These Are ‘Ideal’ First-, Second-Round NFL Draft Picks for Packers

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter made “dreams come true” by selecting an ideal combination of first- and second-round picks for every team.

Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams (left) wraps up Florida Gators running back Ja'Kobi Jackson. | Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers must address multiple needs entering the 2025 NFL Draft. Their defense, which was pretty good in Year 1 under coordinator Jeff Hafley, could be even better with a more consistent pass rush and better play at cornerback.

At NFL.com, Chad Reuter selected each team’s “ideal” picks for the first and second rounds. For the Green Bay Packers, he picked Georgia edge Mykel Williams in the first round and East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel in the second round.

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst tends to emphasize potential over production and defense over offense in the first round. He also has a well-documented history in picking players from Georgia, which Reuter hit on by mentioning recent first-round picks Eric Stokes, Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt.

“Williams should be next in line because of his 34-inch arms and athleticism, even though the Packers will likely need to move up for him in Round 1,” Reuter said.

Williams had 4.5 sacks in 2022 and 4.5 sacks in 2023. Big things were expected of him in 2024, with some early comparisons to former teammate Travon Walker, the second overall pick of the 2022 draft. Williams, however, suffered a high-ankle sprain in the opener and finished the season with only five sacks.

In a pre-Scouting Combine conference call, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah expected Williams to be a top-10 pick.

“If he doesn’t get hurt in that Clemson game and we see him at full strength, I think we’re talking about him as another top-10 lock who has a lot of freaky qualities to him, freaky traits to him. He can really get off the ball. He’s got a lot of power and violence as a rusher. He can set the edge. It’s just perfection.”

Williams, Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart and Tennessee’s James Pearce are first-round edge-rushing prospects who took predraft visits to Green Bay. That would indicate Gutekunst might be looking to take a big swing.  However, he downplayed the need at the owners meetings this week.

“I think we can do everything we need to do with the players we have on our roster right now,” he said. “I think there’s a significant amount of improvement for those guys, not only in Year 2 of a scheme but just individually, as well.

“We’ve invested in that quite a bit already and I’m excited to see the growth that those guys will have. If the draft happens to bring us some more ammunition in that caliber, great, but I don’t think it’s something that’s necessarily that we’ll have to go chase.”

Revel had a breakthrough season in 2023, when he had only one interception but 14 passes defensed and allowed a completion rate of 45.2 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. Having generated a first-round buzz, he had two interceptions in the first three games before sustaining a torn ACL at practice. He should be ready for the start of training camp.

Like Williams, Revel had a predraft visit with the Packers.

“Revel's size (6-foot-1 7/8, 194 pounds; 32 5/8-inch arms) fit the team's historical ideal for the position, and he'd be a good value in the middle of the second round, despite missing most of his senior year with an ACL tear injury,” Reuter wrote.

The Chicago Bears, having rebuilt the interior of their offensive line via trades and free agency, selected an offensive tackle in the first round. The Detroit Lions replaced veteran guard Kevin Zeitler and boosted their pass rush. The Minnesota Vikings strengthened their secondary and offensive line.