Latest Bleacher Report mock draft has Packers drafting playmakers

Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller projects the Green Bay Packers will take two playmakers in the first round next spring.

New Packers GM Brian Gutekunst made all kinds of noise last year during the draft, most notably by acquiring an additional first-round pick for next spring’s edition.

Even though it’s only October, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller is hard at work for us fans and put together a mock draft after the first quarter of the NFL season. The order he settled on had the Packers picking at 20th and 25th overall.

With the first of the two choices for the Packers, Miller selected D.K. Metcalf, a wide receiver from Ole Miss. Metcalf has 21 catches, 405 yards and four touchdowns through five games as part of an explosive Ole Miss offense. His partner at the wideout position is A.J. Brown, who many thought going into the year was the top receiver in the draft, but Metcalf is the top choice here.

Metcalf is listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds on the Ole Miss roster. He would easily be Green Bay’s biggest receiver. That kind of frame isn’t something an NFL offense will struggle to find targets for. Whether or not you think the Packers need help at receiver, adding Metcalf to the fold would only make the unit more dangerous.

The second pick Miller has the Packers making is on the defensive side of the ball with Old Dominion’s Oshane Ximines. Besides having a cool name, Ximines is likely to be one of the risers of this draft cycle.

Small-school EDGE rushers are all the craze these days. The Packers passed on the small-school guy, Marcus Davenport last year, but the pass rush is too big of a need to pass on again.

Ximines is currently lighting up opposing teams with 8.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and two forced fumbles through five games.

His team is only 1-4, but it stole a huge upset win against Virginia Tech a couple weekends ago where Ximines had two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. He’s listed at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds, which is almost identical to Clay Matthews (6-3, 255 pounds), somebody Ximines would theoretically replace.

The Packers clearly need help in the pass rush department. Ximines has a long season ahead of him to either rise or fall on draft boards and there are always tons of intriguing EDGE talents available. But if the draft was today and the Packers came away with Ximines I wouldn’t complain one bit.

I’m not sure how I feel about taking a wide receiver in the first round with the other pick. The Packers typically draft receivers well after round one and should stick with that strategy.

There will come a time when the Packers invest in the offensive line and I’m hoping it’s next spring’s draft. I’ll gladly pass on a receiver like Metcalf if it meant finding a long-term plug on the right side of the offensive line.

With a bonus first-round pick the Packers have to use it to address a need. There are countless strategies about what to do with these picks, but using one to add depth to a struggling unit to protect Aaron Rodgers seems like a no-brainer.