Packers land popular receiver in four-round 2021 mock draft

The draft is still 10 weeks away, but since there isn’t any Green Bay Packers football, we are always looking forward to what’s next. The 2021 NFL Draft is going to take place April 29-May 1.

With projected compensation picks, it looks like the Packers will have 10 draft picks to play with. I would find it hard to believe that they would make all 10 selections, especially with their cap situation. We’ve seen Brian Gutekunst trade up in previous drafts, so I think it would be pretty likely that the Packers will attempt to trade up at some point.

A four-round mock draft seemed like a good place to start. There are still a lot of prospects we don’t know a lot about, and not having a combine this year will make things a little harder.

In this mock draft, I used the Pro Football Focus draft simulator. In this simulator, you can make trades and they will grade each pick and your total draft.

Round 1

Packer fans have been wanting a receiver drafted for the past few years. “Get Rodgers more weapons!” Well, here they did. I would have preferred Rashod Bateman or Rondale Moore here, but Toney falling to 29 was just fine with me.

Like Moore, Toney is an absolute weapon when the ball is in his hands. Getting a playmaker like Toney will make the Packers’ offense that much more explosive.

From PFF:

"“Toney’s balance, flexibility and explosion are exceptional. He’s broken 32 tackles on 80 catches over the past two seasons.”"

PFF gave me a “B” for this pick.

Round 2

I think the expectation is that Kevin King will be wearing a different uniform next season. With King leaving, that leaves a big hole at the corner spot opposite Jaire Alexander. Standing at 6-2, Campbell is a big cornerback.

From PFF:

"“Campbell is an ultra-smooth athlete who is still only scratching the surface of what he could be. Zone teams will love the fact that he’s missed only six tackles on 99 attempts in his career.”"

I think my favorite line from that brief report is that he’s missed just six tackles on 99 attempts. Missed tackles have been a huge issue for the Packers for a long time. Having a long and athletic cornerback will help the Packers cover the bigger receivers they will likely face in the future.

I got a “B-” for this pick.

Round 3

I’m not sure how I feel about this pick. The Packers will need a tackle for at least part of the year next year, assuming David Bakhtiari misses some time after injuring his knee at the end of the Packers’ regular season.

You could argue they will slide Elgton Jenkins out, but I think they’ll keep Billy Turner and Rick Wagner at tackle for the time being. Hudson would provide some insurance at the position. He was the best available tackle on the board at this pick. Again, having a combine and seeing some measurements like RAS would be helpful. Maybe a year on the bench would help him as well. He could be a decent project with some high upside in the future.

For this pick, PFF gave me a “C+” grade. Can’t say I’m surprised.

Round 4

I think we are all also assuming that Christian Kirksey will be a cap casualty as well. He played okay for the Packers, but I don’t think it was well enough for him to earn what the Packers were paying him. The emergence of Krys Barnes and Kamal Martin has also made him expendable.

There is still a lack of depth, so I think linebacker will definitely be a position of need for the Packers in the draft. Moses is an experienced linebacker. He played four years for Alabama and knows multiple linebacker positions.

The Draft Network has a nice scouting report on Moses here.

PFF gave this pick a “C+” as well.

Woah, two receivers? You better believe it. Rodgers would be another weapon for Matt LaFleur and the Packers’ offense. He had 77 catches for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in his final season at Clemson.

He also has the ability to return kicks, something the Packers have desperately needed in the past few years. I think it is rather unlikely that the Packers bring back Tyler Ervin or Tavon Austin, so they will need someone to return kicks. I think Rodgers is that guy.

The Amari Rodgers pick was awarded a “B+” grade.

The NFL Draft is a long way away, and there will be hundreds of Packers mock drafts between now and then. Having some fun and doing these mock drafts is a good way to get to know the prospects that could be future Packers.

Follow along every week as we do some more mocks leading up to the NFL Draft at the end of April and let me know what you think of the mock drafts, and maybe who you would have taken instead.