Cheese Curds, 4/13: Who might Packers target in a first-round Draft trade?

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst surely has his draft board coming together by now. Gutekunst has been racking up frequent-flyer miles over the past month, particularly scouting cornerbacks at Pro Days across the country.

Meanwhile, the team continues to meet with numerous players via videoconference, recently meeting with Asante Samuel, Jr. for the second time. So by now, it’s fair to assume that the team has its ranking of the cornerbacks mostly finalized with about two weeks to go until the 2021 NFL Draft begins.

One thing that Gutekunst has shown a propensity to do is to identify a player that he wants and move up to ensure that he gets that player. This year might result in a similar approach, particularly given the ten picks that the Packers currently hold. But if this happens again, who is the guy that the Packers might target?

Caleb Farley could be that player. Maybe Northwestern’s Greg Newsome would be a candidate as well. What about an offensive tackle?

Obviously, there’s no way to know who “that guy” might be this year for the Packers. The Packers didn’t even meet with one of their recent first-round draft picks — Rashan Gary in 2019 — so this level of interest in a player like Samuel could be a smokescreen. But it’s still interesting to imagine who is sitting near the top of the board.

Packers confident in ability to move around board during 2021 draft | Packers Wire
Three compensatory picks -- one each in rounds 4, 5, and 6 -- give Brian Gutekunst some added ammo to move up for a player that he really likes once again.

Injury, inexperience could send Virginia Tech CB Caleb Farley sliding to Packers | Packersnews.com (subscription)
Farley might just be that guy that Gutekunst likes. Although he couldn’t work out at his Pro Day, his reportedly clear back exam might keep him on the Packers’ radar. Gutey may need to move up to get him, however, particularly if teams buy into the medicals.

2021 NFL Draft: Ideal top two picks for every team | NFL.com
Indeed, Chad Reuter of NFL.com sees Farley as being the Packers’ “ideal” first-round pick this year, with BYU offensive tackle Brady Christensen as a perfect fit in the second.

A $4.955 million boycott? Packers players would lose big if they skipped OTAs - ESPN
If OTAs do happen as normal this spring, some NFL players might be more inclined to skip the workouts than in other years. Indeed, NFLPA president JC Tretter reportedly advised his membership to boycott OTAs if teams do not stick with an all-virtual offseason program. However, with a total of almost $5 million in workout bonuses on the line, expect the Packers’ top players to show up.

Aaron Rodgers’ first week as ‘Jeopardy!’ host raises $117,725 for North Valley Community Foundation | Packers.com
Rodgers’ first week of episodes (comprising his first day of taping) wrapped up on Friday. To this viewer, it seemed that he has improved as the gig has gone on, and the first episode of this week/day two of taping showed him settling in even more.

Scientists Have Created Spinach That Can Send Emails. Here’s How It Could Fight the Climate Crisis | GlobalCitizen.org
The scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.