10 players for Packers fans to monitor on the National roster during Senior Bowl week

Who should Packers fans know from the Senior Bowl’s National roster? Here are 10 players.

It’s officially Senior Bowl week and the NFL world has converged on Mobile, Alabama. Since 2022, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has selected 18 players who competed at the Senior Bowl, including using eight of the 11 picks during the 2024 NFL Draft that were down in Mobile.

It’s a safe bet that Green Bay’s general manager will use a handful of picks in April on players he’ll get a close look at this week down in Mobile.

Let’s look at 10 players from the American roster that could be high on Green Bay’s board. If you missed it, here are four wide receivers from the National roster that could be high on Green Bay’s board.

Azareye’h Thomas, CB, Florida State

Thomas has all the tools that teams are looking for with his athleticism and size. He uses his length to choke passing windows and disrupt the catch point. The Seminole cornerback is physical and a willing participant in run support.

Jah Joyner, Edge, Minnesota

Joyner is a twitched-up pass rusher with an NFL-ready frame. With his length and first-step quickness, he has all the tools to develop into a force off the edge. During the last two seasons, Joyner recorded 12 sacks and 77 pressures.

Tommi Hill, CB, Nebraska

Hill is a physical cornerback. As a former wide receiver, he has plus ball skills and finished the past two seasons with five interceptions and 10 pass deflections. He has a high football IQ and shows good route instincts.

Darius Alexander, DT, Toledo

Alexander has a unique blend of power and quickness. He’s able to overwhelm offensive linemen with his brute strength and has the nimble feet to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage. Alexander finished this past season with 3.5 sacks and 37 pressures.

Darien Porter, CB, Iowa State

A converted wide receiver, Porter finished this past season with three interceptions. He’s a long cornerback with the ability to mirror and has the speed to stay attached vertically. A former track athlete, Porter has 970 special team snaps to his name and recorded 16 tackles, along with four blocked punts.

Landon Jackson, Edge, Arkansas

Jackson was built in the Brian Gutekunst edge rusher lab. He’s a power-packed edge rusher with an ideal frame. He’s a sledgehammer and finished this past season with 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 35 pressures.

Cody Lindenberg, LB, Minnesota

Lindenberg is a highly instinctive linebacker, who processes things like he was programmed by Tony Stark. He moves well laterally to hold up in coverage and weave his way through the trash to attack downhill.

Joshua Farmer, DT, Florida State

Farmer owns a quick first step to get up field quickly and has the power to drive offensive linemen backward. Farmer finished this past season with eight tackles for loss, four sacks and 26 pressures.

Caleb Rogers, OL, Texas Tech

Rogers finished his collegiate career with 2,547 snaps at right tackle, 1,473 at left tackle, 186 at left guard and 115 at right guard. The Texas Tech offensive lineman is a good athlete with good range as a run blocker and offers a ton of versatility.

Bilhal Kone, CB, Western Michigan

Kone is a fluid athlete with the easy change of direction skills to mirror and match in coverage. He’s feisty at the catch point and recorded 17 pass deflections over the past two seasons. As the Packers look to add talent to the cornerback room, Kone could be a target early on Day 3 of the draft.

Lions add help for Aidan Hutchinson in Draft Wire’s latest mock

Lions add help for Aidan Hutchinson in Draft Wire’s latest mock, which also adds a CB in the 2nd round

Mock drafts are in full swing now that that the Ohio State Buckeyes have claimed the National Championship. Unfortunately for Lions fans, mock drafts will be more of a focus after their Divisional Round loss to the Washington Commanders ended their season perhaps prematurely.

2025 is a chance to rebound from that loss, starting with building back up during the offseason, including finding a potential key early contributor with the 28th pick. One area the Lions certainly could use help with is at edge-rusher. After losing Aidan Hutchinson, the depth of the position was really tested and the signing of Za’Darius Smith proved not very fruitful.

The latest mock draft by Curt Popejoy over at Draft Wire looks to fix that as the Lions get some help opposite Hutchinson. With the 28th pick, the Lions select James Pearce, Edge, Tennessee.

Pearce may not have been the dominant force he was in 2023 and near the top of the draft board as he tended to be at the beginning of this draft cycle, but he still has a motor that can complement Hutchinson well. Pearce still recorded 7.5 sacks in 2024 following a 9.5-sack season in 2023.

Despite only playing five games, Hutchinson led the Lions with 7.5 sacks. Smith was actually second with four sacks in eight games. The Lions had 37 sacks as a team in 2024, tied for 25th in the league. They did not get a single sack on Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels in the Divisional, further signaling the need for pass rush.

In the second round, at pick 60, the Lions go with Iowa State cornerback Darien Porter. The Cyclones’ defensive back had his first three career interceptions last season to go along with a pair of passes defended. He had a pair of interceptions in their rivalry game against Iowa.

Chiefs scouting report: Iowa State Cyclones CB Darien Porter

Iowa State Cyclones cornerback Darien Porter could be a target for the Kansas City #Chiefs in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs retain most of their cornerbacks for next year, but two become unrestricted free agents following the 2025 season. Kansas City should prepare for those eventual departures and the costly extension of Trent McDuffie by adding developmental corner depth in the 2025 NFL draft.

Iowa State Cyclones redshirt senior Darien Porter is a tall and lean corner with verified measurements from Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy that put him at 6’2 3/4″ and 192 lbs. He sports long arms that help him dominate at the catch point. This is Porter’s first season seeing significant defensive snaps, but he possesses the athletic tools and flashes to warrant a top-100 selection.

Porter ran a 46.99 400-meter dash in high school and won a state title in the 200-meter dash. That speed translates to the field. Even though his high hips cause some leggy transitions, Porter flashes the speed to carry receivers vertically out of press coverage. Wide receivers lack the speed to stack him on downfield routes or separate on crossers.

Porter decelerates with his quick feet to match more complex routes but faces some limitations in man coverage because of his tall frame and high hips. He triggers downhill from zone coverage to attack short routes and reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate throwing lanes.

At worst, Porter offers impressive special teams versatility. He played more than 860 total special teams snaps across five different units in college and blocked a punt in four consecutive seasons.

The Cyclones plan to rebound from their first loss of the season when they go on the road to face Kansas at 2:30 p.m CST. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Jayhawks feature a talented trio of receivers to complement quarterback Jalon Daniels.