Green Bay Packers Address WR, EDGE & LB in 3 Round Mock Draft
By Paul Bretl
Depending on what happens in free agency can certainly alter what a team’s positional needs are heading into the draft, but at the moment for the Green Bay Packers, a few of the big ones include receiver, interior defensive lineman, linebacker, edge rusher, and cornerback.
In the most recent mock draft from Luke Easterling of Draft Wire, he has the Packers tackling three of those big needs with their first three picks in the draft. Here is who Easterling has Green Bay selecting in the first three rounds, along with my thoughts on the selection, and what you need to know about each player.
Green Bay Packers Pick 28: Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama
"“If Davante Adams heads elsewhere in free agency, the Packers will need a new No. 1 target, regardless of who is throwing the passes. Williams would be long gone if not for a torn ACL in the national title game, but once he’s back to full strength, he should prove to be a huge steal this late.”"
The current state of the wide receiver room in Green Bay is quite depleted–although that can change somewhat quickly depending on what happens in free agency with Davante Adams, Allen Lazard, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
As Easterling mentions, Jameson Williams tore his ACL in the National Title game, so his availability early on in the season is an unknown at this point. However, landing him at pick 28 would be one heck of a value selection for the Green Bay Packers. If not for the knee injury, it’s hard to imagine him being on the board at this point in the draft.
The 6’2″ – 189 pound Williams saw 93 of his 110 career targets this past season. He would catch 61 of them for 1,259 yards, or an impressive 20.6 yards per catch–Williams was a big play waiting to happen with an average depth of target of 33.1 yards, according to PFF ($$). He would also find the end zone 13 times.
Williams primarily lined up on the boundary but did take about 25% of his career snaps from the slot. With the potential that MVS could be playing elsewhere next season, not only do the Green Bay Packers need to bolster their receiver room, but they deep a true deep threat–an important element that this offense is currently missing. On top of the big-play ability, having this presence also opens up the passing game for the rest of the offense.
For more on Williams, here is a quick look at what The Draft Network has to say about him:
"“Williams is a smooth route-runner that has the quickness to win early in route progressions and quickly makes himself available for the quarterback. He’s a quick accelerator that pushes routes vertical then has the ability to sink his hips and quickly snap off routes. Excels at running deep routes.”"