Green Bay Selects Nephew of Former Packers QB in New Mock Draft

The most interesting name for the Green Bay Packers from Pro Football Network’s new seven-round mock draft wasn’t cornerback Chris Johnson in the second round. Rather, it was Youngstown State receiver Max Tomczak in the seventh round.

His uncle, Mike Tomczak, went from undrafted free agent to 15-year NFL quarterback. He was Jim McMahon’s backup for the mighty Chicago Bears as a rookie in 1985. In 1991, he joined the Packers for one season. He played in 12 games with seven starts, going 2-5 while throwing 11 touchdowns vs. nine interceptions.

He’s an advisor to the head coach at Youngstown State, where his nephew flourished as a receiver.

Max Tomczak earned some FCS All-American honors in 2025, when he caught 70 passes for 1,021 yards and eight touchdowns. Including 73 receptions in 2024, he is the school’s career leader with 225 receptions.

“You think about how I got here five years ago, and I was the walk-on, who realistically was probably only here because my uncle was the volunteer coach here,” Tomczak said at YSU’s pro day.

“I’m just thinking about how far I’ve come, and it’s awesome, because I want to be able to show that to the other walk-ons on the team. Those guys that may not see the light at the end of the tunnel; hopefully, I can show them there is a way. It doesn’t matter who you are, you can do it – scholarship, walk-on, whatever you are.”

Tomczak tested for scouts at Youngstown State’s pro day and went through drills at Ohio State’s pro day to get more eyeballs on what he can do.

“He needs the ball in his hands,” Youngstown State coach Doug Phillips told Vindy.com in 2024. “We want to get Max the ball. We think he’s that type of player that he needs touches because of what he can do when the football is in his hands.

“You hear about kids like that, great players, they’ll wear everybody out because they’re always ‘on.’ Where can I get better? Where can we get better? And he’s driving it, he’s driving it in the offseason. He’s a perfectionist, and you see it in his work.”

Tomczak was the second receiver to go to Green Bay in Ian Cummings’ mock draft, which might seem like overkill until you consider Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Skyy Moore are scheduled to be free agents after the upcoming season.

In the fourth round, the choice was Oregon receiver Malik Benson. Benson played at Alabama in 2023, Florida Atlantic in 2024 and Oregon in 2025, when he caught 43 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns with only one drop. He averaged 17.9 yards per punt return last season, as well.

He’s a bit undersized but has explosive speed, leading to a RAS of 6.03.

After taking Johnson in the second round, the Packers grabbed a pair of Penn State stars with offensive tackle Drew Shelton in the third round and running back Kaytron Allen in the fifth round.

Shelton was a two-year starting left tackle for the Nittany Lions. The Packers need depth on their offensive line with Jordan Morgan replacing another Penn State blocker, Rasheed Walker, at left tackle and Sean Rhyan replacing Elgton Jenkins at center.

PFF charged Shelton with just one sack allowed in 2025.

“Drew Shelton can still improve his functional play strength, but the 6-foot-5, 313-pound blocker has the athleticism, nuance, and position flexibility the Packers have been known to value,” Cummings wrote.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein says Shelton has starting potential. He has the athleticism to play tackle but will need to improve his play strength.

The Packers need depth at running back, too, following the decision to not re-sign Emanuel Wilson. Allen would join veteran Chris Brooks in the battle to be the No. 2 back behind Josh Jacobs.

Allen (5-foot-11, 216 pounds) had a superb career with a school-record 4,180 rushing yards in four seasons, highlighted by 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior, when he averaged 3.8 yards after contact. He added 70 career receptions.

“It meant a lot because I put it down on my record board, something that I wanted to do,” Allen said at the Scouting Combine. “And I told my aunties that I wanted to do it. They passed – unfortunately, they couldn't see it, but I told them I wanted to do it.”

Zierlein compared him to bruising Tyler Allgeier because of his power but lack of explosiveness.

“I’m different, man,” Allen said. “I feel like I can do everything.”

The Packers added a Big Ten defensive tackle in the sixth round and an SEC tight end in the seventh. Click here for the full mock from Pro Football Network.

Packers On SI Exclusive With Javon Hargrave

I talked to Javon Hargrave yesterday about a bunch of things, including why he signed with the Packers. Here's that story, with a longer story coming later on motivation, Gilbert Brown and more. ⬇️https://t.co/4nBDM61FJr
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 27, 2026

“I just want to show I’ve still got it – still got that juice, still got what it takes to play at a high level in this league.”

From my conversation with new Packers DT Javon Hargrave ⬇️https://t.co/msrgpMnsMK
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) March 28, 2026

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