Green Bay Packers add to wide receiver position in mock draft, taking Jordan Addison

In a recent mock draft from Joe Broback of Pro Football Network, the Green Bay Packers take USC wide receiver Jordan Addison with the 15th overall selection. With Aaron Rodgers potentially being traded, could this be the year that the Packers finally select a first-round receiver?

Here is a closer Addison and what you need to know about the pick.

What to know about Jordan Addison

The Green Bay Packers covet bigger-bodied receivers and have for years, with a majority of their draft picks standing at least 6’0″ tall and weighing 190 pounds. Addison, however, is on the lighter side, listed at 6’0″ – 175. Because of this and the Packers’ history in the draft, it is fair to wonder if he is someone they would pick at 15 overall.

On the football field, Addison played 61% of his career snaps from the slot. He began his career at Pitt before transferring to USC. With the Panthers, Addison had a monster 2021 season where he posted 85 receptions on 120 targets at 15.9 yards per catch with 17 touchdowns. He also ranked eighth in college football in total YAC.

In this most recent season, he missed some time due to injury but was still reliable and dynamic, catching 77% of his 70 targets while again averaging at least 15 yards per catch with eight touchdowns, according to PFF ($$). The majority of Addison’s targets in 2022 came within 10 yards from the line of scrimmage, where he could get the ball in space to make plays.

Jordan Addison Scouting Report

Addison is the top-ranked wide receiver on The Draft Network’s big board and is rated as the 16th-best player overall. For some additional insights into Addison’s game, here is some of what Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network wrote in his pre-draft report.

"“At USC, Addison was targeted on quick hitters in free space underneath and given room to turn upfield. He’s a twitchy player and shows very good creativity with the ball in his hands to manufacture added offense. Thanks to his adjusted pace, tempo, ball skills, run-after-catch ability, and savvy route-running, there are not many landing spots in which I don’t see an impact for Addison.”"

Need for the Green Bay Packers

Here we are again, with wide receiver being a big need for the Green Bay Packers. As I’ve written about before, with this being such a young wide receiver room that the Packers have at the moment, adding a receiver in free agency feels like a must, however, that shouldn’t impact how they go about addressing the position in the draft.

Christian Watson looks like the real deal, and Romeo Doubs had several impressive moments of his own, but this is a position that, in general, needs more depth, playmaking, and overall consistency. Crabbs also added that he sees Addison exclusively as a slot receiver in the NFL, which is a specific need at the wide receiver position that the Packers have to fill with Randall Cobb potentially not returning.