The Green Bay Packers have selected seven players in the first or second round of the last three NFL drafts, and all seven can be described as elite athletes.
Late in Ted Thompson’s tenure and now two drafts into Brian Gutekunst’s run as general manager, a clear trend has emerged. The Packers prefer elite athletes in the draft, and they only want elite athletes early.
Consider the “Relative Athletic Scores,” a measure of athleticism and size, of the Packers’ last seven first- or second-round picks:
– Rashan Gary, 2019: 9.95
– Darnell Savage, 2019: 8.36
– Elgton Jenkings, 2019: 9.34
– Jaire Alexander, 2018: 9.54
– Josh Jackson, 2018: 9.27
– Kevin King, 2017: 9.95
– Josh Jones, 2017: 9.29
The average RAS of those seven picks? 9.39.
Amazingly, Savage – at 8.36 – looks like an outlier. The Packers aren’t hiding their intentions. They want big, explosive athletes with high picks.
What does this all mean for this week’s draft? The list of likely targets can be dwindled down, especially early in the proceedings.
Here’s a list of players who have a RAS of at least 8.0 and could realistically be first- or second-round picks. There’s a very good chance the Packers’ first two picks in the 2020 draft will come from this list:
| Player | School | Position | RAS |
| Jeremy Chinn | So. Illinois | DB | 10.0 |
| Isaiah Simmons | Clemson | LB/DB | 9.98 |
| C.J. Henderson | Florida | CB | 9.98 |
| Chase Claypool | Notre Dame | WR | 9.98 |
| Ezra Cleveland | Boise State | OT | 9.93 |
| Kenneth Murray | Oklahoma | LB | 9.89 |
| Mekhi Becton | Louisville | OT | 9.85 |
| Denzel Mims | Baylor | WR | 9.76 |
| Jabari Zuniga | Florida | EDGE | 9.75 |
| Tristan Wirfs | Iowa | OT | 9.74 |
| Willie Gay | Miss. State | LB | 9.71 |
| Justin Herbert | Oregon | QB | 9.70 |
| Justin Jefferson | LSU | WR | 9.69 |
| Donovan Peoples-Jones | Michigan | WR | 9.63 |
| Kyle Dugger | Lenoir Rhyne | DB | 9.56 |
| Jalen Hurts | Oklahoma | QB | 9.55 |
| Henry Ruggs | Alabama | WR | 9.55 |
| Jonathan Taylor | Wisconsin | RB | 9.53 |
| Austin Jackson | USC | OT | 9.47 |
| Malik Harrison | Ohio State | LB | 9.43 |
| K’Von Wallace | Clemson | DB | 9.42 |
| Justin Madubuike | Texas A&M | DL | 9.32 |
| Antonio Gibson | Memphis | RB/WR | 9.29 |
| Cesar Ruiz | Michigan | IOL | 9.07 |
| Matt Peart | UConn | OT | 9.03 |
| Jeff Okudah | Ohio State | CB | 8.97 |
| Cole Kmet | Notre Dame | TE | 8.92 |
| Matt Hennessy | Temple | IOL | 8.9 |
| Jack Driscoll | Auburn | OT | 8.89 |
| Logan Wilson | Wyoming | LB | 8.84 |
| Cam Akers | Florida State | RB | 8.8 |
| Adam Trautman | Dayton | TE | 8.76 |
| AJ Terrell | Clemson | CB | 8.75 |
| Brandon Aiyuk | Arizona State | WR | 8.46 |
| Jordan Love | Utah State | QB | 8.45 |
| Jedrick Wills | Alabama | OT | 8.44 |
| Terrell Burgess | Utah | DB | 8.31 |
| Michael Pittman | USC | WR | 8.29 |
| Andrew Thomas | Georgia | OT | 8.12 |
| Noah Igbinoghene | Auburn | CB | 8.05 |
| Patrick Queen | LSU | LB | 8.00 |
| Kristan Fulton | LSU | CB | 8.00 |
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