Green Bay Packers Address Trenches in 2 Round TDN Mock Draft

The game of football has certainly changed over the years, but at the end of the day, matchups are still often won and lost in the trenches. So for the Green Bay Packers, or any team for that matter, it’s never a bad idea to address the offensive or defensive fronts early on in the draft–there’s no such thing as too much depth in the trenches, after all.

In a recent two-round mock draft from Joe Marino of The Draft Network, he has the Green Bay Packers doing just that. Here is a closer look at each of those selections.

Pick 28: Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota

"“Nobody wants another drama-filled offseason from the Green Bay Packers, but regardless of whether Aaron Rodgers is back or not, there are holes to fill in this offensive line, said Joe Marino in his mock draft. The depth of the unit was stressed in 2021 and was simply not good enough by the end of the season.“Daniel Faalele is a literal mountain of a man with mobility for his size that doesn’t make sense. He will immediately impact the Packers’ run game with his ability to widen rushing lanes and is a load to get around in pass protection.”"

The only key offensive lineman from the Green Bay Packers 2021 team who is not under contract at the moment is Lucas Patrick, who is an unrestricted free agent. So for the most part, this group should be pretty well intact, despite a number of potential roster changes this offseason due to salary cap restraints.

However, something to keep our eyes on is what the Packers do with Billy Turner. He is under contract for 2022, but the team can save $3.35 million in cap space by releasing him. On the roster options to take over at right tackle could include Elgton Jenkins, when he returns, and Yosh Nijman–although it remains to be seen if Green Bay wants to transition him from left tackle to right tackle.

Or perhaps Green Bay looks to the draft instead to find their right tackle of the future–whether that be for the 2022 season or in the coming years. If there is one thing that we know Brian Gutekunst and Co. are very good at, it’s finding offensive linemen in the draft.

With that said, if Turner is back, at the moment, 2022 is the final year of his current deal, and planning ahead for a potential need before you actually have one is always the prudent move. Not to mention that you’re never going to find me upset with Green Bay addressing the offensive tackle position early on. As we saw in 2021, quality offensive line depth was crucial to the Packers’ success.

Faalele is massive, standing at 6’9″ and weighing 380 pounds. He has three years of playing experience at Minnesota — he opted out of the 2020 season — and nearly 2,000 career snaps, according to PFF ($$), with just about all of them coming at right tackle. Over his career, he has been credited with allowing only five total sacks, 31 pressures, and he has been called for 15 penalties. Faalele is a bit raw, but he would also finish the 2021 season as PFF’s 31st highest-graded offensive tackle out of 149 eligible candidates.

For a closer look at Faalele’s game, here is what Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network had to say in his pre-draft report:

"“Daniel Faalele projects as a viable starting offensive tackle at the NFL level despite some areas of improvement needed throughout his game. Faalele is a freakishly large athlete for the game and moves with more agility and grace than you’d ever expect from a man of his stature. Add in his raw size and it is clear that Faalele offers the “unteachable” dynamics of the position and will likely be coveted as a result of having all the tools in the toolbox and simply needing refinement on his technique.”"

Pick 59: Phidarian Mathis, IDL, Alabama

The interior defensive line position is one that the Green Bay Packers could have addressed the last few offseasons–however, outside of selecting TJ Slaton in the fifth round of last year’s draft, they really haven’t.

As good as Kenny Clark is, and he did even receive more help in 2021 from those around him, the Green Bay run defense still ranked as one of the worst in football by yards per carry allowed and DVOA. On top of that, this position group is incredibly thin, with Clark, Dean Lowry, Slaton, and Jack Heflin the only players currently under contract for 2022–and there is the possibility that Lowry ends up as a cap casualty.

So whether it be free agency — although money is tight — or the draft, is this the year that the Packers finally invest more heavily into the interior defensive line? If so, Marino likes Phidarian Mathis in Round 2 for the Green Bay Packers.

The 6’4″ – 312 pound Mathis has four years of playing experience at Alabama and has seen a bulk of his production come over these last two seasons. According to PFF, Mathis logged 14 pressures, three sacks, and five tackles for loss in 2020. Then after averaging about 250 snaps per season over his first three years, Mathis was on the field for 418 snaps in 2021 and recorded 23 pressures, six of which were sacks, and 10.5 tackles for loss.

Mathis was PFF’s 13th highest-graded interior defender this past season and 11th overall against the run–an area that his Packers’ defense could certainly use additional help in. A majority of his snaps have come from the B-gap, but Mathis does have experience both in the A-gap and lined up over the offensive tackle as well.

For more on Mathis, here is what Ian Cummings of Pro Football Network had to say about his game and what he’s put on tape:

"“Mathis’ anchor can be a little inconsistent at times, so two-gapping out of the gate might not be ideal at the NFL level. But still, with his size, power, length, and explosiveness, he translates well as a versatile interior lineman. The Alabama DT has the traits to line up from 0-technique to 3-technique, as well as stunt to the outside, making him fairly scheme flexible.“If he can keep his anchor consistent, he can be an able nose in a Tite (variation of 3-4) front, with 0 and 1-technique capabilities. Particularly in hybrid fronts, Mathis’ ability to move around the interior and rush from different angles would be maximized further. He may not be an elite athlete, but Mathis still has more than enough burst, lateral athleticism, and violence in his hands to be a productive and multifaceted NFL starter — worth the cost of a Day 2 pick.”"