GREEN BAY, Wis. – NFL.com’s Chad Reuter made an interesting reference in using the Green Bay Packers’ first-round pick on North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson in his new five-round mock draft.

“New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley coached against Wilson when he was at Boston College, watching his Eagles beat the Wolfpack in 2022 despite the linebacker’s three tackles for loss and interception,” Reuter wrote. “Hafley knows full well the sort of athlete and football player Wilson would add to his scheme in Green Bay.”

Wilson won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 2023. He had an absolutely phenomenal senior season with 138 tackles, including six sacks and 17.5 tackles for losses, along with three interceptions, six passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Excellent production meets excellent athleticism. At the Scouting Combine, he measured 6-foot-3 3/4 and 233 pounds. With a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash and excellent all-around testing numbers, his Relative Athletic Score was 9.88.

In a vacuum, he’d be a no-brainer selection for a team that’s transitioning to a 4-3 defense while being short-handed at linebacker. But Wilson has a troubling injury history that includes two ACL tears to the same knee and surgery on both shoulders.

Picking Wilson meant the Packers missed out on offensive linemen Troy Fautanu, Tyler Guyton and Patrick Paul at the end of the first round and Amarius Mims and Jordan Morgan at the top of the second round.

That doesn’t mean the Packers missed the boat on tackles, though. After selecting Washington State safety Jaden Hicks in the second round – one spot after Washington grabbed Cooper DeJean – Reuter grabbed ultra-athletic Washington offensive tackle Roger Rosengarten. At 6-foot-5 3/8 and 308 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.92 seconds.

But can he block? In two years at the Huskies’ right tackle, he allowed zero sacks.

The next three picks were dedicated to the defense. With their first pick of the third round, the choice was Oregon defensive tackle Brandon Dorlus, who led all interior defensive linemen in the draft class in pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Three picks later, the choice was Michigan slot Mike Sainristil, who at 5-foot-9 3/8 is historically too short for Green Bay’s tastes. He had six picks for the national champions.

In the fourth-round, it was a roll of the dice on Texas Tech edge Myles Cole, who had an elite Scouting Combine but ho-hum collegiate production. In the fifth round, it was a shot in the dark on Oregon running back Bucky Irving, who had elite production but a terrible Combine.

Click here for the full mock and detailed bios on each of the picks.

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