Throughout his career as Packers GM, Brian Gutekunst has shown that he is always willing to make moves in the draft.
He’s traded up in the 1st round multiple times.
He also traded down in the 1st round.
In short, he moves around to get the guys he wants.
This year, the Packers have needs all over the team ranging from refilling the receiver room to upgrading the defensive line to hedging bets on a number of injured players, and – as always – they have needs on special teams.
The Packers have 11 picks in the upcoming draft, giving Brian Gutekunst plenty of options to move around for any players he may have his eyes on. With a pretty solid roster, it’s possible that the Packers don’t have room for 11 rookies – trading up could be an effective to strategy to get fewer, better players (check out the Packers options for trading down here).
So, what options to the Packers have for trading up in the 2022 NFL Draft?
Well, lets start with an inventory of the Packers picks to see what they’re working with (all values are gathered from DraftTek’s Trade Value Chart):
- 1st round pick #22 overall: 780 points
- 1st round pick #28 overall: 660 points
- 2nd round pick #53 overall: 370 points
- 2nd round pick #59 overall: 310 points
- 3rd round pick #92 overall: 132 points
- 4th round pick #132 overall: 40 points
- 4th round pick #140 overall: 36 points
- 5th round pick #171 overall: 21.4 points
- 7th round pick #228 overall: 1 point
- 7th round pick #249 overall: 1 point
- 7th round pick #258 overall: 1 point
Given that, here are some potential trade options for the Packers where the math works out for a possible deal:
Seahawks 2nd round pick #41 (490 points) for Green Bay’s 2nd round pick #53 (370) and 3rd round pick #92 (132)
Brian Gutekunst has picked nothing but hot garbage in the 3rd round, so why not just stop trying? The thing I like about this scenario is it puts the Packers in position to catch a fringe 1st rounder and the Seahawks may be willing to move down here because they’re rebuilding and also own the #40 pick, making the #41 pick a bit of a luxury. Seattle could still get their preferred player at #40 and get an extra Day 2 pick for moving down a dozen spots.
Bills 1st round pick #25 (720 points) for Green Bay’s 1st round pick #28 (660), 4th #132 (370), and 4th #140 (36)
Brian Gutekunst has a history of burning 4th round picks to move up. He has two again this year and could use them to jump over Tennessee (#26) and Tampa (#27), two teams who value strong defensive fronts. If the Packers get a receiver like Chris Olave at #22 and are looking at a defensive lineman like Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, or Chris Jones with their second 1st rounder, a move like this might help them get their man.
Texans 1st round pick #13 (1400 points) for Green Bay’s 1st round pick #22 (780) and 2nd round pick #53 (370)
The Packers could take the two picks they got from the Raiders in the Davante Adams trade and move up with Houston, who is clearly in rebuilding mode and could use extra picks. This move would put the Packers ahead of the Eagles and Saints, who both need receivers and who both pick twice before the Packers select at 22.
Falcons 1st round pick #8 (1400 points) for Green Bay’s 1st round pick #22 (780) and 1st round pick #28 (660)
The Packers started the offseason with one 1st round pick. They have two late 1sts and if they wanted to package them up, they could get into the top 10 pretty easily. The Falcons pick at 8 is about as high as they could get. If the Falcons aren’t in love with a quarterback, they would probably do well to get some extra picks.
Texans 1st round pick #3 (2200 points) for Green Bay’s entire draft class (2352.4)
The Ricky Williams option. If the Packers think they are one player away, they could push all their chips in and shoot for a premium blue chipper. The Texans meanwhile, retain the #13 overall pick and get a huge haul to start their rebuild. Highly unlikely, but this shows just how valuable the very top picks in a draft are.
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So there are the most likely ranges the Packers could move up to if they had their eye on a specific player.
We don’t know what the Packers are thinking or who might be available, but we do know that Gutekunst has a history of trading up and it is a key part of his draft strategy. With 11 picks for the Packers, this should be an exciting draft.
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Check out our PFTW 2022 Mock Draft Archive to see how simulated scenarios played out!
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