Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum went to Ohio State for the Green Bay Packers’ choice in his new mock draft for ESPN.com.
It wasn’t for premier slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, nor was it for left tackle Paris Johnson. Rather, it was for Johnson’s tag-team partner, Dawand Jones.
“There is no better way for the Packers to build around a young quarterback in Jordan Love (assuming Rodgers does end up in New York) than with a young, powerful offensive tackle. I see some Jones comparisons to Orlando Brown Jr. because of their similar size and versatility,” Tannenbaum wrote.
Green Bay likes athletic blockers to operate coach Matt LaFleur’s zone-based running game. Jones is enormous but not enormously athletic. At the Scouting Combine, his official measurements were 6-foot-8 1/4 and 374 pounds, with 11 5/8-inch hands, 36 3/8-inch arms and an 87 7/8-inch wingspan. Each of those marks were Combine highs.
However, he ran his 40 in 5.35 seconds. His full 40 time, and his 10-yard split, were well below average, which would seem to make him a poor fit.
At NFL.com, Bucky Brooks selected Clemson edge Myles Murphy. At 6-foot-5 and 268 pounds, he fits Green Bay’s Rashan Gary-Preston Smith-Za’Darius Smith preferences.
“The Packers need to add more bodies to the pass-rush rotation. Murphy is an athletic edge defender with the potential to develop into a double-digit sack producer,” Brooks wrote.
In 2022, Murphy was first-team all-ACC with 6.5 sacks, one forced fumble and 11 tackles for losses. He had double-digits tackles or losses all three seasons en route to career marks of 18.5 sacks, 36 TFLs and six forced fumbles.
From there, the focus was on getting Jordan Love some additional weapons. Will Brinson of CBS took Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid while The Score took Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer over Kincaid. OutKick’s Dan Zaksheske went with TCU receiver Quentin Johnston.
“This is my new favorite pick in the entire NFL Mock Draft,” he wrote. “How funny would it be if the Packers — who famously refused to draft a wide receiver in the first round with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback — immediately used a first-round pick on a receiver after Rodgers got traded? I also think it’s entirely plausible. It’s both a “screw you” to Rodgers, plus the Packers admittedly need some weapons. They lost Allen Lazard to free agency and Johnston makes a lot of sense here. And it’s funny.”
In a five-round mock draft, Walter Football also went with Johnston, who has garnered comparisons to Julio Jones.
The Day 2 picks were spent on a pass rusher and tight end. Day 3 began with a linebacker – a position that certainly isn’t a need at this spot in the draft – and continued with a safety and receiver.
The third-round tight end was South Dakota State’s Tucker Kraft. He was a first-team All-American in 2021. His dominance attracted the big schools and their wealth of NIL money. Instead, Kraft returned to South Dakota State and missed about half the season with an ankle injury but was back in time to lead the school to the national championship.
“I built relationships in the last three years that are insurmountable compared to a six-figure deal to go play somewhere else,” he told Hero Sports before the Scouting Combine. “And my draft stock isn’t going to rise if I went and played in the SEC or the Pac-12. I was already at that point as a top tight end in the next year’s draft.
“So, I realized that I was going to stay at South Dakota State, try and catch 100 balls, have four pancakes a game, and I’m going to enjoy this last season with my friends. Obviously, some of that didn’t happen for me because I got injured.”
At 6-foot-5 and 254 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.69 seconds at the Combine. He has a chance to be a three-down, all-around tight end.
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