Call your shot for pick #23
Speak now or forever hold your peace. It’s time to call your shot: Who is the player that you hope the Green Bay Packers take in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft?
I’ll get the ball rolling here. He’s my rationale on who I think is going to potentially be available for the Packers:
- I’m sure the consensus is that Miami QB Cam Ward, Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter, Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter, LSU OL Will Campbell, Michigan DL Mason Graham, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, Missouri OL Armand Membou, Georgia EDGE Jalon Walker, Penn State TE Tyler Warren, Texas OL Kelvin Banks and probably Mykel Williams (EDGE, Georgia) and Mike Green (EDGE, Marshall) will be picked before #23. I’m more than open to being wrong here and it wouldn’t be the first time.
- I think you can add Arizona receiver Tetairoa McMillan to that list, too, but I’m less certain about his situation than the rest of the group. Personally, I’ve heard he won’t get past the Dallas Cowboys at #12. We’ll just have to find out if that’s true.
- From what I’ve heard, Michigan cornerback Will Johnson’s injury concerns are long-term, and it should impact his draft stock. The former projected top-five selection may very well fall out of the first round entirely, depending on which teams have kept him on their boards.
So with all that in mind, my number one wish is probably Texas A&M edge defender Shemar Stewart, who I wrote a full scouting report on last month. Personally, I think he’s probably the second- or third-best edge defender in this class behind Carter and maybe Green. He’s further away from his ceiling than Green is, but his ceiling is also higher.
The only other player I’m actively rooting for to land in Green Bay, considering what I expect the draft board to look like, is Oregon’s Derrick Harmon, who reportedly has some injury concerns that popped up over the pre-draft process. Harmon is athletic and large, which can help him play either nose tackle or under tackle early on, even if Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt are the “starters” on the team. The third defensive tackle in Green Bay can play 40 percent of the total defensive snaps — without an injury to the group — despite being a “backup.”
Players I hope the team avoids are any safety (why are there safety rumors around this team right now, please help me understand), Jahdae Barron — who I think is going to be a great slot defender in the NFL, Maxwell Hairston — who is from the Kevin King, Eric Stokes and Damarious Randall line of cornerbacks who run fast but don’t play football very well, James Pearce Jr. — who I think is a designated pass-rusher and not an every down player in the league, and Luther Burden — who I think is going to be a slot receiver. We have plenty of slot receivers and defenders on this team. No more.
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