Using free agency, the Green Bay Packers revamped their secondary. And now their sights are set on the 2025 NFL Draft. And guru Mel Kiper Jr. picked an Ohio State star WR to help Jordan Love in a new mock draft.
Kiper thinks the Packers will take a long look at Emeka Egbuka, according to espn.com.
“Egbuka’s game is really refined,” Kiper wrote. “He is a great route runner (and) has good hands. He reads the defense well. And while Green Bay doesn’t have much history of drafting wide receivers on Day 1 (Javon Walker was the last one in 2002), this seems like a good year to break the streak.”
Will Packers grab WR Emeka Egbuka in Round 1?
Kiper assessed the Packers’ wide receiver room in making his selection. And the thing he saw most vividly revolved around the health of the group.
“Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs all have injury concerns,” Kiper wrote. “And I’m not sure any of them are true WR1s when healthy. Egbuka had 1,011 receiving yards last season, and he could make an immediate impact on this offense.”
Egbuka seems to remind NFL scouts of Lions star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. At 6-foot-1 and 202 pounds, Egbuka brings good size to the league. And he offers much more, according to NFL analyst Lance Zierlein on nfl.com.
“Fluid athlete with good size and quality ball skills who works primarily from the slot,” Zierlein wrote. “Egbuka runs his routes with tempo and pace. He does a nice job of influencing coverage when needed. He lacks the explosiveness to race past the coverage and is a little tight in his hips getting in and out of breaks.
“Egbuka’s baseball background shows up with his laser-focused ball-tracking and ability to make sudden adjustments to bring throws in for a safe landing. He’s not elusive or sudden after the catch, but is competitive and can squeeze out additional yardage. Egbuka projects as an early starter at slot for teams running heavy amounts of three-wideout sets.”
What is head coach Matt LaFleur looking for?
Those words about Egbuka will check a lot of boxes for Coach Matt LaFleur’s offense. And LaFleur hasn’t made a stance that one of his current guys fits the WR1 mold, according to nytimes.com.
“I would say it just depends on the situation,” LaFleur said. “I know you want a better answer than that. (And) I will tell you, I think our collection of receivers is pretty darn good. I think we’ve got six guys we definitely feel like we can lean on.”
General manager Brian Gutekunst said he doesn’t want the Packers to rely on one guy.
“I think historically, if you look at a lot of the teams, very rarely do teams that have one receiver that’s super heavy with targets — that doesn’t usually play out well for playoffs and success there,” Gutekunst said.
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