 1st round pick. Tight end could be as big of a question mark as wide receiver for the Packers with Robert Tonyan recovering from a knee injury and Marcedes Lewis getting up in age. Ruckert could be a good fit to do all the things the Packers hoped Jace Sternberger would do when they drafted him a few years ago.
.
Analysis
The Packers have a lot of potential holes coming up based on how free agency shakes out, but no matter what happenes, it looks like they’re going to need some pass catchers in the draft. Olave and Ruckert would be a couple nice pieces that run routes well and have good hands. The Packers could either entice Aaron Rodgers to come back by getting him some new weapons or they could make things easier on Jordan Love by getting him some new weapons.
.
Of Note
Edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux went 5th overall, which would shock me.
For this mock, I drafted against the board from Fanspeak – Jake Rigdon
.
Want to learn more!?
Don’t just watch the draft – understand it and learn why GMs make the moves they do.
Get more insight into how winning teams build through the draft (and how losing teams fail)?
Start with a introduction to how the draft works then get deep into understanding draft strategy with our draft book (rated a #1 New Release): A Fan’s Guide To Understanding The NFL Draft: Strategies, Tactics, And Case Studies For Building A Professional Football Team
Then jump into free agency with another #1 New Release: A Fan’s Guide To NFL Free Agency Hits and Misses to better understand this critical part of the NFL offseason and see where teams have found (or missed) success in this critical component of team-building.
Finally, get to the game behind the game with our latest must-have book: A Fan’s Guide To Understanding The NFL Salary Cap – which lays out detailed, easy-to-follow scenarios to explain exactly how contract structures and salary cap rules impact teams. This explains why teams do what they do in the offseason!
All these great books are available in ebook and paperback – and free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers!
If you don’t have Kindle Unlimited, you can get a free trial of Kindle Unlimited here!
.
Check out our PFTW 2022 Mock Draft Archive to see how other scenarios played out!
Check out Packers Draft Central for all our latest NFL Draft coverage!
.