The opportunity to draft Clemson’s do-it-all defender Isaiah Simmons will not be available to the Green Bay Packers if they stay at No. 30 overall in the first round. Simmons could easily be a top-10 pick. He’ll be long gone by 30. But what if a chance to move up and get Simmons was presented to GM Brian Gutekunst?
Carter Donnick’s most recent mock draft at The Draft Network explored this scenario. In his mock, the Packers traded up to No. 11 overall – sending first- and second-round picks in 2020 and a first-round pick in 2021 to the New York Jets – to move up 19 spots and take Simmons.
It would be nothing if not aggressive. The Packers have a clear and obvious need at inside linebacker, Simmons has a chance to be a truly special player and Mike Pettine’s defense looks like an ideal fit for a hybrid linebacker/safety like Simmons.
“Green Bay is ready to win now and this gamble reflects that,” Donnick wrote. “The value for Simmons at No. 11 is absolutely tremendous; and even if the trade price is steep, an aggressive move like this makes a ton of sense.”
In Simmons, the Packers would get a potentially dominant middle-of-the-field defender to complete what could be a dominant overall defense. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com called Simmons a “hybrid talent with rare length, speed and versatility to create mismatches for the offense.” He made impact plays from all over Clemson’s defense.
But the cost to get him would be huge.
In Donnick’s simulation, the Packers would have to give up their second-round pick in 2020 and a first-round pick in 2021 to get Simmons. That’s a lot of valuable draft capital – both in the present and future – to use on a linebacker, especially when the Packers have other pressing needs at receiver and offensive tackle.
It’s worth noting here that the Gutekunst and the Packers had an opportunity to draft do-it-all safety Derwin James in 2018. They traded down. So it seems unlikely that Gutekunst would now flip the narrative and complete a huge trade up to get a versatile player similar to James.
Credit to Donnick for reinforcing why mock drafts are so fun and so entertaining. They present interesting scenarios of teams filling needs in different ways. This might be the Packers’ most aggressive form of filling a big need. To be sure, trading that much draft capital for Simmons is an unlikely scenario, but it’s still fun to chew on.