The Green Bay Packers negotiated in the first round during each of General Manager Brian Gutekunst’s first three drafts.
A new draft by Chad Reuter from NFL.com proposes Gutekunst and the Packers hit four in 2021.
In Reuter’s first round, the Packers moved up from 29th place to catch Northwestern corner Greg Gregomeome in 22nd place overall. The cost of moving up seven positions was a couple of choices in the middle of the round.
“Cornerback is a position of need for Packers, and Newsome is the main external initiator remaining on the board. Green Bay negotiates its selections for fourth and fifth rounds in this deal, but may be able to recover part of that expense through a compensatory choice in 2022 for the likely departure of free agent CB Kevin King, ”wrote Reuter.
This would be familiar territory for Gutekunst, who was hired to replace Ted Thompson in 2018. The Packers exchanged cornerback Jaire Alexander in 2018, safety Darnell Savage in 2019 and quarterback Jordan Love in 2020.
When Gutekunst likes a player and has ammunition to move across the board on the first night of the draft, he is not afraid to do so. And the cornerback could be a position he wants at the beginning of the 2021 draft.
Newsome, who has already met virtually the Packers during the pre-draft process, could help Green Bay’s defense replace King, an unrestricted free agent.
Daniel Jeremiah, from NFL.com, ranked Newsome as his 31st best player in the draft category.
“Newsome is a tall and agile cornerback,” wrote Jeremiah. “I hope Newsome will become a reliable starting cornerback early in his NFL career.”
Reuter’s four-round mock also caused the Packers to catch Louisville receiver Tutu Atwell in the second round, Louisana Tech defensive tackle Milton Williams in the third round and Auburn linebacker KJ Britt and the cornerback of the Appalachian State Shemar Jean-Charles with his compensatory choices in the fourth round.