The Green Bay Packers are going into the first round of the 2023 NFL draft with the No. 13 overall pick. General manager Brian Gutekunst moved up two spots in a first-round pick swap with the New York Jets in the Aaron Rodgers trade.
What should Gutekunst do at No. 13? And what will he end up doing?
Here’s what the staff at Packers Wire believes the Packers should do, and what they believe the Packers will actually do in the first round of the 2023 draft:
Zach Kruse
I would pray to your deity of choice that Jaxon Smith-Njigba lasts until No. 13. He’s the No. 1 wide receiver in the class and an incredible complement to Christian Watson as a do-everything slot receiver, and his ability to separate and catch consistently would make him a valuable and important friend of first-year starting quarterback Jordan Love. Smith-Njigba is going to create easy, on-time and high-percentage throws, and his ceiling is a Julian Edelman type who annually catches 90-100 passes. He’s exactly what Love and the Packers need in the passing game.
Alas, taking Smith-Njigba doesn’t appear to be the most likely scenario. As the top receiver in a so-so class, he could be off the board before 13. Also, the Packers made sure a first-round pick swap was in the Aaron Rodgers trade, and the guess here is moving up to No. 13 was more about getting into range for one of the offensive tackles or edge rushers. It’s hard to argue against getting a big, athletic player along the line of scrimmage who impacts the passing game and can either protect Love or help him get the ball back with disruption. Broderick Jones, Darnell Wright, Lukas Van Ness or Myles Murphy could be the target. Using top-15 draft capital on talent at truly premium positions is usually smart.
Brandon Carwile
If I were the Packers, I would target Jaxon Smith-Njigba or one of the top offensive tackles, preferably Darnell Wright, with the 13th pick. You would be getting the top wide receiver in the draft or a bookend tackle you could rely on for the foreseeable future. If the board isn’t falling the way you thought it would, I would consider trading back before trading up. Green Bay needs to load up on young talent and should be thinking about acquiring picks rather than giving them away.
As far as what I think they will do, I could see them taking a tackle or the best edge rusher available. Those are two positions they covet the most and it would address some long term concerns. Both of the starting tackles could be gone after next season and Preston Smith will turn 31 in November. Tackle and edge are also somewhat top heavy in this year’s class, so the Packers couldn’t go wrong with taking one early.
Paul Bretl
If I were the Packers, I’d trade down in Round 1 to accumulate additional draft capital. The Packers will still be feeling the salary cap side effects of past offseasons in 2024, so the more inexpensive rookie deals the better. They also have a number of needs to fill and given where the strengths of this draft class lie, they will have the opportunity to address a number of those needs in the latter portion of Round 1 as well as in Rounds 2 through 4, where there will still be a number of viable edge, receiver, tight end, and interior defensive lineman options.
On the flip side, I expect the Packers to take an offensive tackle at pick 13, in part because of the depth at other positions that just isn’t there at offensive tackle. There becomes uncertainty around this position in 2024 with both David Bakhtiari and Yosh Nijman potentially playing elsewhere. Meanwhile, in 2023, landing a top tackle will allow that player to compete at right tackle with Nijman with Zach Tom pushing either Josh Myers or Jon Runyan for playing time inside. Jordan Love needs more playmakers around him, but any success he has will begin with the play in the trenches.
Brennen Rupp
If I were Brian Gutekunst, I’d be looking to trade down to gather more ammo on Day 2 and early on Day 3 of the draft. As it stands right now, Gutekunst has three Top 50 picks at his disposal. A potential trade-down could net him one more Top 50 pick. Moving down from 13 to, let’s say, the 20s would still likely allow Gutekunst to draft a pass catcher like Michael Mayer while garnering an extra day two pick. That extra draft capital could allow Gutekunst to move back into the back end of the first round or get really aggressive early on day two to go snag a player he likes, just like he did with Christian Watson last year.
What do I expect the Packers to do? The only thing that’s predictable about Gutekunst is that he’ll be unpredictable in the first round. This is a general manager that traded up and drafted Jordan Love in the first round. Last year he drafted an off-ball linebacker, the first time that Green Bay has drafted a linebacker in the first round since 2006. It was even more shocking after they paid De’Vondre Campbell. He followed up the Walker pick by selecting Devonte Wyatt, an “older” prospect who had an off-field incident in Athens. It wouldn’t shock me if the pick was Bijan Robinson at 13.
Last year, Gutekunst put an end to a 16-year-old run of the Packers not drafting an off-ball linebacker in the first round. The last time the Packers drafted a tight end in the first round was in 2000. That streak will come to an end when Gutekunst drafts Michael Mayer with the 13th overall pick.
