6 Packers on Thin Ice Heading Into the NFL Draft

3. Preston Smith, EDGE

We stick with the defensive end position for our next Packer on thin ice, Preston Smith.

If Kingsley Enagbare is able to assert himself as a capable defensive end, he could not only get himself off the thin ice but he could make it tough on Preston Smith. One of the more experienced pass rushers on this team, Smith signed with Green Bay in 2019 and has 41.5 sacks over the past five seasons. He's also had at least eight in each of the past three seasons.

The issue is that he will not only be moving to defensive end — a position he hasn't played since his rookie season with Washington in 2015 — but has a first-round pick behind him. Lukas Van Ness was brought along slowly but took off near the end of his rookie campaign.

If he proves to be a worthy starter, the Packers might not want to pay Smith (who will be 32 in November) $14.7 million. They would be able to save $10 million of that by designating him a post-June 1 release — and if Enagbare proves to be a capable backup behind Van Ness, that could very well happen. Adding another pass rusher in the draft would only make it more likely that Smith would find himself on the chopping block.