Packers take offensive tackle and safety in ESPN 2024 mock draft
By Paul Bretl
In a very early 2024 mock draft from Jordan Reid of ESPN, he has the Green Bay Packers addressing two of their potentially biggest positional needs in the first round by taking an offensive tackle and a safety.
Reid determined the draft order by ESPN’s Football Power Index. He is also assuming that Aaron Rodgers will play at least 65% of the New York Jets offensive snaps, which gave the Packers the 23rd overall pick.
At pick No. 7, the Packers took Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt. Green Bay has good depth at the offensive tackle position in 2023, but there could be a lot of questions around this unit next offseason. It’s very possible that the Packers will move on from David Bakhtiari at that time, freeing up $21.5 million in cap space. Yosh Nijman is also set to be an unrestricted free agent, and we don’t know what the future holds for him.
Green Bay will still have Zach Tom, who could play either tackle position, and potentially Luke Tenuta, Caleb Jones, and Rasheed Walker competing for playing time. However, relying heavily on three inexperienced and currently developmental players to be one of your starting tackles comes with some obvious risks. This is also expected to be a very talented offensive tackle draft class.
Alt is listed at 6’7″ – 317 pounds and has spent most of the last two seasons at left tackle. In 2022, he allowed just five pressures and no sacks, ranking second among all tackles in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency and first in run-blocking grade.
Then with the 23rd pick, the Packers chose Miami safety Kamren Kinchens. Safety is one of the biggest question marks on the Packers’ roster heading into this upcoming season and will likely remain that way into 2024, with only rookie seventh-round pick Anthony Johnson under contract beyond this season.
Kinchens, who stands 5’11” and weighs 202 pounds, has played nearly 1,300 snaps over the last two seasons, with 236 coming from the box, 622 as a free safety, and 372 in the slot. He has shown excellent ball skills, coming away with six interceptions and four pass breakups in 2022. Reid wrote that Kinchens is a “mistake eraser” and a “consistent wrap-up tackler.”
Of course, the caveat with mock drafts, especially when they are this far out, is that a lot is going to change. But with that said, both offensive tackle and safety are two positions that could very likely be high up on the priority list for the Packers next offseason, making Alt and Kinchens two players worth watching as the college football season unfolds.