Trevor Sikkema of Pro Football Focus put together his All-Decade mock draft, choosing the best picks at every first-round draft slot since 2015, and three current members of the Green Bay Packers were selected.
The best pick at 18th overall since 2015 was Jaire Alexander. At pick 26 it was Jordan Love, followed by Kenny Clark at pick 27. Also under consideration but not selected was Rashan Gary at 12th overall, but Sikkema instead chose Micah Parsons.
Alexander is a two-time second-team All-Pro and will look to get back that level this season after dealing with injuries in 2023. Despite a rocky season, Alexander finished last year strong, holding opponents to 6.8 yards per catch with an interception and pass breakup during the Packers’ final three games. Alexander has now carried that momentum into the offseason.
“Ja’s been outstanding,” Matt LaFleur said. “Again, he’s been here every day, shows up, great attitude, eager to learn, is out there competing with the guys, talking trash, which I love because I love just amping up that level of competition in a fun way. He’s never demeaning. I think he’s been a great teammate and been a great leader for us.”
Helping Alexander get back to his All-Pro form will be Jeff Hafley’s vision-based defense, which should play to Alexander’s strengths while giving him and his counterparts more turnover opportunities.
After some early growing pains last season for Love and the young Packers’ offense, he played like one of the better quarterbacks in football down the stretch.
From Weeks 15 through the playoffs, Love’s completion rate of 71.7 percent was the second best in football. He would also rank third in yards and first in touchdowns while throwing just two interceptions during that six-game stretch, all while being the most blitzed quarterback in football.
The next step for Love in his progression will be maintaining a high level of play for the course of a full season, along with countering the defensive counters and doing so relatively quickly. Opponents have now had a full offseason to watch film and see what Love and the offense does well and where they struggle.
Defensive game plans in 2023 will be centered around taking away the former while stressing the latter, and Love will have to adapt and adjust on the fly.
Lastly, Kenny Clark is coming off of one of his most productive seasons as a pass rusher, recording a career-high 7.5 sacks with his 66 pressures being the sixth-most among his position group.
However, in Hafley’s attacking one-gap defensive scheme, there is the potential that a more disruptive version of Clark could be unlocked, with the defensive front as a whole being much more proactive in this defense rather than reactive.
“I think this scheme … it’ll be good for us up front,” Clark said via Packers.com. “It’s going to allow us to be way more disruptive.”