Packers Rebuild Around Jordan Love in the 2024 NFL Mock Draft.
Love’s 2023 season served as both the team’s and Love’s evaluation year. When general manager Brian Gutekunst addressed reporters on November 1, he refused to make a commitment to Love.At the time, that made sense. The Packers were struggling, having lost four straight games. Love was having trouble, as was the entire offense. Saying anything definitive about a team that appeared destined to select in the top five of the draft would have been foolish.
Everything has flipped since then. The past three games, Love has been incredible. This includes leading the team to surprising victories over the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs while throwing eight touchdowns and no interceptions. It’s difficult to believe that Love, the team’s future quarterback, hasn’t seen enough to warrant optimism from the man who risked everything for the starting quarterback of today.
For the Packers, that is the best-case scenario. With Rasul Douglas and Aaron Rodgers traded, Green Bay gained five picks in the top 85 of the NFL Draft in April, and the team is still on the rise. Gutekunst will be able to develop the current quarterback rather than looking for a replacement. Here’s a look at some potential uses for those picks using the PFF draft simulator.
Round 1, Pick 20: Cooper DeJean, CB/S, Iowa
To put it mildly, the situation in the Packers’ defensive backfield is intriguing. At Iowa, DeJean is a master of all trades who excels at safety, the slot, and the boundary. In the NFL, he’d probably play safety, but he could also play the slot if necessary.
This upcoming offseason, Keisean Nixon and every safety who isn’t Anthony Johnson Jr. will be free agents. More defensive backs are needed by the Packers. DeJean could start at safety or immediately into the slot, depending on how the Packers perceive his skill set. He was Iowa’s greatest offensive weapon and a standout punt returner as well.
As punt returners, the Packers have alternated between Nixon and Jayden Reed, but if those players decide to leave Green Bay or settle into more specialized roles on offense and defense, they may search elsewhere.
Round 2, Pick 37: Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
The Packers will receive this pick in exchange for Aaron Rodgers from the New York Jets. Should the team select a smaller wide receiver in consecutive seasons? Who knows, but Xavier Worthy would give the Packers’ already explosive receiver room even more velocity.
Many jokes will be made about how the Packers don’t select receivers in the first round, but the majority of them are absurd. Worthy could play the slot at the next level and adds the ability to take the top off of a defense.
Jayden Reed is the Packers’ slot player, but they’ve been open to moving him around, and head coach Matt LaFleur enjoys changing up his lineups as much as possible. Worthy is the best player in an offensive line that included many explosive players. With five touchdowns during the regular season, he caught 73 passes. He’s probably excited about the prospect of playing in the College Football Playoffs against a formidable Washington secondary.
Round 2, Pick 51: Kris Jenkins, DL, Michigan
If you’ve heard this before, stop me: The Packers are unable to halt the run. This season, that is still true. Relative to opponents’ ground game, the Packers are near the bottom of the league in nearly all statistical categories.
Kris Jenkins, aka “The Mutant” in Ann Arbor, might be able to help with that. Jenkins has a distinguished family history as the nephew of former Packers defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins and the son of former defensive lineman Kris Jenkins of the Carolina Panthers.
But he is not a product of nepotism. Jenkins is a player. Out of all the defensive linemen at Michigan, Jenkins had the highest run-defense grade (PFF). Devonte Wyatt has struggled on early downs, so he could play there and allow a rotation to keep the front fresh for the latter part of the game.
Round 3, Pick 80: Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
Because of the salary cap, Aaron Jones might not return for the upcoming campaign. AJ Dillon’s contract is about to expire. It’s time to get younger and more explosive in the backfield, even if both backs are healthy again.Let me introduce Trey Benson.Benson played what will probably be his last season as a college student, averaging just under 6 yards per carry. He possesses the ability to hit home runs that the Packers’ backfield has been lacking.
Throughout the season, Benson had a long run of 85 yards and a long reception of 80 yards. The Packers are building around their newly minted quarterback of the future, and they can never have too many explosive playmakers like him.
Round 3, Pick 85: Cooper Beebe, OL, Kansas State
The Buffalo Bills provided this selection for cornerback Rasul Douglas during the trade deadline. Although this choice might be viewed as uninteresting, Green Bay really needs to improve on the inside of its offensive line.
The coaching staff has given Josh Myers high marks, and he appears to be performing better. Although PFF’s rankings are subjective, he has emerged as the NFL’s sixth-best center over the past four weeks. Myers might therefore turn out to be the better choice in the long run. However, his contract will expire following the 2024 season. Jon Runyan, a right guard, has a contract that expires after this season.
Despite his difficulties this season, Sean Rhyan who was selected in the third round of the 2022 draft has not been able to unseat Runyan. It would probably be a mistake to count on Rhyan to start.
Now for Cooper Beebe, one of the draft’s top interior linemen. The Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in both 2022 and 2023, the guard would be a bit of a departure from how the Packers have traditionally selected offensive linemen in the draft. However, given how poorly the run game has performed, they might be hankering after a true interior offensive lineman.
A team can never have too many capable offensive linemen, as the saying goes. Beebe is undoubtedly that.