When the Denver Broncos hired Nathaniel Hackett to be their head coach before the 2022 season, it was an obvious play to pry Aaron Rodgers away from the Green Bay Packers in some sort of deal, given Hackett’s tight relationship with Rodgers during his time as Green Bay’s offensive coordinator from 2019-2021. After one season, in which Denver’s offense resembled the bottom of a flood-damaged shed, Hackett was fired, and subsequently hired as the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator.
So, we all know what this means. The Packers have reportedly made plans to move on from Rodgers and give Jordan Love the ball in his fourth NFL season after moving up to pick Love with the 26th pick in the 2020 draft, which makes this succession plan a lot like the one Rodgers underwent as Brett Favre’s understudy.
So, let’s start this mock draft by giving Rodgers to the Jets in exchange for Gang Green’s first-round (13th overall) and second-round (44th overall) pick in the 2023 draft, as well as whatever first-round pick the Jets have in 2024.
Of course, this may be complicated by Rodgers’ response to Tom Brady’s Wednesday re-retirement.
Aaron Rodgers will respond to this news by retiring and unretiring five times in the next three days.
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) February 1, 2023
Past that, we now also have the New Orleans Saints getting back in the first round after receiving the first-round selection the Denver Broncos got from the Miami Dolphins by way of the San Francisco 49ers in the Bradley Chubb trade for the right to sign new head coach Sean Payton. The Saints had given their 2023 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2022 draft, along with the 2022 18th-overall pick, to have two 2022 first-round picks, which they spent on receiver Chris Olave and Trevor Penning. Which gives the Super Bowl-bound Eagles the 10th overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Pro tip for NFL general managers not named Howie Roseman: If Howie Roseman shows up on your Caller ID, make sure everything in your office is strapped down.
Then, there’s the matter of the Chicago Bears, who do not need a quarterback, owning the first pick in the 2023 draft. In this case, the Indianapolis Colts give Chicago their first-round (fourth overall) and second-round (35th overall) picks, as well as their 2024 first-round pick, for the right to trade all the way up and take their quarterback of the future.
If that’s all clear (there will not be a test later), let’s move along to what this particular iteration of the first round of the 2023 NFL draft might look like.
(Note: The Miami Dolphins, who would hold the 21st overall pick, had that pick forfeited by the NFL as punishment for tampering).