The 2025 NFL Draft is only a few weeks away. The Green Bay Packers are hosting and will rely heavily on it to propel them forward in their incredibly swift post-Rodgers rebuild. Green Bay’s seamless transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love silenced many naysayers. Following a surprise playoff run in 2023, the Packers signed excellent veterans Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney, and they won 11 games.
Ultimately, they lacked the firepower to compete with the NFC’s elite, particularly the Philadelphia Eagles, who went on to win the championship.
Now they’re preparing for the third season of Love. After a relatively quiet free agency marked by a weak class and a player’s market, Brian Gutekunst will need to work his magic if the Packers are to make a significant leap in a competitive NFC North.
Under Gutekunst’s direction, the Packers were predictably unexpected in the first round. While mock drafts have sent Tee Higgins, Rashod Bateman, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba to Green Bay year after year, the front office has consistently preferred raw talents at high-end defensive spots.
An unusual pattern emerges from Gutekunst’s selection of Georgia prospects in the first round. Throughout their recent reign as SEC champions, the Bulldogs have been noted for their aggressiveness and collective defense. In 2021, it was Eric Stokes. One year later, it was Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt. Gutekunst collected championship Georgia defenders like infinity stones. This year, he might have the opportunity to add another.
Edge rushers are an undeniable need entering the draft. Matt LaFleur has stated unequivocally that the Packers’ pass rush must improve in order for them to compete legitimately.
However, the 40-yard dash arguably isn’t a critical metric to judge an edge rusher. Most of their work is conducted in small spaces and determined by explosiveness. For this reason, it is hard to see the Packers batting an eye here if he slides. Given Williams’ upside, it wouldn’t be surprising if Gutekunst made a small trip up the board to electrify the home crowd. The draft is the last major offseason event until training camp, and the Packers have a lot of key positions to address and not many ways to get that done. It’s difficult to see them putting together championship-caliber rooms at wide receiver, cornerback, and edge rusher.Conversely, Gutekunst and the front office put together some incredible draft classes, particularly further down the board in the later rounds. This time around, nailing that first pick is crucial, whether that means trading up, down, or swapping the pick entirely.
Georgia’s Mykel Williams is an opportunity to light up the Lambeau crowd with a big name while staying true to Green Bay’s draft tendencies, even down to Gutey’s side mission of rebuilding the championship UGA defense. few weeks left to go, there are sure to be more twists and turns in the 2025 cycle. Still, we won’t have to wait much longer to see how the front office approaches the monumental task of getting this roster ready to compete with anyone and the fall.
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