Packers Signing Andre Dillard Opens the Door for Perfect First-Round Pick
By Jovan Alford
The Green Bay Packers have been busy this offseason, addressing multiple needs on both sides of the ball, such as running back (Josh Jacobs) and safety (Xavier McKinney).
Outside of those two blockbuster signings, the Packers have most of their core pieces intact as they try to make a deeper run into the playoffs in 2024 after losing in the NFC Divisional Round to the San Francisco 49ers.
Nonetheless, Green Bay still felt it needed additional depth to the offensive line, signing former first-round pick Andre Dillard. With Dillard now in the fold, the Packers may not need to use their first-round pick (No. 25 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft on an offensive lineman.
Most mock drafts had Green Bay taking Georgia offensive tackle Amarius Mims or Oklahoma offensive tackle Tyler Guyton due to the lack of depth at the tackle spot.
However, after signing Dillard on Thursday, the Packers could explore the idea of taking the best player available or a cornerback.
Green Bay is still favored to take an offensive lineman (-170 on DraftKings Sportsbook) with their first pick, but cornerback has the second-best odds (+235). The Packers have done a ton of homework on this year’s cornerback class as they’ve hosted three corners for top-30 visits, with only one being a potential first-round pick (Kool-Aid McKinstry).
However, the mock drafts also like Green Bay to take Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, who can play both cornerback and safety and would be a nice complement to Jaire Alexander.
At the same time, it’s not certain that Green Bay could take DeJean, as there are a few other cornerback-needy teams ahead of them. That said, maybe there’s a chance Nate Wiggins or Quinyon Mitchell will fall to the Packers at No. 25.
Nonetheless, it should be interesting to see what Green Bay does in the first round next week as they could explore many different options as they try to build on the foundation they created last season.
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