Sure, you could gloom over the ignominious ending of the Green Bay Packers’ season. But wouldn’t that time be better spent looking to the future, with the 2025 NFL draft right around the corner? Green Bay is hosting the draft this year, and the Packers have plenty of holes on both sides of the ball to fill — and seven draft picks to help shore up the roster.
Green Bay has the 23rd pick in this year’s draft, and I’ll take a swing at drafting for the Green and Gold. In this mock, I will not be doing what I think the Packers will do. Instead, I will draft based on what I feel is the best approach for them.
Green Bay’s major holes are at cornerback, wide receiver, and the offensive and defensive line depth. I will only accept one trade in this mock, regardless of whether it’s offered to me by the computer or if I execute it manually, and I will not trade future picks. The board is made up of what the PFF mock draft simulator thinks is the public board.
With that in mind, let’s get into the mock draft.
Round 1, Pick 23 – Jahdae Barron, DB, Texas
There were plenty of good edge rushers available at 23. However, with the premium capital invested in the Packers’ defensive line over the years, most recently with Lukas Van Ness, I chose to let them ride one more year.
The Packers just fired their defensive line coach, so I’m hoping the defense will improve with another year in Jeff Hafley’s system and new leadership for the men in the trenches. I’m also very excited about Brenton Cox’s development because of the talent he showed in limited reps last season.
By taking Barron, I’m opting for the more positional need at corner. Barron has a swagger that reminds me a lot of a corner the Packers took in the first round from Louisville in the 2018 draft. Barron received a 90.8 grade from PFF for his performance this season. He played most of his snaps at corner but could move around on Texas’ defense.
Jaire Alexander is probably not returning, Eric Stokes is a huge question mark, and Keisean Nixon thinks he’s going to be CB1. Therefore, the Packers need some help on the boundary, and Barron will go a long way in fixing that.
TRADE
New England: Picks 55, 123, and 251 (Comp)
Green Bay: 69, 77 (From Atlanta) and 222
The value this trade presented for me was too good to pass up, and you’ll see why below.
Round 3, Pick 69 – Maxwell Hairston, CB, Kentucky
The Packers take another SEC corner at the start of the third round.
Hairston is a freak athlete. He’s long at 6’1”, and while he missed time and only played in five games this season, the Packers get a guy who probably would have been a first-rounder had he not been injured. Hairston earned an 81.8 PFF grade while playing almost all of his snaps at corner.
This is a guy who has the athletic profile the Packers usually target with their defensive backs. In a corner room that will probably look drastically different than it did last season, Hairston could provide depth while developing into an NFL role.
We’ve seen the Packers double up at positions of need. By taking two corners early, the Packers can get their replacement for Alexander and Stokes with their first two picks of the 2025 draft.
Round 3, Pick 77 – Tre Harris, WR, Ole Miss
In the third round, the Packers land the wide receiver they desperately need. With Romeo Doubs’s future uncertain as he battles head injuries and Christian Watson slated to miss most if not all of the 2025-26 season with an ACL injury, the Packers need a wideout, and Harris fits the bill.
Harris stands 6’3” and was among the best in the country at contested catches this season. He led Ole Miss with 1,030 yards and has totaled more than 900 in all of his last three seasons. PFF gave Harris an 89.4 receiving grade and an 89.8-overall grade. He’s got the experience and the size to be a great compliment to Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks next season.
Round 3, Pick 87 – Harold Fannin, Jr., TE, Bowling Green
Taking another tight end was tough for me because it’s hard to give up on Luke Musgrave or think that the Packers need help at the position. However, Fannin led the nation in receiving yards as a tight end, and the value he provides as a third-round pick is too good for me to pass up.
PFF gave Fannin a 96.4 grade because he dominated his competition. He’s got the size at 6’4”, 230 lbs. to be an impactful blocker in Green Bay’s scheme. He’s also only 20 years old. There is still so much time for him to develop, and the Packers typically draft players who are young and athletic and give them time to grow into their role in the NFL.
Fannin and Kraft would give the Packers the best tight end duo in the NFL if Fannin pans out into an elite receiving tight end. It might take some time, but so did Kraft.
Round 5, Pick 160 – Jay Higgins, LB, Iowa
The Packers love their Hawkeyes, and they add another one here in linebacker Jay Higgins. I was tired of seeing Isaiah McDuffie get passed on all day long. With Edgerrin Cooper’s emergence, the Packers need another linebacker who can cover.
Higgins excelled in coverage at Iowa, receiving a 91.5 PFF grade. He had four interceptions, returning one for a score in 2024. He’s not the biggest player at 6’2”, but he’s got the speed and the coverage ability that the Packers need.
That allows the Packers to have a linebacking corps that can impact all phases of the game. Quay Walker and hopefully Ty’Ron Hopper should be able to stop the run, and they can put Cooper and Higgins in for pass coverage. (It would also be cool if Cooper never leaves the field.)
Round 6, Pick 199 – Clay Webb, G, Jacksonville State
Hear me out: This might be the best pick of the draft.
The Packers get a stud interior lineman out of Jacksonville State in the sixth round. Webb has received elite grades from PFF and graded out tremendously in zone schemes.
He’s allowed only three sacks in his three seasons while playing almost 3,000 snaps. In the NFC Wild Card game against the Philadelphia Eagles, we saw how the Packers were unable to respond after Elgton Jenkins went down. Webb fixes that problem and could potentially be a starter in the future.
Heck, the Packers should play him at center.
Round 7, Pick 222 – Jaxson Dart, QB, Ole Miss
Why not take an elite developmental quarterback in the seventh round? The Packers are set with Malik Willis as the backup. However, if they decide to capitalize on Willis’s value to other teams and trade him, they’ll need a backup because Sean Clifford played poorly in camp last year.
Dart graded out over 91 in both of his final two seasons at Ole Miss, and the Packers got his favorite receiver earlier in this mock draft. Given his ability and potential, it’s worth a shot in the seventh.
In this mock, the Packers solve their problem at cornerback. They also get an impact receiver, another developmental weapon for Jordan Love, and depth along the O-line and in the linebacker room, plus they take a shot at a quarterback. It’s not perfect, but this draft would go a long way in helping the Packers succeed in 2025-26 and beyond.