Packers NFL Draft big board: 35 prospects to target with 5 picks in first 3 rounds

The Green Bay Packers aren’t scheduled to pick in the 2024 NFL Draft until No. 25 because of their NFC Divisional Round appearance last season, but they figure to be one of the power players next Thursday and Friday night with five picks in the first three rounds.

General manager Brian Gutekunst has picks at Nos. 25, 41 (from the Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade), 58, 88 and 91 (from the Bills in the Rasul Douglas trade). The Packers don’t appear far from Super Bowl contention since they return many core members of last season’s upstart team, and they have the opportunity to cement themselves in that conversation with a strong draft.

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Since the Packers don’t have many glaring needs in the starting lineup and own a draft-high 11 picks, they have the flexibility to move up in the first round for a desired prospect and perhaps part with a Day 2 or early Day 3 pick to do so while still being left with plenty draft capital. That’s why we’ll start this final big board in trade-up range instead of at pick No. 25.

Here are 35 prospects from Dane Brugler’s Top 100 in “The Beast” that the Packers could feasibly target in the first three rounds with those (as of now) five selections based on positional needs and draft slot, meaning an edge rusher probably won’t be a Round 1 target but could very well be one on Day 2. The prospects are grouped by Round 1 trade-up, Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3. The numbers beside each player are Brugler’s big-board ranking for them, which is largely how I decided where to place each prospect.

Round 1 trade-up

17. Taliese Fuaga, OT, Oregon State: The first-team All-American right tackle and Beavers team captain is seen best by some teams as a guard, according to Brugler, and would fill multiple needs along the offensive line.

18. Graham Barton, C, Duke: Barton played left tackle and center in college. You know who else did? Packers do-it-all offensive lineman and starting right tackle Zach Tom, who is a rising star in the league.

19. Amarius Mims, OT, Georgia: Standing 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches, Mims gives teams a mammoth option at either tackle spot (he played on the right side at Georgia) and could compete with Rasheed Walker to protect Jordan Love’s blind side.

25. Cooper DeJean, CB, Iowa: I’m probably wrong, but something tells me the Packers would need to trade up for another Iowa defender in the first round (despite his big-board ranking here). DeJean tested very well athletically at his individual pro day and can play either cornerback or safety.

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Round 1

23. Jackson Powers-Johnson, C, Oregon: Brugler’s pick for the Packers in his seven-round mock, Powers-Johnson would give Green Bay its possible center of the future while competing for the right guard job in 2024.

24. Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson: Among the top 17 corners in the draft, according to Brugler, Wiggins is the tallest at over 6-foot-1. Do the Packers want a starter opposite Jaire Alexander with a higher ceiling?

27. Tyler Guyton, OT, Oklahoma: Let’s say the Packers stick with Walker at left tackle and Tom at right. They still need depth at one of the most important positions to have it since their swing tackle from last season, Yosh Nijman, left in free agency.

29. Jordan Morgan, OG, Arizona: Morgan played five years at left tackle in college but projects best in the NFL inside. There’s nothing Gutekunst loves more than someone who can do both up front.

30. Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama: I kind of just want to say “Kool-Aid” a bunch this year. In seriousness, Brugler calls him a “long, smooth athlete with the football IQ that should translate quickly to an NFL field.”

39. Jaden Hicks, S, Washington State: This would likely be a selection based on positional need rather than the best player available. Gutekunst wants to pair Xavier McKinney with a young safety, and the Packers have a hole in the starting lineup alongside their big-money free-agent signing.

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Round 2

32. Marshawn Kneeland, edge, Western Michigan: NFL Network reported that Kneeland’s last visit of the pre-draft cycle was with the Packers this week. That doesn’t always signify great interest, but the Packers need edge rusher depth for now (Kingsley Enagbare is recovering from a torn ACL in the playoffs) and the future (Preston Smith might have one year left in Green Bay).

34. Zach Frazier, C, West Virginia: Pretty much every offensive lineman on Brugler’s Top 100 will be in here. The Packers could use competition for multiple starting spots and depth inside and outside. After drafting three offensive linemen each in 2020, 2021 and 2022, they didn’t draft any in 2023. That likely won’t be the case in 2024.

35. Darius Robinson, edge, Missouri: Robinson made first-team All-SEC and led the Tigers with 14 tackles for loss and 8 1/2 sacks.

38. Cooper Beebe, OG, Kansas State: Beebe started primarily at right tackle in 2020, left tackle in 2021 and left guard in 2022 and 2023.

40. Kingsley Suamataia, OT, BYU: The raw 21-year-old prospect started 12 games at right tackle in 2022 and 11 at left tackle in 2023.

42. Junior Colson, ILB, Michigan: Colson probably goes higher than this since he’s the top-rated player at his position, but the Packers need another inside linebacker who will be ready to play significant snaps in 2024.

43. Mike Sainristil, CB, Michigan: Gutekunst likes defensive players from great college defenses early in the draft — Eric Stokes, Devonte Wyatt, Quay Walker, all from Georgia, and Lukas Van Ness from Iowa are the Packers’ four first-round picks since 2021. Sainristil, like Colson, was a cornerstone for the national champions.

46. Edgerrin Cooper, ILB, Texas A&M: Cooper is the draft’s only prospect to lead his team in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles, and he did so on a top-10 defense in the country.

47. Christian Haynes, OG, Connecticut: Brugler says Haynes’ “play strength, football IQ and finishing mentality equip him for battle against NFL fronts. He has the floor of a high-level backup but should compete for starting reps at guard during his rookie season.”

53. Javon Bullard, S, Georgia: The Packers’ minor-league affiliate in Athens could provide Green Bay with another stalwart defender after doing so with Stokes, Wyatt and Walker over the last three drafts.

56. Dominick Puni, OG, Kansas: Puni can play tackle, guard or center and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection after starting his career at Central Missouri.

61. Andru Phillips, CB, Kentucky: Brugler said Phillips might be his favorite player in the draft. The Packers found a reliable cornerback from Kentucky last year in seventh-rounder Carrington Valentine.

63. Max Melton, CB, Rutgers: Green Bay drafting the little brother of Packers wide receiver Bo Melton would make for some fun training camp matchups.

68. Tyler Nubin, S, Minnesota: If the Packers don’t land a safety in the first round, Nubin could be a target in the second. Fans will line Lambeau Field with pitchforks if the Packers don’t address safety on the first two days.

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Round 3

64. Maason Smith, DT, LSU: I don’t foresee the Packers using a pick in the first or second on a position at which they already have Kenny Clark, Wyatt, T.J. Slaton, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, but Smith took a pre-draft visit to Green Bay, according to The Draft Network.

65. Adisa Isaac, edge, Penn State: Isaac may take time to develop, but that’s what the Packers like doing with their edge rushers. First-round picks Rashan Gary and Van Ness started at No. 4 on the depth chart.

66. Brandon Coleman, OT, TCU: Perhaps more so than any other team, the Packers have found star offensive linemen beyond the first and second rounds. Brugler notes that Coleman “needs to improve his technical consistency, but his ease of movement, spatial awareness and length are the building blocks that offensive line coaches covet.”

70. Cole Bishop, S, Utah: Brugler said Bishop has starter-caliber talent, and his exceptional relative athletic score is sure to catch Gutekunst’s eye.

74. Ja’Lynn Polk, WR, Washington: It seems unlikely the Packers will draft a wide receiver in the first two rounds since they’d be fine going into the season with the six they already have on the roster, but Gutekunst loves competition and Polk caught 69 passes for 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns for the national runners-up.

77. Blake Corum, RB, Michigan: The Packers might want someone to push AJ Dillon for the No. 2 running back job and, at the very least, prepare to take over as Josh Jacobs’ backup in 2025. Corum is the second-best running back in the class, according to Brugler, and just helped lead Michigan to a national title.

78. Austin Booker, edge, Kansas: Booker didn’t start in college, but neither did Van Ness. This would be another high-upside pick who would need time to develop behind the likes of Smith, Gary and Van Ness.

86. Trevin Wallace, ILB, Kentucky: The Packers may not need an inside linebacker ready to start Day 1 since they appear content with Walker and Isaiah McDuffie, but they need better than Eric Wilson or Kristian Welch as their first option off the bench when they play nickel.

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87. Kiran Amegadjie, OT, Yale: A third-team All-American, Amegadjie would be an interesting swing tackle option given his Ivy League background, Chicago-area roots and athletic upside that wasn’t on display in the pre-draft process because of a left quad injury that ended his last college season midway through.

88. Payton Wilson, ILB, N.C. State: Last season was the first injury-free one of Wilson’s college career and he won the Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the country’s best defensive player, after racking up 17 1/2 tackles for loss, six sacks and nine passes defensed.

97. Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin: Only 20 years old, the Wisconsin native is the youngest player in the class and may have a more complete skill set in the running game than Dillon if given time to craft it at the next level.

(Photo of Tyler Guyton: Kevin Jairaj / USA Today)