The Packers’ top 3 targets in the 2025 NFL Draft with the 23rd pick

It’s officially an NFL draft season simulation if you’re a fan Green Bay Packers. Their heartbreaking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card last weekend marked the end of the 2024-25 campaign and the official start of their offseason.

Not that this was much of a surprise. Homers will always expect to win, but anyone with a realistic view of this late-season Packers team knew the vibes weren’t good. They entered the NFC playoffs having lost two straight against NFC North opponents — which included a demoralizing and unnecessary loss to the Chicago Bears that ended the Packers’ 11-game winning streak over their division rival.

Speaking of the NFC North, the Packers went 1-5 against the division and were a Carl Brooks is a fingertip away from 0-6. Yes, the North is loaded with Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings who look like legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and the Bears have a young and exciting rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams, but that 1-5 record should be unacceptable to Green Bay.

The Packers have long held sway over the NFC North because they have played a standard of consistent, winning football — especially at the quarterback position.

That benchmark was breached in 2024, leading to an early Wild Card exit.

That’s not to say the Packers don’t have plenty to build off of. After all, they were an 11-win team and are widely regarded as one of the best-run teams in the NFL. Yes, Jordan Love regressed in 2024 and so did the head coach Matt LaFleuris an insult, but Josh Jacobs was one of the best running backs in the league behind Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley. Defensively, the Packers also unearthed a potential superstar in rookie Edgerrin Cooper and free agent signing safety Xavier McKinney recorded eight picks and 11 passes defensed.

The Packers have the pieces and if 2024 was just a case of “year two” for Love, they should be able to bounce back quickly in 2025.

However, general manager Brian Gutekusnt needs to add a ton more talent to this roster. Some of that may come through NFL Free Agencywhere the Packers have a ton of money to spend. The rest still have to go through the 2025 NFL Draft.

Gutekunst took a little hit, but that’s the nature of the draft. You can draft a bust just as easily as you can draft your team’s next superstar, but that’s the way things work in the NFL. Either way, the Packers can absolutely find a talent that can help the team in 2025 at the end of the first round.

Here are some of the best goals for Green Bay.

James Pierce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee, would help the Packers pass rush

At 6-foot-5, 243 pounds, Tennessee’s James Pierce Jr. profiles as a tall, athletic prodigy who could immediately translate to an NFL role as a pass rusher. He’s a little small at that weight because he’s a defensive lineman, but he’d be great as an outside linebacker in Jeff Hafley’s scheme.

Consider a player with Quay Walker’s athleticism and Cooper’s instincts and that’s what the Packers could potentially get in Pierce as an outside linebacker/EDGE rusher.

He started eight of 12 games for Tennessee last season and led the team with 52 total pressures to go along with 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Jahdae Barron could be the Week 1 starter for the Packers at linebacker

The Packers are in desperate need of help at quarterback. Jaire Alexander has become injury prone and there’s a decent chance he won’t be with the team next season. He’s under contract, but the Packers will owe him a lot of money and may no longer feel he’s worth it if he can’t stay on the court consistently. There is one from his contract that could be beneficial for Green Bay, so that’s something to keep an eye on.

meanwhile, Keisean Nikon thinks he could be the Packers’ CB1but that’s just hype and far from the truth, and Carrington Valentine is a good but not great second or third corner.

Enter Jahdae Barron, who would become an immediate starter for the Packers in the secondary. He has plenty of big-game experience coming out of Texas and packs a ton of play into his 5-foot-11, 210-pound frame.

He had five interceptions and 11 passes defensed for Texas last season, and has eight total interceptions in his five-year college career — all with the Longhorns.

Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison might be worth the risk

The Packers could get lucky and land Notre Dame running back Benjamin Morrison. If he hadn’t hurt his hip and had to have surgery because of it earlier in the 2024 season for Notre Dame, there’s a chance he’d be a top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

A junior, he recorded 20 tackles with four pass breakups for the Fighting Irish before the injury. Morrison had five interceptions as a true freshman for Notre Dame and three more in his sophomore season.

If the Packers feel he can overcome his hip injury and continue that type of production at the NFL level, he would be an incredible pick for them.