Sure, it’s probably a bit early to be looking ahead to the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 draft, but with the college football season just about two months away, it’s not too early to start compiling a list of names to watch this upcoming season.
Pro Football Focus recently went through all 11 positions and picked the top 10 draft prospects from each. Here is who they chose at offensive tackle. For more details on each player, click here.
Will Campbell, LSU
Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona
Emery Jones, LSU
Ajani Cornelius, Oregon
Blake Miller, Clemson
Wyatt Milum, West Virginia
Josh Conerly Jr., Oregon
Earnest Greene III, Georgia
Riley Mahlman, Wisconsin
As I mentioned when previewing the interior offensive line, given that the Packers have drafted multiple offensive linemen in four of their last five drafts, there is always the possibility that GM Brian Gutekunst is going to add to this position group, one that he values very highly.
The degree to which the Packers may or may not address the tackle position next offseason will likely be dictated by the answer to these two questions: does Rasheed Walker find that consistency and solidify himself as the Packers left tackle? Or do the Packers view Jordan Morgan as more of a tackle or a guard?
Zach Tom is going to be a part of this Packers offensive line for the foreseeable future, and until we see otherwise, I’m going to assume he’s the right tackle. So if that’s the case, and Walker is the answer on the left side, then tackle probably isn’t much of a need for the Packers.
Now, an added wrinkle in this scenario is that both Tom and Walker will be playing out the final year of their rookie deals in 2025, which means potentially having to pay both players with second contracts at the same time, and that is a factor that could influence next year’s draft.
However, even with that possibly being the case, the Packers always seem to find ways to pay their good, young players, and their cap situation will only continue to improve, along with the salary cap continuing to increase each year.
To the second question, if the Packers view Morgan as a long-term tackle in the NFL, that’s another reason that they won’t need to invest heavily into the tackle position in next year’s draft.
As I said, you can never truly rule out the Packers adding a tackle in the draft at some point because of how they value and view the position. But where we sit right now, with Tom on the right side, Walker playing well at the end of last season, and the team just spending a first-round pick on Morgan, the need to at least spend an early-round pick on the position seems relatively low.
The one scenario that could make the tackle position a bigger need than what it is perceived to be right now would be if Morgan, for example, solidifies himself as the team’s right guard this season, along with Walker not taking that step forward in his second season as a starter, still battling the ups and downs that he dealt with for stretches in 2023.
As far as depth, incoming rookie Travis Glover will be in his second season, while perhaps Caleb Jones or Luke Tenuta is still hanging around. While immediate impact help at the position may not be a pressing need, depth very much could be, depending on the status of Jones and Tenuta, making tackle a priority in the mid to latter portions of the draft.