Packers 2018 Draft: 3 players they could trade up for in first round

Three players the Green Bay Packers could consider trading up for in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The draft is under a month away, and the Green Bay Packers will enter the three-day event in a strong position. Yes, the roster still has a number of areas to fix before football returns after the summer, but new general manager Brian Gutekunst has plenty of opportunities to do just that.

The Packers currently own a league-high 12 selections in the draft. If Gutekunst decides to keep all of those picks in their current spots, he’ll have a number of swings. With 12 picks, he’d have an excellent opportunity to sign a difference-maker or two, while also adding depth at key positions.

The Packers own the 14th overall selection in the draft, and they will pick first in the fourth and fifth rounds following the Damarious Randall–DeShone Kizer trade with Cleveland.

Maybe Gutekunst will just keep hold of those picks. That’s one option. The other is much more fun.

The Packers have a ton of flexibility to move up in the draft. Trading up in the first round can be pricey, and it’s a move Ted Thompson rarely considered as general manager. But Gutekunst has made his intent clear this offseason. He’s trying to make the roster better in every way possible. Trading up for a potential difference-maker at a position of need is another possibility.

As many as four quarterbacks could be off the board inside the draft’s top-10. This would cause a number of top prospects like Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb to drop. The Packers can forget about those two names, but the prospects just below them could fall far enough to make a trade realistic for Green Bay.

If one of the draft’s top defensive players drops to, let’s say, pick nine, Gutekunst could be very tempted to pick up the phone and make an offer.

Here are three players he could consider trying to trade up for.