While the Green Bay Packers only have one former player suiting up in the Super Bowl 60 matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots—that being Seattle backup defensive tackle Jarran Reed, who tallied 52 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his lone season wearing the Green & Gold in 2022—Sunday's battle for the Lombardi Trophy does shine a spotlight on a pair of players the Packers could have had a couple of years back, more specifically during the 2023 NFL Draft.
With their first-round selection in the '23 draft, of course, Green Bay took edge rusher Lukas Van Ness at No. 13 overall. And while the Iowa alum, who never started a single game for the Hawkeyes, by the way, has had his moments here and there, the fact of the matter is that he hasn't come anywhere close to living up to his draft status.
After not starting a single regular-season game over his first two seasons, Van Ness was seemingly in line to crack the starting lineup going into this 2025 season, only for the Packers to knock him back down the depth chart by trading for Micah Parsons. He ultimately made two starts but also missed eight games due to a persistent foot injury.
As for the aforementioned pair of players the Packers could have drafted instead, both have undoubtedly lived up to their respective selections, and truth be told, their matchup on Sunday could very well decide the winner of Super Bowl 60. For those who haven't yet guessed, those two players are Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
The Packers could have had either Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Christian Gonzalez in the 2023 NFL Draft
Up until selecting Matthew Golden at No. 23 overall last April, the Packers famously hadn't drafted a wide receiver in the first round since taking Javon Walker at No. 20 back in 2002, a decision that angered Aaron Rodgers to no end.
The day before the 2023 draft, of course, Rodgers was traded to the New York Jets. Everyone knew the move was coming, and with Jordan Love set to take over, Green Bay fans everywhere were hoping the Packers would end their streak and take a wideout in the first round to ease his transition into the QB1 role, with Smith-Njigba being a very popular choice despite missing all but three games of his final season at Ohio State with a hamstring injury.
The Packers obviously passed, and Smith-Njigba ultimately fell to the Seahawks at No. 19. And to put it mildly, he's worked out rather well.
After a solid rookie season, the Texas native earned a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2024, catching 100 passes for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns. And in 2025, he was simply the best wideout in the NFL, earning a second straight Pro Bowl selection and a First-Team All-Pro nod after tallying 119 receptions for a league-leading 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, adding another 13 grabs for 172 yards and two scores in the Seahawks' postseason wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams.
It's not that Green Bay didn't get Love any pass-catchers in that draft, as the team added wideouts Jayden Reed (Round 2) and Dontayvion Wicks (Round 5) and tight ends Luke Musgrave (Round 2) and Tucker Kraft (Round 3). But Smith-Njigba is on a completely different level, and one has to wonder what kind of damage he and Love could do together.
Two picks earlier, the Patriots took Gonzalez, who many viewed as the best corner in the entire draft, off the board at No. 17 overall.
Now, the Packers weren't desperate for cornerback help at that time, as Jaire Alexander was coming off his second Pro Bowl selection and Second-Team All-Pro nod in three years.
However, 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes, who started 14 games as a rookie, regressed during his second season and was then lost midway through it with an ankle injury. So, there were certainly concerns, and many did want Green Bay to pull the trigger on a corner, even though there were bigger issues at safety.
Now, had the Packers known that Alexander would play just 16 games between the 2023 and 2024 seasons before being released and that Stokes would appear in just three games in 2023 and then lose his starting spot in 2024, they likely would have grabbed Gonzalez instead of Van Ness. And they'd certainly love to have him now, given the current state of the position.
The Patriots are certainly enjoying their choice, as the Oregon alum earned a Second-Team All-Pro selection in 2024 and a trip to the Pro Bowl this year. And one of the main reasons the Pats are back in the Big Game is because Gonzalez intercepted Jarrett Stidham late in the fourth quarter of their AFC Championship Game win over the Denver Broncos.
There are obviously "what if" tales to be told surrounding each and every NFL team, especially at this time of year, but this particular one for the Packers is a painful reminder of what could have been.