Green Bay Packers pre-free agency 7-round 2020 mock draft
The Green Bay Packers have immediate holes to fill in the 2020 NFL Draft and they plug them up in this 7-round mock draft ahead of free agency.
Anyone denying the success and prowess of the Green Bay Packers is simply lying. Aaron Rodgers and the Pack didn’t go 13-3 in the regular season and make it to the NFC Championship Game on the back of dumb luck. This is a good football team with the chance to make a run. However, there is work to do for that run to ultimately result in another Lombardi Trophy for Titletown.
While the Packers can do some damage in NFL free agency this offseason, general manager Brian Gutekunst has made it clear that, after spending big on Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos last offseason in free agency, the 2020 NFL Draft will be a key area of focus for the upcoming season.
Green Bay will have some free agency losses on both sides of the ball to contend with but they also need to simply improve in other areas, particularly on offense where Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones need some more weaponry around them to take the next step.
Owning at least one pick in every round in addition to two extra sixth-rounders and another seventh-round selection as well, the Packers have the opportunity to make a big impact in the 2020 NFL Draft. That’s what they do with the picks in this pre-free agency 7-round mock draft. This mock was simulated using The Draft Network’s mock draft machine.
Whether it was inconsistent play from Blake Martinez, who is now set to hit free agency this offseason, or injuries to Oren Burks, the Packers have been lacking at linebacker. That was never more evident than in the NFC Championship Game when Kyle Shanahan basically put Martinez and Co. in a blender for 60 minutes. So now it’s time to address that.
Patrick Queen was one of the biggest risers in the 2020 NFL Draft class from his 2019 season, largely because he finally got the opportunity to play. Sitting behind Devin White on the depth chart in 2018, he got the starting job this past year and shined. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com gives the rundown on what Queen brings to the table:
"He plays fast, physical and with impressive field confidence for a one-year starter. His ability to diagnose and flow are both very rapid, and he operates with excellent body control and balance to gobble up runners as an open-field tackler. His inexperience will show itself in taking on blocks and finding optimal pursuit angles, but that will get cleaned up in time. Queen is next up from LSU’s linebacker factory, possessing the same three-down ability to hunt, cover and tackle as those before him. He’s an early starter with a sky-high ceiling."
The Packers have lacked a true three-down linebacker for quite some time and Queen has that type of ability. Not only could he come in and be an upgrade from Martinez immediately but he could potentially become one of the NFL’s best linebackers with more experience at the pro level.