Seven Former Top Draft Prospects Who Should Interest Packers at Trade Deadline

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst might have one eye on the game and one eye on his phone when his team plays at the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The NFL trade deadline looms on Tuesday, and Gutekunst should break from tradition and strongly consider having his team add a key contributor.

As Gutekunst has said frequently over the years, the team’s scouting reports from before the draft matter when it comes to adding veterans. So, from that perspective, here are seven former top-50 draft picks who could fill needs for the Packers.

C/G Jackson Powers-Johnson, Raiders

Jackson Powers-Johnson was the 44th pick of the 2024 draft. This wouldn’t be a deal so much to help this year’s team but a forward-thinking move on a young player with position flexibility who will be under contract in 2027.

Powers-Johnson started 14 games as a rookie, when he was guilty of a whopping 14 penalties, but has gotten the nod in only four of his seven appearances this season. His 1,566 career snaps are split fairly evenly among the three interior positions.

Would any team value that sentence more than the Packers?

DT Christian Barmore, Patriots

Christian Barmore was the 38th pick of the 2021 draft. He had a breakout third season with 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for losses but missed most of the 2024 due to blood clots.

Packers assistant coach DeMarcus Covington was Barmore’s position coach in New England.

“When he walks through the door, you’re going to know who he is. Just how big he is, how long he is, how tall he is,” Covington said when Barmore was a rookie. “Now, for us, as we get him into our program, it’s all about teaching him the way we do our fundamentals and technique, and the way how we do things around here. You still get a young kid that doesn’t have much experience playing football, and, so, the sky’s the limit for him. He’s going to do well for us.”

Barmore had only two sacks and four tackles for losses in 2025 but 3.5 sacks and three TFLs in seven games (two starts) this year. He could provide some pass-rushing juice to help lessen the load on Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks.

He is playing under a four-year, $84 million extension that runs through the 2028 season. The acquiring team in a trade would take on cap hits of about $6 million for the rest of this season, $20 million for 2027 and $21 million for 2028, but there’s no guaranteed money to be concerned about.

WR Rashod Bateman, Ravens

Rashod Bateman was the 27th pick of the 2021 draft. He never quite became the player the Ravens envisioned. He had a bit of a breakout with 45 catches for 756 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024 but caught only 19 passes in 13 games in 2025 and has 20 catches in nine games in 2026.

He’s got 4.39 speed in the 40, which would fit Green Bay’s vertical passing attack.

He’s under contract through the 2029 season. If traded, he’d have cap charges of $8.25 million in 2027, $10.25 million in 2027 and $12.25 million in 2029, but there’s no guaranteed money.

G Cesar Ruiz, Saints

New Orleans Saints lineman Cesar Ruiz (51) blocks Denver Broncos defensive end John Franklin-Myers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cesar Ruiz was the 24th pick of the 2020 draft. He has played mostly right guard during his career but also has some center in his background.

The Packers are in an interesting spot at guard, where they like Laken Tomlinson so much that they started him at right guard last week. It’s a position he hadn’t played in a decade and didn’t get to practice on a short week. So, would the Packers bother adding any interior blocker?

Ruiz has not allowed a sack this season. He’s a good-but-not-great run blocker.

Next year is the final season of a four-year, $44 million contract extension. The cap hit for the rest of this season is negligible, and he is due a base salary of $9.5 million with no guaranteed money in 2027.

WR Brian Thomas, Jaguars

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (7) reacts after a catch against the Green Bay Packers in 2024. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Brian Thomas was the 23rd pick of the 2024 draft. At 6-foot-3 and with 4.33 speed in the 40, he looked like the next great receiver as a rookie, when he caught 87 passes for 1,282 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, he caught only 48 passes in 2025 and has just 10 in eight games in 2026.

The Packers have only two proven playmakers at receiver with Christian Watson and Matthew Golden. Thomas could improve the depth this year – his size and speed would fit the offense – and work his way into a bigger role next year, when he plays the final season of his rookie contract with a cap charge of just $2.79 million.

Edge/LB Zaven Collins, Cardinals

Zaven Collins was the 16th pick of the 2021 draft. Once Zaire Franklin returns, the Packers will have depth at linebacker. Once Micah Parsons returns, the Packers will be back to full strength on the edge.

Collins has production in both roles. He had 100 tackles and 11 tackles for losses in 2022 and five sacks in 2024. This year, he has 23 tackles, including two sacks, in eight games (four starts).

Collins is playing the final season of his second contract. He’d cost the Packers about $2 million on the cap this year. He could be a versatile weapon for Jonathan Gannon and get the team a compensatory pick if he were to leave in free agency after the season.

RB Ashton Jeanty, Raiders

The Packers have interest in Jonathan Taylor. Presumably, they’ll have interest in other backs, such as the Titans’ Tony Pollard.

Ashton Jeanty was the sixth pick of the 2025 draft. ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell mentioned Jeanty as a “luxury target” for the Packers, who have a history of adding Raiders players with Josh Jacobs, Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs.

“Jeanty has struggled so far as a pro, but his pass-catching ability gives him a solid floor, and he would find it easier to access his explosiveness in a better offense,” Barnwell wrote.

Jeanty was billed as the next great running back after a dominant career at Boise State. However, after rushing for 975 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie, he’s rushed for only 337 yards with a 3.1-yard average and one touchdown this season. Would a back who hasn’t performed behind a bad offensive line change the trajectory of a running game with a bad offensive line?

Jeanty, however, is under contract for two more seasons, so this wouldn't be a one-year rental. Instead, he could replace Jacobs as RB1 next year with bargain cap charges of $4.10 million in 2027 and $5.73 million in 2028.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Packers could use some help at defensive tackle, where injuries have chipped away at the depth.

Here are some options, including two players who played under Jonathan Gannon. ⬇️https://t.co/BSydorKmKp
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 7, 2026

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