The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects who could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2025 NFL draft.
Brian Gutekunst has been known to attack roster issues with force. A year ago the Green Bay Packers had arguably the worst safety room in the entire NFL. What did he do in the offseason? He went out and signed Xavier McKinney and drafted three safeties in the NFL Draft.
The year before that he spent three Top 100 picks on pass catchers to get Jordan Love more weapons.
Gutekunst could attack the cornerback room with the same ferocity this offseason.
A cornerback that Gutekunst could target on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft is Jermari Harris. The Iowa cornerback checks in at No. 74 in the Unpacking Future Packers Countdown.
An Illinois native, Harris started in six games of the 2021 season, and in those six starts, he recorded 28 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions and three pass deflections. Harris missed the following season due to injury. In 2023, Harris recorded 42 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and eight pass deflections.
This past season, Harris recorded one tackle for loss, three interceptions and seven pass deflections in 10 games.
“He has seen so many snaps in college and has seen so many different schemes,” Riley Donald, a contributor for Hawkeyes Wire, said. “He is confident in what he sees and has great instincts. He may not have the ceiling of some top-end corners, but his floor is much higher and can give you a steady depth corner with starting ability.”
Harris has above-average height and length for the position. He checked in at the East-West Shrine Bowl at 6-0 with 31 1/8 inch arms and a wingspan of 74 3/8 inches.
Harris is physical at the catch point and has adequate ball skills. He finished his career at Iowa with eight interceptions and 19 pass deflections. Harris uses his length to tighten passing lanes. He’s an instinctive corner with good reactive quickness and shows good route recognition when in zone coverage. The Iowa cornerback has clean footwork, with no wasted movements.
“Harris isn’t the biggest or fastest, but he is twitchy and he likes to play physical,” Donald said. “If he can be near the ball and turn it into a contested catch, odds are it is incomplete or an interception. He also understands zone concepts well as Iowa did that as well as anyone. He can play man or zone without much of an issue.”
Harris is highly competitive and is more than willing to stick his nose up in run support. He uses his length to wrap and finish.
“If you aren’t going to come up in the run game, you aren’t going to play,” Donald said. “Iowa’s scheme relied on corners to set edges and be contain. Harris wasn’t afraid to come up and make tackles.”
Fit with the Packers
It appears that Jaire Alexander and the Packers are headed for a divorce and Eric Stokes is set to hit the open market.
That leaves Jeff Hafley with Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine as the only cornerbacks with meaningful snaps under their belts, and Javon Bullard, who will likely man the nickel corner position moving forward.
Behind those three there isn’t much to get excited about and even then, it’s not that inspiring of a trio. They need to add competition to challenge Valentine and it’s fair to assume that Gutekunst will pour adequate resources into remodeling the cornerback room at 1265 Lombardi Avenue this offseason.
Adding a player like Harris, who has plus instincts, adequate ball skills and isn’t going to be a liability in run support would be an ideal addition to Green Bay’s cornerback room on Day 3.
“It’s an Iowa defensive back,” Donald said. “You have Cooper DeJean, Micah Hyde, Desmond King, Riley Moss. You know what you are getting. He can step in and play for you right away. He comes from a scheme that is professional and allows him to jump into the mix. Harris can become a secondary piece for years to come. He may never be the top-end starter, but he solidifies a piece on defense and eliminates cornerback depth worries.”
A big thing for Harris during the pre-draft process will be his medicals. He missed the entire 2022 season due to an ankle injury and reportedly battled through injuries this past season.
If things come back clean, the Packers will likely have him on their board when Day 3 of the draft rolls around.
Given the current state of Green Bay’s cornerback room, Gutekunst may draft two or three cornerbacks to the mix. Harris has the competitive makeup, savviness and ball skills to potentially challenge Valentine for a starting role. At worst, he’ll provide much-needed quality depth.