In NFL.com Five-Round Mock Draft, Packers Trade Up for Pass Rusher

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst wants more pass rush, not less. He typically wants more draft picks, not less.

In a new five-round mock draft at NFL.com, Chad Reuter played the role of Gutekunst and got the pass rusher at the expense of giving up a premium pick. He shipped the Packers’ first- and third-round picks to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to move up from No. 23 to No. 19. The prize? Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams.

“Williams' 40 time at his pro day (high 4.7s) might place him within the Packers' reach,” Reuter explained. “They should have great interest because of his length and potential as a strong pass rusher and run defender on the edge. Green Bay lands a key player for the price of swapping a third-rounder for a fifth-round pick.”

The Packers are interested, having hosted Williams on a predraft visit. At 6-foot-5 1/8 and 260 pounds, he’s got the size the Packers typically covet – certainly more so than Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who went at No. 22 in Reuter’s mock.

While the 4.77 in the 40 isn’t impressive, his 10-yard split was explosive. For a pass rusher, of course, those first few steps are critical. The length Reuter referenced? He’s got 34 3/8-inch arms – longer than many of the top offensive tackles.

Williams had 4.5 sacks in 2022 and 2023 and five sacks in 2024, when he played through a high-ankle sprain sustained in Week 1. Four of those five sacks came in a pair of two-sack performances against Texas.

“I was injured the whole year, never healthy,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “I was messed up pretty bad. It was extremely frustrating [with people] not knowing the full story.

“I decided to take the first two to three weeks [after the season] to rest my ankle and try to get it back under me. So, that delayed my training, I got a late jump, and that's why I'm going [to go through workouts at] pro day instead of Combine.”

If Williams is going to be a bit of a project, he’s a polished gem in comparison to the second-round pick, Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter.

Despite an incredible combination of size and speed, Porter spent three seasons at receiver but didn’t make an impact beyond special teams. So, the Cyclones’ coaches moved him to defense in 2022.

He played 153 defensive snaps in 2022 and 115 in 2023 before emerging into a more regular role as a sixth-year senior in 2024. Even then, he averaged only 35 snaps in 12 games. But he was magnificent, with PFF charging him with 5-of-17 passing for 70 yards with zero touchdowns. He intercepted three passes and broke up two others.

The good? Porter at the Combine measured 6-foot-2 7/8 and ran his 40 in 4.30 seconds, giving him a 9.99 Relative Athletic Score. And he blocked five kicks in his career. The bad? His career consists of 694 snaps on defense.

The problem with trading up, of course, is losing out on a pick. In this simulation, the Packers hadn’t drafted a receiver through Day 2. The cupboard was mostly picked over by now, but TCU’s Savion Williams, Maryland’s Tai Felton, Tennessee’s Dont’e Thornton and Utah State’s Jalen Royals were available at Green Bay’s spot at No. 87.

Finally, the Packers got a receiver in the fourth round. Nebraska’s Isaiah Neyor has a first-round package at 6-foot-4 1/4 and 218 pounds with 4.43 speed in the 40 but it never quite came together. He caught 34 passes for 455 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. With Wyoming in 2021, he led the Mountain West with a 20.0-yard average and 12 touchdowns.

The first-round trade meant the Packers had two picks in the fifth, which were used on a defensive tackle and cornerback.

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