The Packers once again enjoyed a strong year under head coach Matt LaFleur as they went 11-6 and made the playoffs in 2024. Rather impressively, they managed to win 11 games all while competing in the best division in all of football alongside the Lions (15-2) and Vikings (14-3).
Finishing with an offense and defense ranked inside the top 10, it’ll be interesting to see where the Packers end up going with their first-round pick. They have the franchise quarterback, a young core of skill players, and some notable players on both sides of the trenches.
However, one category in the box score was lacking from the Packers this past season and that’s the sacks category. Only two players managed to record at least five sacks in 2024 and the team leader was Rashan Gary with just 7.5. The Packers may have won even more games last year if they could have managed to bring the quarterback down a bit more frequently so this might be a good area to invest in this offseason.
So without further ado, with the 23rd pick in the SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Company is selecting Shamar Stewart, the freakishly athletic edge rusher from Texas A&M.
23.) Green Bay Packers: Shemar Stewart, EDGE, Texas A&M
Mosqueda: We had to run up this draft pick. Some teams were interested in trading up, but there was no way I was going to let a talent like Shemar Stewart slip through the Green Bay Packers’ hands. Not only have the Packers already had Stewart in on a pre-draft visit this offseason, which historically has been a strong signal that the team is interested in actually taking the player in the draft, but Stewart — an all-time athlete — would help solve Green Bay’s biggest weakness: their limited four-man pass-rush. Hopefully, the Packers can develop Stewart better than they did with Lukas Van Ness, the team’s 2023 first-round selection.
Analysis: The Packers end up being the franchise to take the risk on the uber-athletic, not-so-uber-productive Stewart who recorded just 4.5 sacks during his three-year career at Texas A&M. At the NFL Combine, Stewart tested in the same realm as Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, both of whom went first overall in their respective draft classes. So this simply begs the question: Why did Stewart fail to put up numbers he so obviously was capable of?
That’s something the Packers will have to answer if they hope to unlock every ounce of Stewart’s massive potential. Green Bay could have gone with much more productive players who were still on the board (James Pearce Jr., Donovan Ezeiruaku) but neither currently possess the upside that Stewart has should it all pan out.
Luckily for Green Bay, Stewart does not have to be a starter in Year 1 with former first-round picks Lukas Van Ness and Gary currently penciled in as the team’s starting EDGE duo.
Top five remaining players:
- James Pearce Jr., EDGE, Tennessee
- Luther Burden, WR, Missouri
- Donovan Ezeiruaku, EDGE, Boston College
- Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio State
- Kelvin Banks Jr., OT, Texas
The Packers went with an edge rusher but it was not one of our top two remaining in our best players available. Stewart is the more raw, unpredictable prospect as opposed to Pearce and Ezeiruaku, but that’s usually what NFL teams do. They normally can’t help but pick the shiny, more intriguing player despite the obvious red flags that come along with them.
The Texans are up next and have a big question mark about what their starting offensive line will look in like in 2025. Could we finally see Kelvin Banks Jr. come off the board to a home-state team?
