23. Green Bay Packers - Benjamin Morrison, CB, Notre Dame
The Green Bay Packers do have a lot of good players, but they don’t have a lot of great ones. That is a huge problem and would be a reason why they never get over the hump. One area where they could look to get younger and better is in the secondary. Jaire Alexander has struggled to stay on the field in recent years.
Moving on from Alexander could very much be on the table, so the Packers draft CB Benjamin Morrison from Notre Dame at pick 23 in this NFL mock draft. Green Bay went 11-6 in the 2024 NFL Season and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Them being in the stacked NFC North also doesn’t help things. We’ll see if Green Bay can take that next step into being an elite team in 2025 and beyond.
24. Minnesota Vikings - Nick Emmanwori, S, South Carolina
The Minnesota Vikings did a great job at remaining competitive over the past couple of seasons while rebuilding their roster, and I am not sure even they knew that the 2024 season was going to go the way it did. In the 2024 NFL Draft, they took JJ McCarthy from Michigan, but a torn meniscus ended his year before it began, really, so they had to pivot to Sam Darnold.
And Darnold absolutely played like an MVP for much of the season. With the Vikings kind of sputtering down the stretch and getting knocked out in the first round of the NFL Playoffs, that could make their decision a lot easier - they may feel comfortable turning it over to McCarthy and allowing Darnold to test free agency.
They’d save money in this regard, and it would also allow them to be aggressive at other positions. Minnesota has a need at safety with Cam Bynum set to be a free agent and the possibility that Harrison Smith retires.
Nick Emmanwori is a player that I have mocked to the Vikings many times and someone I have seen mocked to the Vikings by others.