100 Days of Mocks: Packers Get Massive Haul for Trading Rodgers
GREEN BAY, Wis. – A recent trend from the mock draft metroplex has been Aaron Rodgers staying with the Packers and Green Bay having only the 15th pick of the first round at its disposal in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Chris Trapasso of CBS Sports did not follow that trend. Nor did he listen to the drumbeat that the Jets might prefer Derek Carr.
In his new two-round mock draft, the Packers received first- and third-round picks in 2023, first- and third-round picks in 2024 and edge defender Micheal Clemons, who had 2.5 sacks as a rookie fourth-round pick.
With the pick acquired from the Jets, No. 13 overall, the Packers selected Alabama safety Brian Branch. He’s someone we’ve written about regularly in this series and would help the Packers deal with the potential losses of Adrian Amos and Rudy Ford in free agency.
“Branch can be a Swiss Army knife in the Packers secondary, and GM Brian Gutekunst has a history of prioritizing defensive backs early in the draft,” Trapasso explained.
The Packers added an explosive tight end with their own pick at No. 15 to handle the potential losses of Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis. See the mock for that pick.
With their second-round pick, No. 45 overall, Green Bay added another piece to their defense with edge defender Will McDonald IV of Iowa State.
In 2020, McDonald led the Big 12 and tied for the national lead with 10.5 sacks. In 2021, he earned some first-team All-American honors with a Big 12-leading and conference-record 11.5 sacks. In 2022, he was merely first-team all-conference with 5.5 sacks.
Reads part of his scouting report at SI.com’s NFL Draft Bible: “Ankle and hip flexibility to flatten his rush path. Useful hands that can swipe and work through linemen's grasps, forcing them to recover. Initial get-off helps him split double teams and reach the backfield. Laterally adept, with the speed and agility to set the edge on perimeter runs if he’s free. Effort and motor to chase backs across the field. Teams repeatedly started double-chipping him as the season went on.”
McDonald is a Wisconsin native who played his high school ball at Waukesha North. Just a couple games into his varsity career, the Badgers brought him to Madison on a recruiting trip. Here’s how that went down, via 247 Sports.
Recruiter: “We’re going to turn you into an NFL outside linebacker.”
McDonald: “Oh, OK, cool.”
Recruiter: “Do you know who T.J. Watt is? And J.J. Watt?”
McDonald: “No, I don’t know any of them.”
A few weeks later, Iowa State reached out.
“I just had to tell them, he’s never played before, you’re going to talk to him and you’re going to think he has no clue, but it’s because he doesn’t,” Waukesha North coach Matthew Harris said. “I said the first time you talk to him, if you talk to him on the phone, it’s like talking to a brand new kid who does not know the sport at all. The second they met him they just fell in love with him and they were like, ‘Now we get it.’”
Why did McDonald know so little about football? Because he didn’t have time. He worked at McDonald’s to help his family pay the bills. Finally, Harris convinced McDonald’s mom to let him play.
“Right away, I was like, 'Holy cow, he is the most incredible athlete I’ve ever seen,’” Harris told The Des Moines Register.
As a senior, his mom had to move. To stay with his friends and teammates at Waukesha North, McDonald moved in with Harris.
“I think that helps maturity when you've not only had those experiences, but you've overcome those experiences,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said. “He's somebody that, in a lot of ways, has overcome those experiences in a really impressive way. He's a guy that you're rooting for because of the adversity that he's been able to already show that he can overcome. I think that's why he's always going to have great success.”
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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.
64 days: Three team-issued mock drafts
Packers take tight end in Daniel Jeremiah’s second mock
65 days: Pass-rushing defensive lineman in two-rounder
67 days: Three-rounder starts with receiver
68 days: Grandson of Glory Years legend
69 days: Mayer to Packers in SI mock
70 days: Football Outsiders picks pass rusher
71 days: 33rd Team trades Rodgers in two-rounder
71 days (bonus): Todd McShay 2.0
72 days: Packers take receiver to start NFL.com three-rounder
73 days: Packers fill big need with big man
74 days: Rodgers traded, take two pass-catchers in first round
75 days: Two NFL.com mocks, two different tight ends
76 days: Tight end and pass rusher in two-rounder by NFL Draft Bible
77 days: Rodgers traded to Raiders for No. 7 pick
78 days: A seven-round mock includes Big Ten playmakers
79 days: Rodgers traded in two-round mock
80 days: Packers take safety in ESPN mock
81 days: Aaron Rodgers traded in three-round mock
82 days: Seven mocks, including NFL.com
83 days: Two pass-catchers in first-round mocks
84 days: Aaron Rodgers traded for extra first-round pick
85 days: PFF picks a pass rusher
86 days: Tight end in NFL Draft Bible Mock
87 days: Packers trade back, get extra second-rounder
88 days: Sorry, vacation day.
89 days: A “Eureka!” moment in two-round mock
90 days: Playmaking cornerback at PFF
91 days: Three defensive backs in seven-round mock
92 days: Kiper takes a tight end
93 days: Safety first for Bucky Brooks in NFL.com mock
94 days: College Football News mocks Mayer
95 days: Two firsts if Rodgers is traded
96 days: NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah goes back to Georgia
97 days: This pick would break a long drought
