A franchise as historically successful as the Packers isn’t used to having the first pick of the draft, or the first pick on any day of the draft.
By trading their No. 29 pick to the Browns for the No. 33 pick Thursday night, the Packers have the first pick of the second round and the first pick of the fourth round. That means they have the first pick on Friday night and the first pick on Saturday.
It’s the first time they’ve had the first pick in any round of the draft since 1995, according to Pro Football Reference.
Now they’re in an enviable position.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson told ESPN.com that he’s fielding trade offers for the first pick of the night.
“Oh yeah, you can put that down,” Thompson said. “That will save us a couple of phone calls. We’re taking calls.”
Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer remains on the board, and on Day 2 taking a quarterback like Davis Webb of Cal might not be much of a reach. A quarterback-needy team might want to be first in line on Day 2 to ensure that it gets the quarterback it wants. The Packers don’t need a quarterback, and they can extract a few picks from a team wanting to move up.
What the Packers do need is a cornerback and a running back. With cornerbacks Kevin King and Chidobe Awuzie and running backs Dalvin Cook and Alvin Kamara still available, they could move back a few spots, get one of those players and pick up a few extra picks later in the draft or perhaps an extra pick next year.
If the Packers do swing a favorable deal, other teams could follow suit in the years to come and try to maneuver their way into the first picks of Day 2 and Day 3.
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