Green Bay Packers seven-round mock draft 2.0

Pick No. 12: Brian Burns, EDGE – Florida State

Notable players available: T.J. Hockenson, Andre Dillard, Devin Bush

While any of the players listed above would be immediate day one contributors, in my mind, there are two players at this point in the draft that the Green Bay Packers can’t pass up. Ed Oliver of Houston and Brian Burns. In this scenario, Oliver was already off the board, but Burns is a fantastic selection.

Even with the additions of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency, in today’s NFL, you can never have too many pass rushers. Burns added about 20 pounds heading into the combine and still put up incredibly impressive numbers and is the exact type of athlete that Gutekunst wants to add to this team. His explosiveness off the line of scrimmage and his overall sound technique will make him an instant impact player.

The beauty of having this kind of depth at the EDGE position is that Burns wouldn’t have to be used on every down early on, but instead, he could be utilized in obvious passing situations to get to the quarterback.

Pick No. 30: T.J. Hockenson, TE – Iowa

Notable players available: Noah Fant, Hakeem Butler, Nasir Adderley

There were a number of players at pick 30 that I didn’t expect to be available at this point in the draft, Hockenson included. However, with the Green Bay Packers need for a tight end, as well as Hockenson’s fit in Matt LaFleur’s offense, I had to select him.

We can expect to see the tight end position play a much bigger role in LaFleur’s offense than we saw in Mike McCarthy’s and with Hockenson’s ability as both a blocker and a pass catcher, he is a player that can be on the field all four downs, which is something the Packers do not currently have at tight end.

Hockenson would immediately push Jimmy Graham for starting snaps and would be the go-to option as a run blocker. While I couldn’t justify taking him at 12 with Burns available, at 30 he is an absolute steal.