Stanford's Ayomanor May Not be Going to Green Bay After All

Sep 29, 2024; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; General view of Green Bay Packers helmets prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Heading into night one of the NFL Draft, Stanford's Elic Ayomanor had been mocked to the Green Bay Packers fairly consistently in the days leading up. Part of this was based on the team's tendency to not draft wide outs in the first round, which would leave them hunting for the next tier of receiver. Ayomanor is a very solid option in the tier that they usually shop in.

However, with their first-round selection, the Packers swerved a little and ended up taking the second-best receiver in the Draft, Matthew Golden out of Texas, with the No. 23 overall pick.

ESPN said of the Packers' new addition, "Golden is an effective route runner who wins with his release, explodes off the line and gets out of breaks. He plucks the ball, makes the first defender miss and explodes upfield after the catch.

"Golden is one of two players to run a sub-4.3 40-yard dash at the combine; that speed shows up on tape when he gives his quarterback room to drop the ball in running vertical routes. He high-points jump balls and makes acrobatic catches downfield."

Given that Green Bay had two receivers--Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks--combine for 18 drops last season, perhaps they were a bit averse to waiting on Ayomanor in the second or third round due to a little concern over his dropped passes as well.

That said, ESPN's draft projection tool shows that Ayomanor has a better chance of being a Pro Bowl caliber player (7.1%) than a non-factor (3.6%). His most likely outcomes are either a starter (36.8%) or a backup (38.7%). He's not exactly a sure thing, but his skill set is enticing.

Given that Ayomanor is ranked somewhere around the tenth-best wide out in the NFL Draft, and just three receivers have been drafted to far, the likelihood is that the Stanford product will now be selected in the third round. There may just be too many wide receiver prospects ranked ahead of him to push into the second round at this point.

Still, a good number of those pass catchers are projected to go in the second round, so that shouldn't leave too many players projected ahead of Ayomanor either in the late second or early third round.

Where he ends up is an open question, however, with his most likely destination now having their answer at his position.