Green Bay Packers Address Edge in Recent Matt Miller Mock Draft
By Paul Bretl
On paper, the Green Bay Packers edge rusher room looks pretty well set for the 2022 season. Under contract at the moment is Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith, Jonathan Garvin, Tipa Galeai, and La’Darius Hamilton. But as we all know, that is very likely not what this unit will look like a month from now.
In desperate need of creating salary cap space, both Za’Darius and Preston are cut candidates. If that’s the case, then there is zero question that edge rusher is this team’s biggest need entering the draft.
As good as Gary was, he can’t do it on his own, and even with him and P. Smith being two of the most productive edge rushers in football last season, the depth at edge was still a concern over the course of the season—especially once Whitney Mercilus was placed on IR.
I tend to think that P. Smith will receive an extension given his play, along with the lack of a reliable second option behind Gary if he’s gone. However, even if that is the case, edge rusher is still certainly a need for the Green Bay Packers—it’s just too important of a position.
In fact, if I were to make a prediction today on what position the Green Bay Packers select in Round 1, I’d choose edge rusher—which is exactly what Matt Miller has them doing in his first post-Super Bowl mock draft.
Pick 28: Boye Mafe, EDGE, Minnesota
"“Wide receiver would be a great pick for the Packers, but we’ve seen that show before. Instead, look for the Green Bay Packers to continue building their defense through the early rounds of the draft,” said Miller in his mock draft. “Boye Mafe had a great Senior Bowl and showed the speed and power to place himself into the first round.”"
The 6’4” – 265 Mafe did wonders for his draft stock with his performance at the Senior Bowl, where he was named the National Player of the game, leading the way with two sacks, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble.
During his career at Minnesota, Mafe would see 978 snaps over four seasons, with 435 of those snaps occurring in 2021, according to PFF ($$). He primarily lined up as a traditional edge rusher, but he does have some experience lining up in the B-gap as well.
This past season, Mafe would record 40 of his 80 career pressures, along with six sacks, matching his total from 2020 when he played roughly half as many pass-rushing snaps due to the shortened season. Mafe also recorded 34 total tackles, including 10 for a loss, and a forced fumble.
It’s important to note that Mafe is also an exceptional athlete and should test very well at the NFL combine in a few weeks. At this stage of the game, Mafe going in Round 1 could be considered by some a bit high, but he is also a prime candidate to rise up draft boards throughout this pre-draft process.
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For more on Mafe’s game and what he could bring to the Green Bay Packers, here is a quick look at what Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network had to say about him in his scouting report:
"“Mafe offers great athleticism on the edge and his flashes of effortless movement skills in space are an easy sell when projecting his pro game to the next level. I do believe Mafe is more of a developmental player than a plug-and-play starter, but the trajectory of Mafe’s play with the Gophers has been on a steady increase for the entirety of his career with the program.“Mafe has bright flashes of nuance at times but the consistency is where his NFL team is going to require patience from him as he continues to grow a better feel for the game, particularly in deconstructing blocks and being a persistent threat as an outside pass rusher.”"
We are still in the very early stages of the offseason, but regardless of what happens, edge rusher is going to be a need for the Green Bay Packers—the question, however, is to what degree?
So as the pre-draft process unfolds, keep your eyes on Mafe as well as any other potential latter first-round edge rushers—it’s a premier position and one we know the Packers value.