Throughout his career as Packers GM, Brian Gutekunst has shown that he is always willing to make moves in the draft.
He’s traded up in the 1st round multiple times.
He also traded down in the 1st round.
In short, he moves around to get the guys he wants.
This year, the Packers have needs all over the team ranging from adding weapons for a new quarterback to upgrading the safety unit to bolstering the defensive line.
The Packers have 10 picks in the upcoming draft, giving Brian Gutekunst plenty of options to move around for any players that could make a difference at positions of need. With a pretty solid roster, it’s possible that the Packers don’t have room for 10 rookies – trading up could be an effective to strategy to get fewer, better players (check out the Packers options for trading down here).
So, what options to the Packers have for trading up in the 2023 NFL Draft?
Well, let’s start with an inventory of the Packers picks to see what they’re working with (all values are gathered from DraftTek’s Trade Value Chart):
- 1st round pick #15 overall: 1050 points
- 2nd round pick #45 overall: 450 points
- 3rd round pick #78 overall: 200 points
- 4th round pick #116 overall: 62 points
- 5th round pick #149 overall: 30.6 points
- 5th round pick #170 overall: 21.8 points
- 7th round pick #232 overall: 1 point
- 7th round pick #235 overall: 1 point
- 7th round pick #242 overall: 1 point
- 7th round pick #256 overall: 1 point
Given that, here are some potential trade options for the Packers where the math works out for a possible deal:
Eagles 2nd round pick #62 (284 points) for Green Bay’s 3rd round pick #78 (200), 4th round pick #116 (62), and 5th round pick #170 (21.8)
Packers fans would certainly love to see a move up from the 3rd round. If the cost is a 4th round pick and a compensatory pick, it might be worth it if they can catch a tight end. The Eagles have some back-loaded contracts coming due (Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, AJ Brown) and just paid their quarterback a quarter billion dollars. A move down for some mid round picks could help alleviate some pressure by bringing in cheap talent.
Saints 1st round pick #29 (640 points) for Green Bay’s 2nd round pick #45 (450) and 3rd round pick #45 (200)
The Saints traded their 1st round pick – which would have been #10 overall – to the Saints as part of the move for Chris Olave last year. They got the #29 overall pick as compensation for Sean Payton. After years of poor cap choices to cling to Drew Brees for a couple extra years, they’re a bad team in need of a talent influx. This would give them a boost in draft capital, while allowing the Packers to get back into the 1st round, maybe for a tight end like Michael Mayer or someone else on their list who fell towards the end of the 1st round.
Titans 1st round pick #11 (1250 points) for Green Bay’s 1st round pick #15 (1050) and 3rd round pick #78 (200)
Brian Gutekunst is consistently terrible in the 3rd round, so we can just like at this like a free upgrade, right? One reason the Packers might do this is to get a player like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who seems like a perfect fit for their offense and might not make it past teams like the Texans and Patriots, who have no receivers of JSN’s caliber. They could also do this if they covet a defender like Myles Murphy or Christian Gonzalez.
Raiders 1st round pick #7 (1500 points) for Green Bay’s 1st round pick #15 (1050) and 2nd round pick #45 (450)
The Packers and Raiders are familiar trade partners and a move like this could be used if the Packers see a premier player start to slip. Jalen Carter was in the conversation as a top 2 pick, but has slipped with some character concerns. Cornerback Devon Witherspoon is also a blue chip player at a premium position that could warrant a move up. The Raiders could definitely use an influx of cheap talent after trading away their 1st and 2nd round picks for a high-priced veteran last year.
Colts 1st round pick #4 (1800 points) for Green Bay’s entire draft class (1818.4)
The Ricky Williams option. If the Packers really covet a big name like blue chip edge rusher Will Anderson (or want watch the world burn and pick a quarterback like CJ Stroud), they could make a bold and ridiculous move like this. The Colts meanwhile, still get a fairly high pick at #15 overall and get a huge haul to start their rebuild. Highly unlikely, but this shows just how valuable the very top picks in a draft are.
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So there are the most likely ranges the Packers could move up to if they had their eye on a specific player.
We don’t know what the Packers are thinking or who might be available, but we do know that Gutekunst has a history of trading up and it is a key part of his draft strategy. With 10 picks for the Packers, this should be an exciting draft.
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