Recent Mock Draft has Packers Addressing a Different Need in Round 1

We’ve seen a lot of mock drafts at this point, but very few have the Green Bay Packers addressing this position in the first round.

We still have about two months until the NFL Draft actually begins but we’ve already seen a huge number of mock drafts being released. And with that, the overwhelming consensus is that the Green Bay Packers will take either a wide receiver or an inside linebacker in the first round.

And of course, it’s easy to understand why. The Packers’ passing game really suffered last season as Geronimo Allison struggled to make plays, Marquez Valdes-Scantling’s playing time dramatically decreased, and Jake Kumerow still didn’t see much of the field.

Meanwhile, at inside linebacker, Blake Martinez is very likely heading elsewhere in free agency which leaves a huge hole in the middle of the defense and is an area that the Green Bay Packers need to add more speed.

However, there are other needs outside of those two positions that need to be addressed this offseason whether it be via free agency or in the draft. And in a recent mock draft from Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports, he breaks the mold as he has Green Bay going a different route with their first-round selection.

Pick 30: Ross Blacklock IDL – TCU

Here is what Trapasso had to say about the selection for the Green Bay Packers followed by my big takeaway:

"“Blacklock is a freaky athlete on the inside and would give the Packers a dangerous tandem up front with him and Kenny Clark.”"

Takeaway: The Green Bay Packers’ defense was much improved last season but one area that remained an issue for a majority of the season was their run defense. In total, they allowed 120.1 rushing yards per game during the regular season which ranked 23rd in the NFL. And really, they were worse than that for much of the season but a few decent performances at the end of the year against Chicago and Minnesota helped skew that number a bit lower.

On top of that, I’m sure we all remember the NFC Championship Game where Raheem Mostert ran wild on this defense as the San Francisco 49ers totaled 285 rushing yards and Jimmy Garoppolo threw the ball just eight times.

While upgrading at inside linebacker will certainly help the run defense, finding Kenny Clark some help on the interior defensive line will do wonders as well.

Up to this point, Montravius Adams hasn’t panned out, while Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster are nice rotational players, but not necessarily No. 2 options. Hopefully, Kingsley Keke takes a step forward in Year 2, but that remains to be seen.

So spending a draft pick or adding through free agency to the interior defensive line does make a lot of sense, and Trapasso thinks that Ross Blacklock could be the answer.

Blacklock missed the entire 2018 season with an Achilles injury but put together a very nice bounce-back performance this past year. In 12 games he would total 40 tackles, nine of which were for a loss, along with 3.5 sacks.

At 6’4″ – 305 pounds, Blacklock has the size, length, and athleticism that NFL teams covet nowadays in an interior defensive lineman. He has a high-motor and his ability to get into the backfield on a consistent basis would be a welcomed sight alongside of Kenny Clark. Not to mention that defensive coordinator Mike Pettine will be a big fan of Blacklock’s versatility.

While adding a defensive tackle during the draft makes quite a bit of sense, at this point I’m not sure how likely it is that Green Bay will add one with their first pick.

In Trapasso’s mock, Tee Higgins, Justin Jefferson, Kenneth Murray, and Patrick Queen were all still on the board. Given how big of needs those positions are, I can’t imagine it would be easy to pass up any one of those four players. But, you never know.