The Green Bay Packers are rolling along with MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and All-Pro receiver Davante Adams in 2021, but uncertainty exists at both key positions as 2022 approaches, so don’t be surprised when mock drafts over the next few months decide to add help for the Packers passing game with top picks.
In his first mock draft of the cycle, ESPN’s Todd McShay sent star Ohio State receiver Chris Olave to the Packers at No. 28 overall. (Note: the draft order was determined by ESPN’s Football Power Index.)
“The smooth route runner is an explosive accelerator off the line and has high-end ball skills. He can break open a game, as he did in four 100-yard, multiple-touchdown outings this season,” McShay wrote.
Olave (6-1, 188) caught 65 passes for 936 yards and 13 touchdowns over 11 games for the Buckeyes in 2021. He’s leaving Columbus with 35 career touchdowns and 2,702 receiving yards.
Getting Olave at the end of the first round would provide Rodgers or Jordan Love with a legitimate playmaker at receiver over the next several years, especially if Adams departs in free agency.
Brennen Rupp of Packers Wire said Olave has a “Master’s degree in route running” and his release off the line is “filthy.”
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com described Olave as a Will Fuller-like deep threat and a “silky-smooth route runner.”
The Packers have five wide receivers with expiring contracts after the 2021 season, including Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard. Re-stocking the position through next year’s draft will likely be high on the priority list for general manager Brian Gutekunst, who is facing a cap crunch in 2022.
Olave is viewed by many as a first-round pick in the upcoming draft. It wouldn’t be surprising if he becomes a popular pick for the Packers at the backend of the first round during this draft cycle.
