2019 NFL Mock Draft: Kinnan’s final first-round projection

These are not the same Green Bay Packers we have seen in the past. In recent history, the Packers have held onto veterans well past their primes and have not been big spenders in free agency. This year, however, the Packers let longtime linebacker Clay Matthews walk in free agency while spending big on the defensive side of the football.

After inking pass rushers Za’darius Smith and Preston Smith, in addition to safety Adrian Amos, to huge contracts in free agency, the Packers have given themselves the opportunity to use the 12th pick in the draft on the offensive side of the football. With this top-15 pick, the Packers draft Iowa tight end Noah Fant.

Fant is the better prospect of the two Iowa tight ends in this year’s class. While this is a hotly contested debate, Fant has nothing left to prove. Testing as a much better athlete than Hawkeye teammate T.J. Hockenson, Aaron Rodgers may have found his new favorite target.

Jimmy Graham has not worked out in Green Bay, and the Packers have an out from his contract after this season. As they seek to keep their Super Bowl window open for as long as they have Rodgers, the Packers add Fant in an attempt to get younger and more explosive offensively.