Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst speaks to the press at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) – With draft day only 3 weeks away, the Green Bay Packers are continuing to host and invite some of the nation’s top prospects for official visits in Green Bay and visit their Pro Days across the country.
Last year, the team hosted several notable current players and eventual draft picks for Top 30 visits, such as Christian Watson, Davonte Wyatt, Romeo Doubs, Samori Toure, Tariq Carpenter, and Rasheed Walker.
According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, the Packers have invited Florida State safety Jammie Robinson, Minnesota safety Jordan Howden, and Sacramento State CB Marte Mapu to come out to Green Bay and work out for coaches and scouts.
Robinson is currently ranked 63rd overall on Pro Football Focus’ draft board and is regarded as one of the draft’s best tacklers due to his ability to easily bounce left and right. Howden is currently ranked as the 261st overall prospect, while Mapu is unranked.
Mapu is still recovering from a torn pectoral muscle suffered in February during pre-draft training. In 2022, he was an All-American selection and the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year after recording 76 tackles and two interceptions.
This continues the Packers homework on secondary prospects, as they had formal in-person meetings with three of the top defensive back prospects in this year’s draft at last month’s Combine, including Alabama’s Brian Branch, Jordan Battle, and Georgia’s Kelee Ringo.
The team has also begun doing homework on potential weapons for Jordan Love. Virginia wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks as well as East Carolina running back Keaton Mitchell have been invited for official Top 30 visits in Green Bay. Wicks is currently the 173rd-ranked prospect on Pro Football Focus’s draft board, and Mitchell is ranked 140th.
Mitchell ran a 4.37 forty at last month’s Combine and is one of this draft’s most difficult players to pin down in space, while Wicks ran a solid 4.62 forty and has the strong hands any NFL wide receiver coach and quarterback would covet. Scouts note that Wicks can track the deep ball over either shoulder and bring in passes fluidly without breaking stride downfield.
With Watson, Doubs, and Toure being the only receivers currently on the active roster, the Packers are expected to draft multiple wide receivers during this month’s draft. According to league sources, the team has done extensive research on Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba following multiple formal meetings with him at the Combine. Smith-Njigba is rated as a top-15 overall prospect by most scouting services, so the Packers would have to take him in the first round. Since selecting Javon Walker in the first round in 2002, the Packers have not used a first-round pick on a wide receiver.
The Packers have also so far had informal meetings with TCU receiver Quinton Johnston, Houston receiver Tank Dell, Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt, Boston College receiver Zay Flowers, Michigan State receiver Jayden Reed, Princeton receiver Andrei Losivas, and South Alabama receiver Jalen Wayne between the Combine and Senior Bowl.
With 25 official visits left to go, Packers fans should expect some of the names listed above to visit Green Bay over the next couple weeks.
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