Shortlist of Green Bay Packers 1st Round Targets using Past Draft Trends

Trying to pinpoint who the Green Bay Packers are targeting in the first round of the NFL Draft is no easy task–however, that is what we are going to attempt to figure out in this article.

Brian Gutekunst has certainly thrown us some curveballs during his time as GM, but even going back to the days when Ted Thompson was in charge, there are tendencies and thresholds that we can lean on in order to try to get an idea of who could be on Green Bay’s Round 1 radar.

The first is that they only target premier positions within the first round. In a recent article by Ross Uglem of Packer Report, he writes that since 2009, the Packers’ first-round picks and first selections — this includes Kevin King —  have either been interior defensive lineman, edge rusher, cornerback, offensive tackle, safety, and quarterback.

Green Bay also prefers — at least early on in the draft — younger draft prospects. Again, going back to 2009, the oldest players selected in the first round have been 22 years of age. Under Brian Gutekunst, four of his five first-round picks have been 21, with Stokes being the only exception; however, he had turned 22 just prior to the draft.

The Packers may be more willing to draft older players later on in the draft, but in Round 1, they’ve stayed away from those prospects 23 or older, and oftentimes, even those who are 22–and this year, there are quite a few of them.

The last threshold we will use for this exercise is that Gutey loves to select the best athletes within their respective position groups. Out of Gutekunst’s 33 draft picks who have registered on the RAS scale, 26 have scored at least 8.0 out of 10 or better–and of those 26, 14 have scored above 9.0.

So using these three draft trends, along with The Draft Network’s most recent top-50 big board, we are going to try to create a shortlist of prospects that the Green Bay Packers could be targeting in Round 1.

Green Bay Packers Draft Trend: Selecting premier positions

As already mentioned, the interior defensive line, edge rusher, cornerback, offensive tackle, safety, and quarterback, are the only positions that the Green Bay Packers have selected in the first round since 2009. However, we are going to tweak this a bit.

With Aaron Rodgers just signing an extension and Jordan Love still on the roster, there isn’t a need for a first-round quarterback. However, there is a major need for a wide receiver, and this very well could become the first draft since 2002 that Green Bay selects that position in the first round–so we will be swapping out quarterback for receiver.

With the interior offensive line, running back, linebacker, quarterback, and tight end off the table, here is who remains using The Draft Network’s big board:

Kyle Hamilton, S, Notre Dame

Aidan Hutchinson, Edge, Michigan

Ickey Ekwonu, OT, NC State

Kayvon Thibodeaux, Edge, Oregon

Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

Derek Stingley, CB, LSU

Andrew Booth, CB, Clemson

Jermaine Johnson, Edge, Florida State

Jameson Williams, WR, Alabama

Sauce Gardner, CB, Cincinnati

Travon Walker, Edge, Georgia

Devonte Wyatt, IDL, Georgia

Charles Cross, OT, Mississippi State

Daxton Hill, S, Michigan

Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

Drake London, WR, USC

Trevor Penning, OT, Northern Iowa

David Ojabo, Edge, Michigan

Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State

Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington

Garrett Wilson, WR, Ohio State

George Karlaftis, Edge, Purdue

Jordan Davis, IDL, Georgia

DeMarvin Leal, IDL, Texas A&M

Jaquan Brisker, S, Penn State

Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

Lewis Cine, S, Georgia

Perrion Winfrey, IDL, Oklahoma

Boye Mafe, Edge, Minnesota

Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn

Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida

David Bell, WR, Purdue

Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan

Kyler Gordon, CB, Washington

Jalen Pitre, S, Baylor

John Metchie, WR, Alabama

Cameron Thomas, Edge, San Diego State

Christian Watson, WR, NDSU

Logan Hall, IDL, Houston

Arnold Ebiketie, Edge, Penn State

George Pickens, WR, Georgia

Travis Jones, IDL, UCONN