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USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Zach Kruse

Which first-round prospects in 2023 draft meet Packers’ athleticism and age tendencies?

Although the selection of Devonte Wyatt provides an outlier, the five-year draft history of Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst paints a fairly clear picture in terms of first-round preferences: this team wants young, elite athletes on Day 1.

Wyatt was 24 when selected last year, but the six other first-round picks, including Quay Walker, were either 21 or 22 years old with a Relative Athletic Score (RAS) of 8.0 or higher. Of the seven first-rounders, five were 21 years old, and five had a RAS of 9.0 or higher.

Year Player Age RAS
2018 Jaire Alexander 21 9.54
2019 Rashan Gary 21 9.95
2019 Darnell Savage 21 8.35
2020 Jordan Love 21 8.46
2021 Eric Stokes 22 9.38
2022 Quay Walker 21 9.63
2022 Devonte Wyatt 24 9.60

Obviously, the Packers were comfortable deviating some from these tendencies. Taking Walker was an outlier in terms of positional value, while Wyatt was a big outlier in terms of age. Still, the age and athleticism tendencies can provide a road map to locating who could be prime first-round options for the Packers in 2023.

Let’s take a look, using NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board as a guide. Criteria: top 50 big board, 22 years old or younger, RAS of 8.0 or higher. Why the top 50? Walker was the consensus No. 49 player last year.

Likely top-10 picks or missing data

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

(Big board rank, age, RAS)

QB Anthony Richardson, Florida (No. 4, 20, 10.0)
CB Christian Gonzalez, Oregon (No. 6, 20, 9.95)

(Big board rank, missing data)

QB Bryce Young, Alabama (No. 1, no RAS)
QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State (No. 2, no RAS)
OLB Will Anderson, Alabama  (No. 3, no RAS)
DL Jalen Carter, Georgia (No. 5, no RAS)
OLB Tyree Wilson, Texas Tech (No. 7, no RAS)
CB Devon Witherspoon, Illinois (No. 8, no RAS)
OL Paris Johnson., Ohio State (No. 11, no RAS)
TE Dalton Kincaid, Utah (No. 27, no RAS)
DL Mazi Smith, Michigan (No. 33, no RAS)
OT Dawand Jones, Ohio State (No. 41, no RAS)

OL Peter Skoronski, Northwestern

(AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Big board rank: 10
Age: 21
RAS: 9.31

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11)

Big board rank: 12
Age: 21
RAS: 8.34

RB Bijan Robinson, Texas

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 13
Age: 21
RAS: 9.85

CB Joey Porter Jr., Penn State

Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr.

Big board rank: 14
Age: 22
RAS: 9.71

OLB Myles Murphy, Clemson

Clemson defensive end Myles Murphy (98)

Big board rank: 15
Age: 21
RAS: 9.71

OLB Lukas Van Ness, Iowa

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 16
Age: 21
RAS: 9.39

OT Broderick Jones, Georgia

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 17
Age: 21
RAS: 9.58

OLB Nolan Smith, Georgia

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 18
Age: 22
RAS: 9.23

Potential red flag: Weight at edge rusher

WR Quentin Johnston, TCU

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 19
Age: 21
RAS: 8.68

Potential red flag: Slow three-cone

OT Darnell Wright, Tennessee

Tennessee offensive lineman Darnell Wright (58)

Big board rank: 21
Age: 21
RAS: 9.68

DL Calijah Kancey, Pitt

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 22
Age: 22
RAS: 9.60

CB Deonte Banks, Maryland

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 23
Age: 22
RAS: 10.0

WR Zay Flowers, BC

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 26
Age: 22
RAS: 8.29

Potential red flag: Weight at wide receiver

DL Bryan Bresee, Clemson

Bryan Bresee, DT, Clemson

Big board rank: 28
Age: 21
RAS: 9.61

TE Darnell Washington, Georgia

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 30
Age: 21
RAS: 9.88

CB Emmanuel Forbes, Miss. State

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 34
Age: 22
RAS: 9.26

CB Cam Smith, South Carolina

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 35
Age: 22
RAS: 9.68

RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama

Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 36
Age: 21
RAS: 8.06

CB Kelee Ringo, Georgia

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 37
Age: 20
RAS: 8.30

WR Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 38
Age: 21
RAS: 8.76

Potential red flag: Weight at wide receiver

LB Drew Sanders, Arkansas

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 40
Age: 22
RAS: 8.97

OT Dawand Jones, Ohio State

Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 41
Age: 21
RAS:

OLB Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 43
Age: 21
RAS: 8.73

OLB/DL Adetomiwa Adebawore, Northwestern

Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 43
Age: 22
RAS: 9.72 (as DL)

LB Trenton Simpson, Clemson

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 44
Age: 21
RAS: 9.84

LB Jack Campbell, Iowa

Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell

Big board rank: 46
Age: 22
RAS: 9.98

TE Luke Musgrave, Oregon State

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Big board rank: 50
Age: 22
RAS: 9.78

Missed (top 50 only)

QB Will Levis, Kentucky (age)
WR Jordan Addison, USC (RAS)
S Brian Branch, Alabama (RAS)
TE Michael Mayer, Notre Dame (RAS)
OL O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida (RAS)
OLB Will McDonald, Iowa State (age)
OT Anton Harrison, Oklahoma (RAS)
QB Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (age)
OLB BJ Olujari, LSU (RAS)
C John Michael-Schmitz, Minnesota (RAS)
DL/OLB Keion White, Georgia Tech (age)

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