The 2021 NFL Draft begins on April 29, which means that The Game Haus will be writing draft profiles for every team. Each NFL team will be evaluated heading into this year’s draft, as our staff recaps their last season, highlights their needs and pinpoints their potential 2021 NFL Draft targets. The Green Bay Packers are the subject of today’s 2021 NFL Draft profile.
The Green Bay Packers had one of the most controversial drafts in the NFL in 2020. Their main need was at wide receiver, causing most Packer fans to believe the team would finally get a skill position player in the first round to support Aaron Rodgers; something that he has never had. Instead, they traded up to grab who the organization assumes to be Rodgers’ replacement. To add insult to injury, they did not draft a single wide with any of their picks.
Even without an addition at receiver, Rodgers led the Packers to a second-straight 13-3 season and a second-straight NFC Championship berth. Although he fell one game short of the Super Bowl again, Rodgers’ insane level of play won him the 2021 NFL MVP.
With the future of their MVP quarterback uncertain, it is now on the Green Bay front office to draft players that can get the team over that hump and back into the Super Bowl for the first time since they won it in 2011. As many NFL fans know, though, the Packers are enigmatic when it comes to the draft and the only thing they can be expected to do with consistency is be conservative. Either way, here is how the Pack could use their first three draft picks to bring the roster from great to Lombardi Trophy-level.
Las Vegas will have three picks to use in the first three rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.
First Round (one pick): No. 29
Second Round (one pick): No. 62
Third Round (one pick): Nos. 92
Wide receiver- As mentioned above, the Packers not taking a wide receiver in a deep 2020 receiver class was controversial, to put it mildly. They still need one badly, as Marquez Valdez-Scantling drops too many balls and Allen Lazard’s ceiling seems to be that of a number three receiver. Will they do it this year in another deep pass-catcher draft? Rodgers certainly hopes so.
Run-stopper- The Packers’ front seven took a step backward last season, but there is still a lot of talent there. The problem is they have never bounced back from losing tackling-machine Blake Martinez at middle linebacker. Green Bay needs some one to play physical and help stop the run. The pass-rushing can take care of itself past that.
Cornerback- Jaire Alexander is great, but he cannot do it all alone. Kevin King was re-signed but was egregiously bad in the NFC Championship game, which the team and the fans will remember. Their other plug-and-play options will not set the world on fire, either. Another ball-hawk corner could take the back end of this defense from serviceable to scary, quickly.
First Round:
Pick No. 29: Asante Samuel, Jr., CB, Florida State
There are a litany of options available to the Packers at pick number 29. As teams panic-buy high draft picks to grab players that are making late pushes to the top of the draft, some truly great talent is going to fall way down in 2021. The only way Green Bay could really go wrong here is if they trade down or out of the first round, as they have done more than once in Rodgers’ career.
Asante Samuel, Jr. is the ball-hawk corner the Packers need. (Photo by Alicia Devine/Democrat)
As much as it might ruffle some feathers, the best value may be at cornerback. Asante Samuel, Jr. is a great option with an NFL bloodline and great zone coverage skills. This compliments Alexander immensely and what’s more is that they can both get their hands on the ball, both deflecting passes and turning them over.
Again, the options are endless, though. Corner Caleb Farley, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and receivers Rashod Bateman and Kadarius Toney may all be available here and they all fit needs. It would be pretty hard to blow this one.
Second Round:
Pick No. 62: Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue
Depending on which mock draft is being evaluated, this pick would either be very wishful thinking or one of the steals of the draft. But as even more quarterbacks and offensive linemen rise up the draft boards, it is not out of the realm of possibility by any means for the Packers to grab Rondale Moore.
He is a bit injury-prone, but his measurable are off the charts. Plus he had a fantastic pro day, which truly means a lot to some teams. Moore can be the speedy receiver that Green Bay wanted Valdez-Scantling to be, without the drop issues.
If the team wants to stave off a riot, they need to take a receiver by round two and they might have to trade up to do it. But there are good lineman and linebacker prospects (Alex Leatherwood, Jabril Cox) that will fall to the late second round that the Packers would be interested in, if Moore is not available
Third Round:
Pick No. 92: Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina
Surratt had six sacks in 2020, along with an interception and forced fumble. Those stats are nice, but the number the Packers are looking for here is solo tackles. He had just shy of 50 last season, which is good enough for the top 40 in all of college football. His 91 combined tackles and 115 in 2019 stand out for a team who needs to be able to stop the run. Surratt works perfectly and could become the next Blake Martinez if he falls to them here.
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