If there is one thing that the Green Bay Packers have been good at for years it is the NFL Draft. They have done an excellent job of pinpointing talent that can help the team win games whether it is in the first round or in the seventh round.
When taking a look at the Packers’ roster, a majority of their players are homegrown and developed. Outside of the last few years trying to remain contenders with Aaron Rodgers under center, Green Bay rarely spent lavishly on outside talent.
Their ability to move up and down the board was on full display during the 2018 NFL Draft. The Packers entered the draft with the No. 14 overall pick, but made a trade with the New Orleans Saints to pick up the No. 27 pick, a fifth and future first-round pick.
Sensing a chance to move back up, the Packers sent the No. 27 pick with a third and sixth-rounder to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire the No. 18 pick and a seventh-rounder. With that pick, the Packers selected cornerback Jaire Alexander.
Alexander has turned into one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, a two-time Pro Bowler with two All-Pro Second Team nominations. That is why it should come as no surprise that Alexander doesn’t last until No. 18 in a 2018 NFL Redraft done by Jordan Reid and Matt Miller over at ESPN.
Alexander ended up going No. 5 to the Denver Broncos, who originally picked Bradley Chubb the first time around. So, who did the Packers end up with in the redraft? No trades were done, so they went back to No. 14. With that selection, Green Bay picked Mississippi State wide receiver, D.J. Moore.
“In a re-draft, we get to break the rules — like having Green Bay draft a wide receiver in the first round. Moore’s ability to create yards after the catch is what the Packers needed in 2018 and what the team still needs. He leads this class of receivers in career yards (5,201), receptions (364) and yards after catch (2,007). Getting Moore here is an exceptional value, too.”
Moore originally fell to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 24 pick in the draft. This is a selection, had it happened, that would have elated Aaron Rodgers. For years Rodgers had hoped for the Packers to add more weapons to the passing offense around him to join Davante Adams.
Given how Moore’s career has gone thus far, it would be fair to assume that the Packers would have had one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL for years to come. Slowing down Adams without star support was tough enough; imagine how difficult it would have been with Moore running routes opposite of him. Good luck stopping that.
