100 Days of Mocks: Packers Gain Extra Pick in Athletic Mock
In a new mock draft for The Athletic, the Green Bay Packers went pass rusher, tight end and offensive tackle.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – A year ago, this trade in The Athletic’s new mock draft would have seemed preposterous: the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions making a deal and flip-flopping draft positions. But the Packers and Lions both made deals with the Minnesota Vikings in last year’s draft, so anything is possible.
In Nick Baumgardner’s new mock for The Athletic, the Packers and Lions swapped spots, with Green Bay going from No. 15 to No. 18 and picking up a second-round pick.
At the Packers’ new first-round spot, Baumgardner went with Iowa’s Lukas Van Ness. He’s someone we wrote about earlier in this series. A backup at Iowa, he had 13 sacks and 19 tackles for losses the last two seasons.
Of draft-eligible edge rushers from Power 5 schools, Van Ness finished ninth in pass-rush win rate.
“Lukas Van Ness hasn’t come close to his best football,” he wrote. “He’s in a place not unlike where Rashan Gary was as a player developmentally when the Packers drafted him (Round 1, 2019). Van Ness is still raw, but he’s going to be able to do an awful lot in the NFL if it all comes together. He has length, agility and a punch that can crack a sternum. His nickname is ‘Hercules.’ He’s still very young and might even keep growing.”
Armed with two second-round picks, the Packers went with perhaps the No. 1 tight end in a loaded class at No. 45 and offensive tackle Anton Harrison of Oklahoma at No. 48.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 309 pounds, Harrison was a two-year starter with 23 starts at left tackle and one at right tackle. He was first-team all-Big 12 this past season.
In 446 pass-blocking snaps, Harrison allowed just one quarterback sack, according to PFF. That was the only quarterback hit he allowed all season.
“In addition to his stellar flexibility, Harrison exhibits excellent movement skills that aid him in every aspect of the game,” reads a snippet of his SI.com scouting report. “He is a springy and explosive athlete with impressive lateral and linear burst and change- of-direction ability.
“He mirrors before and after contact in pass protection and the run game and can stick with linebackers in space. Harrison's movement, balance, and flexibility allow him to recover from poor initial aim or engagement. He stays competitive after losing to hand counters. His fluid hips help him hinge quickly to mirror or handle complex assignments as a run blocker.”
As a high schooler in Washington, D.C., Harrison was a star in football and had some opportunities to play football and basketball after making the jump from JV to varsity in hoops.
Click here for the full mock draft.
Bonus mock: Here's another call for Van Ness.
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’s the 100-day-countdown series.
100 days: First-round quarterback?
99 days: Trading for outside linebacker
97 days: This pick would break a long drought
96 days: NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah goes back to Georgia
95 days: Two firsts if Rodgers is traded
94 days: College Football News mocks Mayer
93 days: Safety first for Bucky Brooks in NFL.com mock
92 days: Kiper takes a tight end
91 days: Three defensive backs in seven-round mock
90 days: Playmaking cornerback at PFF
89 days: Sorry, vacation day.
