There can only be one thing after another week: A fresh round of mock drafts. The Green Bay Packers have created a new defensive gap since our previous mock draft round-up by dealing cornerback Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a third-round draft pick and a fifth-round pick.
Will the loss of Douglas change the way-too-soon prognostications of what the Packers will do in April? Let’s take a look at some of the picks that Green Bay was awarded in recent first-round mocks to answer that question.
Notre Dame has had a somewhat disappointing season this year, but one player who is living up to the hype is Joe Alt, the 6’8” son of former All-Pro tackle John Alt. The younger Alt is a good athlete who thrives in pass protection, where he’s been nearly flawless this season. He was also the most popular pick to the Packers in this batch of mock drafts, being selected by the team four times. If you want a comparison for Alt, think of a longer Jake Matthews, who has been holding it down at left tackle for the Atlanta Falcons since 2014
The two mock drafts that gave the Packers Olu Fashanu, funny enough, were both via CBS Sports. Fashanu is considered the top tackle prospect in the class, but it’s becoming a closer race with how Alt has performed as of lately. Fashanu took over for now-Packer Rasheed Walker at left tackle for Penn State, where he’s dominated since winning the starting job. Last year, he was maybe the most surprising underclassman to return to school. At the moment, Fashanu is ranked fourth on the consensus draft board, so don’t go assuming that he’ll be there for the Packers on draft day, depending on how the team finishes out the season.
Along with the two top tackles in the class, one defender was also awarded to the Packers multiple times in mock drafts this week: Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry. As an Alabama prep, McKinstry was considered a five-star recruit and decided to stay home for his college career. He immediately saw the field for the Crimson Tide as a freshman, which means the recently-turned 21-year-old will be a three-starter when he likely declares in January. As a true sophomore in 2022, he was voted a First-Team All-SEC defensive back for recording 15 passes defended. On top of his play at cornerback, McKinstry is also a talented return man — bringing in 34 punt returns for 390 yards during his Crimson Tide career. He is considered the top pure cornerback in this class, as many project Iowa’s Cooper DeJean to play safety at the next level.
Here come the weird ones. From here on out, each of these players received just one Packers selection in mock drafts. Shedeur Sanders is the son of Deion Sanders, NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado’s head coach — who swears that Shedeur isn’t going to declare for the upcoming draft. Since starting the season off hot with Heisman-caliber performances, Sanders’ Buffaloes have lost five of their last six games, with their only win coming by three points against a 2-7 Arizona State team. Through nine games, Sanders has also taken 45 sacks. There’s a wide-open race for who the third quarterback off the board in April is going to be, as USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye seem to have locked down the top two spots. I highly doubt that Sanders, who is ranked 32nd on the consensus draft board, would end up going as high as sixth overall as PFN projects here.
Both Rome Odunze (Washington) and Keon Coleman (Florida State) are the heart and soul of their offenses. If the Packers want in the receiver market but miss out on Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr., neither would be a bad choice. At the moment, Odunze ranks third among Power 5 players in receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Coleman is a big-body receiver who has an amazing nine receiving touchdowns on just 38 receptions. With how the Packers’ passing game is consistently stalling due to missed catch-point opportunities, I wouldn’t be surprised if they look at Coleman as a solution to a problem. He also came to Florida State via Michigan State, where he was teammates with Green Bay’s rookie second-round pick Jayden Reed.
After Alt and Fashanu, the most popular tackle names in the class are going to be J.C. Latham (Alabama) and Amarius Mims (Georgia). For whatever it’s worth, they both play right tackle and not left tackle, unlike Alt and Fashanu. Both were super recruits before starting their SEC careers, but they couldn’t have a more different set of bonafides.
In the most recent college football playoff game versus Ohio State, Mims made his debut at right tackle. He was only the Bulldogs’ rotational lineman up until that moment. Before Georgia faced a formidable opponent this season, Mims had to have surgery for an ankle issue that kept him out of the starting lineup. While Latham has been a full-time starter since he was a true sophomore, he is a relative unknown with a few flashes of exceptional brilliance.
One name that appears to be making waves on draft boards is Taliese Fuaga. Leading the way in mocking him is Pro Football Focus, which projects the 33rd player on the consensus selection board to the Packers at seventh overall. There are doubts over Fuaga’s ability to play.
