The Green Bay Packers, with two first-round picks and five picks in the top 100, look like one of the favorites to move up during Thursday night’s first round of the 2022 NFL draft.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Packers are one team exploring trade-up scenarios, possibly as a way to secure “their receiver of choice.”
It should come as no surprise. General manager Brian Gutekunst has traded up in the first round to secure a player in 2018 (Jaire Alexander, after first trading back), 2019 (Darnell Savage) and 2020 (Jordan Love).
The Packers hold picks No. 22 and No. 28 overall in the first round. Moving up several spots could help Gutekunst get a wide receiver such as Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Drake London or Jameson Williams.
We outlined some possible trade-up possibilities for the Packers in the first round. If he wanted, Gutekunst could probably package picks and get into the top 10. The more likely scenario is moving up into the early teens, possibly as a way to jump receiver-needy teams like the Eagles and Saints.
As always, teams only have a certain number of players with first-round grades. The Packers might not want to wait around and see every player with a blue-chip grade come off the board before No. 22. And with a second first-round pick, the Packers could feasibly trade up from No. 22 and then trade back from No. 28 to recoup any lost draft capital.
