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The Green Bay Packers currently sit with the 14th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and 12 selections overall. That group of picks, if used shrewdly, could net them an upgrade in round one, perhaps as high as the fifth pick.
It’s difficult to predict what new general manager Brian Gutekunst might do in round one, but it’s worth considering some of the scenarios in play at present. The Packers could move up a few spots, say to number 10, by giving away their third-round pick at #76. Then they could jump back into the back half of round three by sending the first pick of round four (#101) and another selection, maybe one of their fifth-round compensatory picks.
All of this draft capital gives the Packers more flexibility than they have had in any other recent year, and it should be fun on Thursday to see what Gutekunst decides to do. Of course, if the team is trading up, they’re doing to for someone in particular, and there is really no way to tell exactly what the team is prioritizing now. It seems likely that defensive back is the way they would go, but could a Ted Thompson actually put such a premium on an off-ball linebacker?
Let’s look at those questions and much more in today’s curds.
Packers' offensive line a tale of two sides | Packers.com
Don't be shocked at all if the Packers take an offensive lineman on day two of the draft - there are some hyper-athletic prospects who could tempt Brian Gutekunst and company as early as pick number 45.
Two talented ILBs could tempt Packers to move up | Packersnews.com
Personally, I would rather have Tremaine Edmunds than Roquan Smith, largely because Edmunds has the versatility to move outside as well as inside but also because I think Josh Jones should be a full-time Will linebacker. But with that said, I would not be willing to move up for any of the off-ball linebackers in this year’s draft.
Trade talk: Packers might move up for a top-three defensive back | ESPN
THIS is the position where a move up might make sense. The current speculation suggests that none of the top three DBs — Derwin James, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Denzel Ward — will be available at 14, and that the Packers will need to get into the top ten to get any one of them.
The 2018 NFL Mock Draft Database | SB Nation
For now, the most common pick in the database has the Packers picking Marcus Davenport; interestingly, Davenport is also the top pick for the Lions at number 20.
Why didn’t Packers get same scheduling break as Steelers? | Packers Wire
One report says that the Steelers got a break when the NFL threw out a schedule possibility that had Pittsburgh traveling to Oakland for Sunday Night Football one week before having another road game the following week. The Packers have to go cross-country in weeks 8-9, with a late afternoon game in LA against the Rams followed by a trip to New England for a SNF game the following week.
Ravens signing Saints' Willie Snead to offer sheet - NFL.com
The Saints signed Cameron Meredith to a similar two-year, $10 million offer sheet, which the Bears elected not to match; it seems unlikely that New Orleans will match this offer for Snead.