The Green Bay Packers have traded up in the first round during each of the first three drafts run by general manager Brian Gutekunst.
A new mock draft from Chad Reuter of NFL.com proposes Gutekunst and the Packers make it four straight in 2021.
Reuter’s first round had the Packers trading up from No. 29 to take Northwestern cornerback Greg Newsome at No. 22 overall. The cost to move up seven spots was a pair of mid-round picks.
“Cornerback is a position of need for the Packers, and Newsome is the top outside starter remaining on the board. Green Bay trades its fourth- and fifth-round selections in this deal, but may be able to recoup some of that expense by way of a 2022 compensatory pick for the likely departure of free agent CB Kevin King,” Reuter wrote.
This would be familiar territory for Gutekunst, who was hired to replace Ted Thompson in 2018. The Packers traded up for cornerback Jaire Alexander in 2018, safety Darnell Savage in 2019 and quarterback Jordan Love in 2020.
When Gutekunst likes a player and has the ammunition to move around the board on the first night of the draft, he’s not afraid to do it. And cornerback could be a position he targets early in the 2021 draft.
Newsome, who has met virtually with the Packers already during the pre-draft process, could help Green Bay’s defense replace King, an unrestricted free agent.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com has Newsome ranked as his 31st best player in the draft class.
“Newsome is a tall, agile cornerback,” Jeremiah wrote. “I expect Newsome to develop into a reliable starting cornerback very early in his NFL career.”
Reuter’s four-round mock also had the Packers take Louisville receiver Tutu Atwell in the second round, Louisana Tech defensive tackle Milton Williams in the third round and Auburn linebacker K.J. Britt and Appalachian State cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles with their compensatory picks in the fourth round.
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