The Green Bay Packers need wide receivers. This fact isn’t lost on anyone, including coach Matt LaFleur, general manager Brian Gutekunst and team president Mark Murphy. But needing wide receivers doesn’t guarantee that the Packers will use one of their two first-round picks on the position.
What if a run on receivers happened before pick No. 22 and two top-15 talents on the defensive side of the ball somehow dropped into Green Bay’s laps? That’s exactly what happened when Packers Wire controlled the team in the first round of the latest NFL Wire network mock draft.
The picks? Utah linebacker Devin Lloyd at No. 22 and Purdue edge rusher George Karlaftis at No. 28.
Yes, two defensive players. The need at wide receiver can wait. It had to wait.
Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Chris Olave, Jameson Williams, and Treylon Burks all came off the board in the first 18 picks. Instead of trying to reach for a receiver, the choice at No. 22 came down to Lloyd and Karlaftis. We traded up to take Karlaftis in the first network-wide mock draft, so this time, the pick was Lloyd, who could be an instant starter next to De’Vondre Campbell and give the Packers a second playmaking linebacker in the middle of Joe Barry’s defense. If nothing else, he should be a massive upgrade over Krys Barnes.
Green Bay hasn’t prioritized off-ball linebacker, especially in the draft, so spending a first-round pick on one after re-signing Campbell to a $50 million deal would be completely out of the team’s typical modus operandi. But Lloyd could be one of the top players in the class and a legitimate difference-maker, and the idea of having two excellent inside linebackers could be tempting after Campbell helped stabilize the defense in 2021.
Six picks later, Karlaftis was still available, so the selection here was an easy one. He slots in as the next developmental edge rusher, and with Preston Smith and Rashan Gary entrenched as the full-time starters, the Packers can put Karlaftis on the same development pathway as Gary enjoyed the last three seasons. Give him a rotational role early on while preparing him to eventually take over for Smith (who turns 30 this year) opposite Gary.
In Lloyd and Karlaftis, the Packers get two of the draft’s best defensive players.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks Lloyd as the 12th best player in the class. Karlaftis is 18th. Lloyd is the No. 15 player on PFF’s big board; Karlaftis is No. 10.
Lloyd and Karlaftis are both elite athletes and disruptive players. Lloyd (6-3, 237) has a Relative Athletic Score of 9.33 out of 10. Karlaftis (6-3, 266) checks in at 9.18. Lloyd produced 22 tackles for losses, eight sacks and four interceptions (two returned for touchdowns) in 2021. Karlaftis created 54 total pressures during his final collegiate season.
Keep in mind, the Packers have two second-round picks (a sweet spot for receivers in Green Bay) and nine total picks after the first round. There will be many opportunities to take a receiver and address other needs. Christian Watson, George Pickens, Alec Pierce, John Metchie and Jalen Tolbert could all be Day 2 options at receiver.
