Packers Trade Up for Receiver in NFL.com Seven-Round NFL Mock Draft

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers haven’t drafted a receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002. That was about six months before Emeka Egbuka was born.

In a seven-round mock draft at NFL.com, Chad Reuter not only drafted a receiver in the first round but traded up to get him.

The target? Ohio State star Emeka Egbuka?

“We haven't seen the Packers draft a receiver in Round 1 since 2002 -- but we did see them move up in Round 2 for Christian Watson three years ago,” Reuter explained. “With the top cornerbacks no longer available in this mock, Green Bay swaps a third-round pick for a fifth-rounder to nab Egbuka.”

The Packers had bonus picks in 2022 from the Davante Adams trade when they drafted Watson. The Packers don’t have that luxury this year, so at least getting back a fifth-rounder in the trade keep general manager Brian Gutekunst at eight picks.

Egbuka, who had a predraft visit with the Packers, was a premier player at premier program for three seasons. He caught 74 passes for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022, 41 passes for 515 yards and four touchdowns in 2023 and 81 passes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2024.

He finished first in Ohio State history with 205 receptions even while playing alongside the likes of Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“That’s probably one of the craziest rosters I’ve ever heard in my life,” Egbuka said at the Scouting Combine. “That was one of the reasons I decided to go to Ohio State. I didn’t want to go to a place where I wasn’t going to be challenged by my peers. I wanted to go somewhere I could grow at an exponential rate because they were growing, as well.”

To say the Packers need Egbuka to save the receiver room might be an overstatement, though that group did fail to reach lofty expectations last year and lost Christian Watson to a torn ACL. He was, however, credited with saving Ohio State’s receiver room last year.

"When we had our trials and tribulations, and we were down in the dumps a little bit, his firmness in believing the kind of guys we were, the coaching staff we were, the team we had, the brotherhood we had, the culture we had, he was convinced that we were good, we’ll be fine,” receivers coach and Brian Hartline said.

“We’ll keep pushing forward – it’s not OK – but we’ll keep pushing forward. We have a special group and there’s better ahead. He really kept us going. He kept me going. As coaches, you can’t show that, but to hear that coming from Emeka, to see how he brought guys together, his conviction and the things he said really went a long way. After the outcome, the ability for us to win that big one, to see him crying, I just kept thinking of the things he said to our unit with the belief of the guys around him. That was pretty special, man. That was pretty special.”

The Packers bypassed Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Marshall’s Mike Green and Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku at the end of the first round but got their defensive end in the second round with Ohio State’s JT Tuimoloau.

Tuimoloau fits Green Bay’s mold as a big, powerful edge setter. He led the Big Ten in sacks in 2024. During his final three seasons, he started 39 games and recorded 21.5 sacks, 39.5 tackles for losses and 11 passes defensed during that span.

Tuimoloau was not ranked in Daniel Jeremiah’s latest Top 50 at NFL.com but was Dane Brugler’s No. 43 prospect at The Athletic.

Wrote Brugler: “Tuimoloau's college tape is more good than exceptional, but he is competitive, skilled and doesn't have major deficiencies that would keep him from being a dependable edge presence in the NFL. He is one of the most well-rounded defensive prospects in the class.”

Now comes the fallout from not having that third-round pick. The Packers haven’t added an offensive lineman, defensive tackle or cornerback. LSU’s Emery Jones, West Virginia’s Wyatt Milum and Texas’ Cameron Williams were available on the offensive line, Iowa State’s Darien Porter, Ohio State’s Denzel Burke and Louisville’s Quincy Riley were among the cornerbacks on the board, and Nebraska’s Ty Robinson and Oregon’s Jamaree Caldwell would have been options at defensive tackle.

The Packers did get a corner at No. 124 of the fourth with Western Michigan’s Bilhal Kone. An under-the-radar prospect, Kone had two interceptions and 18 passes defensed as a two-year starter at Western Michigan. He’s got the physical tools at 6-foot-1 1/4 with 4.43 speed and plays with excellent physicality. The size would be a big deal for the Packers, who are short at the position.

The draft was rounded out by an offensive tackle and another corner in the fifth round, a defensive tackle in the sixth round, and a center and (for some reason) a punter in the seventh round.

The center had a predraft visit with the Packers and has a remarkable path to the NFL.

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