Packers: Ranking the top 10 options in first round of draft

2. Justin Jefferson, WR, LSU

It can be hard to justify taking a number two receiver who benefitted from the best quarterback in college football all of last season in the first round, but Justin Jefferson was a massive piece of LSU’s ridiculous offense in 2019. He was the ultimate possession receiver for the Tigers, hauling in 111 receptions and 18 touchdowns. Jefferson is a plug-and-play starter who would give Green Bay a badly-needed infusion of youth and talent across their offense.

The only issue with Jefferson is speed. The Packer offense is about as slow as there is in football, and has been for ages. Jefferson won’t change that. He is not going to outrun defensive backs, but he’s a gifted route runner who is strikingly similar to Davante Adams.

Drafting Jefferson would probably force the Packers to draft another shifty receiver who can be penciled into the slot position, but he is probably the most talented wide receiver that could be available to Green Bay at the end of the first round.

1. Kenneth Murray, LB, Oklahoma

A substantial deterrent to crime in and around the Green Bay area would be forcing fugitives to watch hours and hours of Packer linebackers attempting to move. The extent to which the Packers have ignored the middle linebacker position over the years is stunning, and 2019 was no different. Swapping seventh-round picks to add B.J. Goodson was not a good enough “addressing” of the problem. Furthermore, Christian Kirksey is not going to be the answer to this eternal problem.

If Kenneth Murray is there for the Packers, they have to take him. It will be painful passing up on so many talented receivers, but there is an embarrassment of riches at the position throughout the later rounds. Improvement at the position can be made later on, whereas the linebacker position is thin.

Murray is the best middle linebacker in the draft, and while the Packers may be forced to move up and grab him, they can’t have what happened in the NFC Championship game happen again. The 49ers did not take the Packer defense seriously, and the middle of the defense was the reason why. Murray and Kirksey won’t be the best tandem in football, but they won’t be the worst.