Equipped with eight selections, the Green Bay Packers will have an opportunity to add talent and depth to their roster at the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay. When the clock starts for the first round on Thursday, the Packers will have to wait to see how the top picks unfold and hope their desired prospects begin to fall.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst is entering his 27th draft with the team and eighth as the general manager. Green Bay has ranked second in games started by rookies since Gutekunst became the team’s general manager in 2018. Despite the team’s youth, the Packers have still managed to find success. Over the past two years, Green Bay fielded the youngest teams by weighted age to make the playoffs since 1980, per the team’s website.
Finding success with young players necessitates a general manager who can identify his team’s weaknesses and select the right prospects to bolster those areas. Yet, some reports have suggested Green Bay could make a somewhat surprising pick early in the NFL Draft.
Packers rumored to be interested in OL despite more pressing needs
The Packers may be targeting an offensive lineman with the No. 23 overall pick, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported on Tuesday.
Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons are both currently projected to be selected in the last ten picks of the first round, and several teams are expected to be vying to grab either of them.
While a team can never have enough offensive linemen, the Packers have other needs that would make the selection of an offensive lineman surprising. Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander, not far removed from being considered among the top players at his position, is suddenly facing an uncertain future. Green Bay signed cornerback Nate Hobbs in free agency, but they still need to improve their secondary.
Green Bay hasn’t drafted a wide receiver in the first round since the 2002 NFL Draft, but that could change this year. Packers wide receiver Christian Watson is expected to miss at least half the season while recovering from a torn ACL, and Green Bay’s top wide receivers all have either one or two years remaining on their rookie contracts. Rather than waiting until after one of them leaves in free agency, it would be wise to begin developing a replacement early.
Green Bay's top four wide receivers in 2024 were all mid- or late-round picks under the age of 26. While they all finished with at least 400 receiving yards, none of them were able to separate themselves as consistent and reliable talents. Wide receiver Jayden Reed, a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, led the team in receptions (55) and receiving yards (857) with six receiving touchdowns.