Getty General manager Brian Gutekunst of the Green Bay Packers.
The Green Bay Packers have already been players in free agency, and there could be more action in store for the franchise during the NFL draft later this month.
General manager Brian Gutekunst took two big swings in March on safety Xavier McKinney (four years and $67 million) and running back Josh Jacobs (four years and $48 million). The Packers won’t need to act nearly as ambitiously or spend nearly as much to leapfrog just a few teams and put themselves in an advantageous position to add an elite-level defensive back.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell on Sunday, April 7, offered first-round trade advice to every team in the league. His suggestion to Green Bay was either to stay put at No. 25 overall or move up a few spots before a possible run on the cornerback position in the low 20s.
“Cornerback is a possible landing spot with Jaire Alexander a potential cap casualty over the next 12 months, but the Packers probably wouldn’t need to trade up to add a useful cornerback in Round 1,” Barnwell wrote. “They might need to trade up to get ahead of the [Philadelphia] Eagles if there’s a specific guy they want, though.”
Cooper DeJean Among Possible Cornerbacks Green Bay May Target in Draft Trade
GettyCornerback Cooper DeJean, formerly of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN expects cornerback to be a popular position on the opening day of the draft, predicting five players at that spot to come off the board in round one. However, he doesn’t project any to go before the Indianapolis Colts select at No. 15.
Kiper’s most recent mock has the Eagles selecting CB Nate Wiggins out of Clemson at No. 22 and the Minnesota Vikings drafting cornerback Cooper DeJean of Iowa right behind them at No. 23. Kiper’s projections don’t take into account trades that have yet to occur, and the Vikings are prime candidates to deal the 23rd pick as part of a package to move into the top-five for a quarterback.
Removing a CB-needy Minnesota team from the mix at 23 helps Green Bay if a defensive back is where the franchise wants to go. Given Gutekunst’s history of taking defensive players in the first round — along with the team’s situation at cornerback, including Alexander’s uncertain future — the Packers drafting that position is a reasonable bet.
However, Barnwell appears to take the Vikings’ likelihood of moving off of No. 23 into account in his trade column. That suggests that Green Bay, at least in Barnwell’s mind, isn’t going to be willing to jump up into the mid-teens to make a run at the top one or two prospects. But it also suggests the Packers might be interested in going up four or five picks into the low 20s in an attempt to get one specific player still on the board.
Packers Have History of Drafting Defensive Players Out of University of Iowa
GettyDefensive lineman Lukas Van Ness of the Green Bay Packers.
DeJean could be that player for Green Bay if recent history offers any indication.
The Packers selected edge defender Lukas Van Ness out of Iowa with the No. 13 overall pick in the first round last year. The team also drafted former Hawkeyes cornerback Josh Jackson in the second round (No. 45 overall) in 2018, the same year the franchise elevated Gutekunst into the GM role.
Gutekunst was also a member of the Green Bay front office in the mid 2010s when the team drafted safety Micah Hyde in the fifth round (2013) and defensive tackle Mike Daniels in the fourth round (2012).
Interested observers shouldn’t ignore the Packers-Hawkeyes draft connection where DeJean is concerned. Neither should they turn a blind eye to Gutekunst’s tendency toward looking defense in the first round, or the team’s potential need at cornerback.