Packers take a totally different path in ESPN’s rearranged 2025 NFL Draft, and it reveals more about their process than players
It’s a brutal reality for Matthew Golden and Anthony Belton after their first year in the NFL.
The Green Bay Packers will inevitably limit what rookies can do. This is the biggest takeaway from a valuable ESPN exercise, rearranging the 2025 NFL Draft with the help of hindsight. Beat writers from every NFL team picked for the franchises again, and it certainly looked very different for the Packers.
New picks
Instead of taking wide receiver Matthew Golden with the 23rd overall pick, Rob Demovsky selected left tackle Josh Simmons, who ended up on the Kansas City Chiefs.
“The Packers were always going to need a starting left tackle in 2026 because they’re not likely to re-sign Rasheed Walker and who knows if Jordan Morgan can play there. So even if Simmons wouldn’t have started for Green Bay in 2025, he would have solidified Jordan Love’s blindside protection moving forward. Before a season-ending wrist injury in November, Simmons allowed a pressure rate of 6.6%, the third-lowest mark among left tackles.” — Rob Demovsky.
In the second round, the Packers reversed order. Instead of taking an offensive lineman in Anthony Belton, Green Bay selected a receiver — Chimere Dike, a fourth-round pick by the Tennessee Titans.
“I rolled the dice that Matthew Golden would still be available, but there were still good options at receiver. Not only is Dike a deep threat from the slot, but he also has elite return skills. He led the league in all-purpose yards and was first-team All-Pro as a punt returner (with two punt returns for touchdowns). The Packers have done well with second-round receivers over the years (e.g., Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Davante Adams and Christian Watson).” — Rob Demovsky.
How the Packers’ actual picks did
Both players picked by the Packers in the first two rounds of the draft would have gone much later. Wide receiver Matthew Golden was the 47th pick, to the Arizona Cardinals. He was just the sixth receiver taken, after Travis Hunter, Tetairoa McMillan, Emeka Egbuka, Jayden Higgins, and Luther Burden III. Offensive lineman Anthony Belton wasn’t drafted in the first two rounds whatsoever.
That’s certainly not the ideal outcome for their first season — especially because no Packers players from later rounds made the list either. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the class is weak for Green Bay.
Historically, but particularly since Matt LaFleur took over as the head coach, the Packers have been hesitant to give big roles to rookies. That’s why we’ve seen Allen Lazard playing over Christian Watson, Isaiah McDuffie over Edgerrin Cooper, Lane Taylor over Elgton Jenkins, Yosh Nijman over Zach Tom. They simply don’t trust young guys enough to make them real parts of the team.
Eventually, they will have more space and might perform or not. But what happens in the first year is not always indicative of talent or performance projection.
The lack of rookie usage is a problem, especially in an era where surplus value from rookie contracts is so impactful for team success. But that’s how the Packers have operated, and you can see why Packers rookies will rarely get much love from a national perspective.
Green Bay Packers News
Micah Parsons pushes hard to lure top free agent to the Packers, yet odds remain low for the high-profile addition
George Pickens is set to hit free agency.
