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GREEN BAY, WI (WSAU) – As the Green Bay Packers move into NFL draft mode following their 24-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, two top draft experts have released their first mock drafts for 2024.
According to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., the Packers should select BYU OT Kingsley Suamataia 25th overall to replace veteran David Bakhtiari who has a cap hit of over $20 million this upcoming season.
Kiper described Suamataia as an offensive lineman who is a “mountain of a man” and mentioned that the Packers might be among the teams looking to capitalize on this year’s deep class of offensive tackles.
According to Pro Football Focus, Suamataia played left tackle for 11 games in 2023 and allowed just 15 pressures while only committing four penalties. Among offensive tackles with at least 500 snaps, he had the 16th-highest pass-blocking grade.
Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah has the Packers selecting versatile Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton in his first mock draft saying, “Barton meets the Packers’ criteria for offensive linemen in terms of intelligence and versatility. He could play all five spots up front.”
Many fans will likely be hoping that the Packers address their secondary early in the draft and may not see the offensive line as much of a need due to RT Zach Tom being the highest-graded tackle from this season’s Wild Card weekend at an 84.0; LG Elgton Jenkins playing 542 pass-blocking snaps this past season, allowing 0 sacks; and LT Rasheed Walker playing 21 passing-blocking snaps against the Cowboys, allowing zero sacks and zero pressures.
If the Packers do decide to move from David Bakhtiari though and lose both Jon Runyan Jr. and Yosh Nijman during free agency selecting either Suamataia or Barton would provide the franchise with some much-needed depth to protect star quarterback Jordan Love.
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