Green Bay Packers Go Offense Early in TDN 2021 3-Round NFL Mock Draft
By Paul Bretl
As draft analysts dive deeper into this year’s draft class, we are starting to see more two and three-round mock drafts. In a recent three-round mock from Brentley Weissman of The Draft Network, he has the Green Bay Packers addressing offense early while hitting two of their three biggest needs–at least that’s how I see it.
Below is who Weissman has the Packers selecting, his thoughts on the first-round selection, and of course, I’ll provide my takeaways from each pick as well. Let’s do this!
Green Bay Packers Pick 29: Jalen Mayfield, OT, Michigan
"“Corner, wide receiver, and edge rusher were all considered here, but the Packers take a page out of the Buccaneers’ playbook from last year and address the offensive line so their old franchise quarterback continues to stay upright. Mayfield is an athletic tackle who the Packers can pair next to David Bakhtiari to give Rodgers a very talented pair of bookend tackles.”"
Takeaway: I do like this selection as finding the right tackle of the future, as well as a swing tackle for the 2020 season, is No. 2 on my positional needs for Green Bay. At this time, we do not know if Rick Wagner will be back or if he will end up a cap casualty, and in all likelihood, David Bakhtiari is going to miss some time as he recovers from his ACL injury. Not to mention that there is no guarantee that Billy Turner is back for 2022, the final year of his current deal.
Mayfield isn’t the most experienced tackle that’ll be available, not becoming a starter until 2019 and only playing in two games this past season, but he has plenty of upside. Standing at 6’5″ – 320 pounds, Mayfield has good size, the athleticism to match, and as Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network points out, he believes Mayfield can play both tackle positions if needed at the NFL level.
Great example here from Jalen Mayfield (RT #73) working hard with the inside hand to extend, finish, and roll on the DE. He’s had a really good game so far. pic.twitter.com/N5YrcdQa3v
— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) October 25, 2020
In 2019, Mayfield allowed only one sack and 27 pressures over 458 pass-blocking snaps. And during his two games this past season, he gave up only one pressure, according to Pro Football Focus ($).