Packers Address Passing Game in Mel Kiper’s 2 Round Mock Draft

In Mel Kiper’s most recent mock draft, he has the Green Bay Packers addressing the passing game in Rounds 1 and 2 with a receiver and a tight end.

We all know a top priority this offseason for the Green Bay Packers is to add some much-needed weapons to the passing game. As a whole in 2019, they were just far too inconsistent and simply lacked playmaking ability. That, of course, does not include Davante Adams.

So in Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent mock draft for ESPN (subscription required), he has Green Bay giving Aaron Rodgers some new targets. However, I’m not sure how likely the first selection is and I’m just not really a fan of pick 62.

With the 30th overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Kiper has the Packers selecting Tee Higgins from Clemson, who he calls “a big target who gobbled up touchdowns in college.” Which is a very accurate description.

Higgins would total 27 touchdowns during his three seasons at Clemson with nearly 2,500 receiving yards. And his 2019 season, was easily his best as he hauled in 1,167 yards at a whopping 19.8 yards per catch with 13 touchdown receptions.

At 6’4″ with a huge catch radius and excellent ball skills, Higgins would give Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers the downfield weapon that they had hoped Marquez Valdes-Scantling would develop into.

While his college production and tape are certainly tantalizing, what may turn Brian Gutekunst off is Higgins’ athletic testing. Higgins didn’t run at the combine but at his Pro Day, he posted a 4.54 40-yard dash which is alright, but his 10 and 20 yards splits were poor. As was his vertical jump and his short shuttle time.

In Gutey’s short tenure as GM of the Packers, regardless of the position, we’ve seen that he loves to draft athletes. And when it comes to certain athletic thresholds that Green Bay has, Higgins doesn’t meet them.

Moving on to Round 2, Kiper has the Green Bay Packers selecting tight end Adam Trautman of Dayton with the 62nd pick. In his final season, Trautman would put together a big year with 70 receptions for 916 yards and 14 touchdowns.

If all goes well, Trautman can develop into a red-zone target for Rodgers, but that likely won’t be happening this season and maybe not even in 2021. Not to mention that his blocking needs some work as well.

Now, this isn’t meant to be a knock-on Trautman, the tight end position is just one of the more difficult positions when it comes to transitioning from college to the NFL given that they have to be effective both as blockers and in the passing game.

Meaning, we rarely see tight ends produce during their rookie seasons. And for a Packers team that was just one game shy of the Super Bowl in 2019, I’d much rather see an immediate impact player in Round 2.

Overall if the Packers’ first two rounds actually ended up this way, it would be fine but not great. Despite Higgins not testing well, it’s difficult not to want to see a player of his caliber in this offense with Rodgers. However, Green Bay has more pressing needs in Round 2 than selecting another young developmental tight end.