Monday Cheese Curds: The Packers are living on the EDGE

The loss of Za’Darius Smith has left the Packers thin at pass rusher. Thankfully there are plenty of options in this year’s draft class.

Much, if not all, of the draft discussion surrounding the Green Bay Packers has involved how many wide receivers they will select and who they will be.

Given the massive hole at the position in the wake of the Davante Adams trade, it’s the logical question to ask. Plus the team’s brass (Matt LaFleur, Brian Gutekunst and Mark Murphy) have all acknowledged the room is going to look much different in a few months. The speculation is very legitimate.

That being said, there is another position Green Bay needs to address and could perhaps do so with one of their two first round picks and that is a pass rusher.

Depth at the position outside of Preston Smith and Rashan Gary is very thin and the Packers really need a strong third outside linebacker to fully make Joe Barry’s defense work which includes a ton of sub packages.

Thankfully Green Bay has a few options early depending on how the board falls. There is a lot of discussion about the Packers moving up for a wide receiver but is there anyone in this class of EDGE rushers you’d want to move up for should the opportunity arise?

We look at a couple prospects in today’s curds which also features a mock draft that has Green Bay doing exactly that.

Prospect Primer: Jermaine Johnson II, Edge, Florida State–Packers.com

There’s a very good chance he won’t be there when the Packers pick at 22 but he would bring a lot of power to the pass rush.

Unpacking Future Packers: No. 19 Jeffrey Gunter–Packers Wire

Gunter would be a later round selection obviously but there is a lot to like about him as a strictly depth pick. He’s an explosive athlete whose performance didn’t always show up on the stat sheet.

Drafting two (or three) receivers could be in the cards for the Green Bay Packers–ESPN.com

The Packers drafted three wide receivers in 2018 although all three were in later rounds. None are still on the roster however so Gutekunst could take another big swing but this time earlier in the draft. One would think he’d have better luck this go round.

Four-round 2022 NFL mock draft 2.0: Seahawks, Saints trade into top five for quarterbacks–NFL.com

This might be my ideal mock for the Packers, even if they don’t trade up and it’s either Chris Olave or Treylon Burks at 28. Killing two birds in one round is ideal.

Mechanic reaps windfall from art in Connecticut dumpster–Associated Press

Sometimes one man’s trash is everyone’s treasure. I never understand throwing out art. Look how much this mechanic made.