100 Days of Mocks: A Big, Bad Bulldog
GREEN BAY, Wis. – What’s a young quarterback’s best friend? Check that. What’s any quarterback’s best friend?
Pass protection.
That was the focus of a new three-round mock draft by Curt Popejoy of Draftwire. With the Green Bay Packers’ first-round pick, the choice was Georgia offensive tackle Broderick Jones.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones didn’t allow a single sack in 470 pass-protecting snaps at left tackle as a redshirt sophomore in 2022. He moved into the starting lineup late in 2021 to help the Bulldogs win one national championship, then started every game in 2022 for the back-to-back champs.
“I think his best football is still ahead of him,” NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said in a recent conference call with reporters. “He is incredibly strong. He is incredibly athletic. What he can do in the second level stuff and the run game, as well as in the screen game, is outstanding.
“He sets a little bit of a unique set where he sets a little bit flat, so there are times where guys can get upfield on him, but then he shows you the ability to recover and hang in there. Maybe a little top-heavy at times (and) gets a little overaggressive. He is a pretty physical player. I think there's a lot to really like about him. I think he could play either side. I think he could play right tackle (and) could play left tackle.”
Jones would make it four Bulldogs in the first round in three years for the Packers, following cornerback Eric Stokes in 2021 and linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt in 2022.
The Day 2 picks filled needs on defense. In the second round, it was Kansas State edge Felix Anudike-Uzomah. In 2022, he was the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, a finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive lineman and a second- and third-team All-American with 8.5 sacks, 11 tackles for losses and two forced fumbles. That came on the heels of his breakout 2021 campaign of 11 sacks, 14.5 tackles for losses and an incredible six forced fumbles.
“When you widened him out and gave him a runway, he was pretty dominant,” Jeremiah said, noting his eight forced fumbles the last two seasons.
Kansas State was the only Power 5 school to offer him a scholarship because he was so undersized coming out of high school.
“My No. 1 objective was to prove everybody wrong," Anudike-Uzomah told KStateSports.com. “People underrecruited me. I was barely a three-star. Some of my high school coaches said they didn't think I'd be at the FBS level or Power 5 level.
“I had to enjoy proving people wrong. I know my capabilities they don't know.”
The third-round pick was Alabama safety Jordan Battle, a three-year starter and two-time All-American with six career interceptions.
At Pro Football Network, Oliver Hodgkinson picked went with Alabama safety Brian Branch at No. 15. The versatile, sure-tackling defensive back also was a Packers pick in Friday’s edition.
“It’s Jordan Love season in Titletown!” Hodgkinson wrote. “It would be some kind of irony if the Green Bay Packers decided to use their first-round pick on a WR to support their new QB1. However, the most likely move feels like adding a player who shores up the Packers’ secondary.
“Alabama’s Brian Branch has become a popular fit for Green Bay, and it’s easy to understand why. The ultimate utility man in the secondary who has played multiple roles at the highest level of college football, there isn’t a more reliable tackler in this class. Branch also brings coverage capability with his fluid movement and ball skills.”
At Sharp Football, Ryan McCrystal also went with Branch at No. 15. For what it’s worth, McCrystal has been the fifth-most accurate mock drafter over the last five years.
A New Era as Jordan Love Replaces Aaron Rodgers
For the Packers, it’s the Great Reset
Packers and Jets, Rodgers and Leverage
Green Bay Packers Free Agency News
Interview: Get to know the new long snapper
100 Days of Mocks
Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.
41 days: Trading back, helping defense
42 days: Van Ness leads off PFF three-rounder
43 days: Van Ness at No. 13 and No. 15 in new mocks
44 days: Four-rounder starts with pass rusher
45 days: Sorry, free agency
46 days: A first-round quarterback?
47 days: A fistful of tight ends
48 days: Rodgers traded; Packers take pass rusher, tight end
