66 Days Until NFL Draft: Jer’Zhan Newton Among Mock Picks for Packers

Breaking through the offensive tackles and cornerbacks is Illinois All-American Jer’Zhan Newton, who is an elite pass rusher.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Here’s Johnny! And here are some potential Green Bay Packers draft picks in the latest and greatest batch of NFL mock drafts.

The 33rd Team (2 Rounds): Illinois DT Jer’Zhan Newton

Newton goes by “Johnny.” He was a second-team All-American in 2022 and a first-team All-American in 2023, when he also was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year following a season of 7.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for losses and four blocked kicks. In three seasons, he tallied 18 sacks and 28.5 TFLs.

The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher didn’t see the Packers having a clear need, so he added an impact player to Green Bay’s revamped defensive front.

“He's a little undersized, but we've seen smaller defensive tackles get drafted much higher than this,” Mosher said of Newton, who was listed at 6-foot-2 and 295 pounds.

Newton’s 15.4 percent pass-rush win rate was elite, according to Pro Football Focus. He had 102 pressures during his final two years.

“For me, in terms of defensive linemen in college, he's by the best player I've been around,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “The biggest difference is that when he beats guards, centers and tackles, he has an incredible ability to close on quarterbacks ... he does that at a really high level.”

With the two second-round picks, Mosher went with an offensive tackle and a safety. The safety is Miami’s Kamren Kinchens, who had six interceptions in 2022 and five more in 2023. His snaps included 379 deep, 113 in the slot and 110 in the box.

Click here for the full mock and further details on Green Bay’s picks.

Draft Network: Duke OL Graham Barton

Barton is an interesting selection. Can he play left tackle? That was his position at Duke and where the Packers might be looking to upgrade as they move forward, presumably, without David Bakhtiari. The Packers are good but not great in the middle with Elgton Jenkins at left guard, Josh Myers at center and Sean Rhyan at right guard. Remember, three-year starting right guard Jon Runyan is headed to free agency this year and Myers will be a free agent next year.

Said Ryan Fowler: “One of the most versatile linemen in the class, Barton is still looked upon as one of the premier centers in the class despite three straight years of success at left tackle … He's the type of player you start and don't think twice about it for the next decade.

Pro Football Focus podcast: Washington OL Troy Fautanu

There is some position mystery surrounding Fautanu, as well. He was Washington’s starting left tackle the past two seasons, with two sacks allowed in 2023 after a goose egg in 2022. NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah calls Fautanu a “starting tackle” with the type of position flexibility the Packers covet. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler listed Fautanu as his No. 1 guard.

Pro Football Network: Georgia OT Amarius Mims

Finally, a real offensive tackle. But is it the correct offensive tackle? Due to injuries, Mims started only eight games in two seasons at Georgia. He didn’t allow a sack. Every snap of his college career came at right tackle, where Zach Tom is a proven standout. While Tom has position flexibility, can he play left tackle?

Click here for the full mock.

CBSSports.com: Iowa DB Cooper DeJean

Here is your legally mandated slotting of DeJean, who can play cornerback, safety and slot, to the Packers, who have needs/potential needs at cornerback, safety and slot.

DetroitLions.com: Iowa DB Cooper DeJean

Lions beat writer Tim Twentyman knows what’s up. The Packers were next-to-last in the NFL with seven interceptions. DeJean had seven by himself during his final two seasons.

Sharp Football: Missouri CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.

Cornerback is a huge need with starting nickel Keisean Nixon and valuable veteran Corey Ballentine headed to free agent and 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes’ career cursed by injuries. Rakestraw seems like a perfect fit given his physicality in press coverage and his strong play against the run. He just didn’t make many plays with just one career interception.

Here’s an interesting note form the story: The Packers ranked 29th in the NFL with 8.2 yards allowed per passing attempt when the quarterback wasn’t pressured.

Packer Central

In case you missed them, here are the initial mock drafts by Bill Huber and Jacob Westendorf. We both led off with cornerbacks.

Perfect Packers Offseason Preview: Running Backs