Positional rankings unintentionally highlight one Packers mistake that continues to impact their roster construction

Back in 2023, the Green Bay Packers traded quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets right before the draft. Part of the package was moving up from pick 15 to pick 13, putting them in a slightly better position on draft night. Surprisingly, the decision was to select edge defender Lukas Van Ness. At that point, cornerback Christian Gonzalez and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba were considered the favorites to be selected.

Based on the type of players the Packers tend to look for, the pick made sense. Van Ness is an edge rusher with insane athletic upside and room for development—and to be fair, this can still happen. Meanwhile, Gonzalez doesn't have the blazing speed Green Bay would prefer for its corners.

Two years later, though, it's hard to argue at this point that the decision was a mistake. On ESPN's positional rankings with opinions of coaches, executives, and scouts, Gonzalez was named the sixth best CB in football.

"I think Gonzo is the next great one," a veteran NFL assistant told ESPN. "Skills, patience, length. He's the closest thing to Pat [Surtain II]. Smooth, big athlete, travels a lot, can match up against the best guy."

"He'll tackle, but I wouldn't call him physical," an NFL coordinator said. "But he's got the size and coverage skills to put him on the outside and he can handle himself, and he can also come up and play run support and play within the construct of the defense."