ESPN mock draft hints the Packers would put more resources at a position they've invested a lot in

General manager Brian Gutekunst isn't afraid to invest in the edge rusher position. After all, you can never have too many of them. But using so many resources in the same place is questionable for a roster-building process, because the consequence is that other spots on the roster might be weakened.

But for ESPN's analyst Field Yates , it won't matter, and the Packers might get another edge defender in next year's draft. In his most recent mock draft, Yates projected Green Bay will take Patrick Payton, from Florida State.

<sup>"It's hard to find a place on the Green Bay roster where there isn't a young building block; hats off to GM Brian Gutekunst and his staff there. So how about a bet on a pass rusher with serious upside?

Posting 12 sacks over the past two seasons, Payton is long and agile, and he has lightning-quick hands to make life tough on offensive tackles. He had an astonishing 11 pass breakups in 2023 thanks to his go-go-gadget-like arms, but he must work on providing more resistance as an edge-setter in the run game. I think Payton is in for a leap forward this season following Jared Verse's graduation to the NFL, and we'll get our first look on Saturday when the Seminoles face Georgia Tech in Week 0's headliner."</sup>

Individual evaluation

Patrick Payton is a talented player and finished last season with seven sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, which is wild and shows how great he is against the run. However, he's probably lighter than the Packers would prefer. Right now, he weighs 254 lbs, while Green Bay tends to like edge rushers that are over 265, 270 lbs.

That preference might be even more pronounced now that the defense has switched to a 4-3 base under defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley . If they liked bigger outside linebackers as edge rushers, it's hard to imagine they would change that approach for a defensive end — even though the differences between 4-3 and 3-4 aren't as impactful as they used to be.

Roster situation

The most challenging circumstance of getting another edge rusher so early is because the Packers have invested a lot in the position, and they have strong top-end talent and depth. At this moment, Rashan Gary is under contract through 2027 , Preston Smith and Lukas Van Ness are through 2026, and Kingsley Enagbare is through 2025.

Maybe Smith, who's getting older, regresses in 2024 and might have his job in jeopardy a year from now. But even then, Gary and Van Ness would probably start. That means another first-round pick wouldn't be a preferred starter possibly throughout his entire rookie contract or something close to it.

While the Packers value development and pass rush depth, today's NFL demands significant contributions from players in their rookie contracts. And if you spend so much on one spot, they overlap and other needs might not be properly addressed.

It's not impossible that the Packers would take an edge rusher so early in 2025. But several factors would have to occur this season to make it a realistic outcome.

Related: The threshold for how good the Packers’ defense must be in 2024