Green Bay Packers: 3 draft picks we wish were April Fools’ jokes

To celebrate April Fools’ Day, we are going to take a look back at draft picks by the Green Bay Packers that we wish had just been a prank.

With the NFL draft just a few weeks away, there is always a lot of excitement this time of the year with the hope that the Green Bay Packers will find a playmaker or two in their new crop of young prospects.

However, amongst that excitement there is always the possibility of drafting a bust. It’s something that every NFL team hopes to avoid, but realistically it will inevitably happen and the Green Bay Packers are no exception.

With General Manager Brian Gutekunst trying to rebuild this Packers squad as quickly as possible, let’s hope we won’t see anyone from the 2019 draft class in future articles like these.

In honor of April Fools’ Day and the many jokes we may see throughout the day, let’s take a look back at a few draft picks that we wish had just been an April Fools’ joke.

Jamal Reynolds

The defensive lineman was an All-American in his final season at Florida State and the Green Bay Packers would trade up to the 10th overall pick in the 2001 draft just to select him.

During his time at Florida State, Reynolds was undersized for his position and relied on his speed to get into the backfield. However, that skill set didn’t translate to the NFL level and the injury bug would bite.

Over his three-year career with the Green Bay Packers, Reynolds would play in just 18 games, none of which as a starter, and he would total just 14 solo tackles along with only three sacks.

Justin Harrell

It was during the 2007 draft that the Green Bay Packers would select Justin Harrell, the defensive lineman out of Tennessee with the 16th overall pick. Green Bay’s run defense had struggled the season before and Harrell was brought in to alleviate that problem.

He was a two-year starter at Tennessee, but would play in just three games his last year there due to an injury. Even in the games he did play in, his numbers were quite underwhelming as he would total 46 tackles and 2.5 sacks during his time at Tennessee. But former General Manager Ted Thompson saw the potential and made the selection anyways.

Unfortunately, that potential was never recognized as Harrell would spend most of his time in Green Bay injured. In his four years he would play in just 14 games and didn’t record a single sack.

Tony Mandarich

Back in the 1989 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers had the second overall pick in what turned out to be an absolute star-studded draft class.

At a workout that Mandarich held at Michigan State prior to the draft, he would weigh in at 308 pounds, put up 39 reps at 225 on the bench press, and run a 4.69, 40 yard dash. He was referred to by many as “Superhuman”.

After selecting Mandarich with the second pick, he would end up holding out until the Green Bay Packers met his salary demands of $1.1 million per year. An unheard of amount for a rookie offensive lineman back in 1989.

But as I’m sure you can guess, much of Mandarich’s success at the collegiate level was because of steroids and he would eventually leave the NFL because of an addiction to painkillers and alcohol.

In a draft class that included Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derrick Thomas, I imagine this is a pick the Green Bay Packers would like to have back.

There are plenty of other players who can be added to this list, but these three selections that stand out as huge draft busts in Green Bay Packers’ history.