The Green Bay Packers were unsuccessful in attempting to move up to get a wide receiver on Day 2 of the 2020 NFL draft.
According to Peter King of NBC Sports, who spoke with GM Brian Gutekunst directly, the Packers had two receivers as targets during the second round but couldn’t get a deal done to move up and then stop trying once both receivers were off the board.
The Packers ended up not getting a receiver in the entire draft, an unthinkable scenario going into the event.
Seven receivers came off the board in the second round. Clemson’s Tee Higgins and USC’s Michael Pittman were the first two picks on Day 2. Colorado’s Laviska Shenault and Penn State’s K.J. Hamler went within the first 15 picks of the second round. Notre Dame’s Chase Claypool, possibly the Packers’ last preferred target, was the 17th pick of the round.
Van Jefferson and Denzel Mims were the 25th and 27th pick of the round, respectively. The Packers held the 30th pick, so they were within striking distance. Clearly, the Packers didn’t prefer either player.
Claypool, the big, athletic receiver with a super-high RAS*, was likely the target. And when the Pittsburgh Steelers took him, the guess here is that the communications on a trade died.
(*Relative Athletic Score, a measure of both size and athleticism. The Packers have favored high RAS players early in the draft for several years.)
Without a receiver on the board they liked, the Packers went the completely opposite route and grabbed Boston College running back A.J. Dillon at No. 62 overall.
So, to recap, the Packers went from actively trying to trade up in the second round to get a receiver from this awesome draft class to staying put and taking a running back. What a turn of events.
Also, of note: King reports the Packers had “significant intel” that a team might trade up ahead of the Packers and get Jordan Love, so they moved up to get him at 26, costing the team a fourth-round pick.
