2018 NFL Draft: Green Bay Packers 7-round mock draft in October
By Nick Sparrow
The Green Bay Packers find themselves with an abundance of draft picks and a faltering team with franchise quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center.
The Green Bay Packers find themselves in one of the weirdest situations in the league. The Packers and their fan base expected them to compete for the Super Bowl this season, reaching the NFC Championship game last year before losing to the Atlanta Falcons. Additionally, the 2017 Super Bowl will take place at the new U.S. Bank Stadium which is located less than 300 miles from Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.
However, when Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone in Week 6 any hope of a playoff run faded. Rodgers is the base to everything the Packers even try to do on offense and no single player is more important to a team’s success than Rodgers is.
Still, all news is not bad for the Packers. Green Bay will enter the 2018 NFL Draft will an unbelievable 12 draft picks. The Packers have all seven of their original picks, four compensatory picks, and a conditional seventh-round pick from a trade with the Buffalo Bills. Green Bay only played a single game without Rodgers this season, a 26-17 home loss to the New Orleans Saints.
If the Packers struggle without Rodgers under center the team could be in a rare position to get high draft picks. Green Bay is currently projected to have the No. 16 pick in the draft with a 4-3 record. The Packers have not picked better than 16th since the 2009 NFL Draft when they had the No. 9 pick.
Round 1, Pick 16: Tyrell Crosby, OT – Oregon
If the Packers have an Achilles heel it is their offensive line. Through the first seven weeks of the season, Green Bay ranks 25th in sack percentage and has allowed the second-most sacks at 24. With how important Rodgers is to this offense, it is absolutely vital that Green Bay can keep their quarterback upright. While the problem seems to more about injuries than talent, it doesn’t change that the Packers are one of the worse blocking teams in the NFL.
Green Bay has only had a single game all season in which all of the offensive line starters were healthy enough to play, their Week 6 loss to the Vikings (the same game Aaron Rodgers was injured during). However, both of Green Bay’s tackles and their left guard were injured again during that game and taken out of the game to not return.
Drafting Oregon’s Tyrell Crosby with their first pick solves a lot of problems. Not only is Crosby talented enough to be an immediate starter at either tackle position, but this move also provides depth on the line that the Packers desperately need.