Green Bay Packers Taking Hard Look At Ohio State NFL Draft Prospect

The Green Bay Packers have a need at wide receiver, and it seems like they might be interested in drafting Ohio State wideout Emeka Egbuka to fill that need.

That's, of course, completely up in the air because it's not like the Packers can guarantee that Egbuka will be available at pick No. 23 when they select in the first round. The NFL Draft is known for its surprises. Wideouts are also a hot commodity in today's pass-happy NFL, after all, and Egbuka has been a very good one over four years for the Buckeyes. Notably, ESPN's ranks Egbuka as the fourth-best wideout in the 2025 class.

WIth that said, Egbuka is being projected as a late first round pick, so there is a chance he can be there for the Packers when they're on the clock. As such, it makes sense to hear that they're visiting with him right now on a top-30 pre-draft visit, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Assuming Egbuka could be there at No. 23, the question would be whether or not Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst will break with years of precedence. And by years, we're talking about over 20 years. The last time the Packers selected a wideout in the first round was in 2002, when they drafted Javon Walker out of Florida State.

The Packers simply don't like to make that investment, especially when they've found success finding star wideouts in later rounds. With that said, as mentioned, there is a massive need at wideout for Green Bay.

Christian Watson will miss much of 2025 while recovering from a torn ACL and he's extremely injury prone. He can't be counted on to live up to his draft billing as the 34th pick in 2022. Then there's the trio of Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks. Each has shown the ability to be a big-time playmaker but each has also shown real consistency issues. That's a group of strong WR2s with only Reed having the ability to be a true WR1 if he can develop consistency, though.

The Packers are going to lean on Josh Jacobs and their running game in 2025 much like they did in 2024, but the fact remains that they need to find a consistent top target for Jordan Love if he's ever to reach his superstar potential.

Egbuka is not WR1 in this class and he's actually never been the top wideout at Ohio State, but he's consistent (which the Packers need) and he has a tremendously high floor. He caught 81 passes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns this past season for Ohio State and in 2022, he caught 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He's a player who can absolutely be a star, and at the very least, he's the type of wideout who can become a trusted asset for Love. He's been playing at a high level for quite some time now at Ohio State and let's also not forget, he is a champion.

Ohio State wideouts just seem to work in the NFL much like peanut butter works with Jelly, so if Egbuka is there at No. 23 expect the Packers to give him a good, hard look. And if for some reason he falls into the early second round, which is possible, Green Bay is absolutely an organization that would be more than happy to move up a bit to select him before he's finally off the board.

Either way, there does seem to be real interest from the Packers in Egbuka.