New mock predicts Packers could land biggest steal of NFL Draft

Toledo defensive back Quinyon Mitchell.

It’s difficult to project which players will still be available for teams like the Packers that are making their first selection near the end of the first round.

Green Bay currently owns the No. 25 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, but CBS Sports’ Will Brinson believes it could land arguably the biggest steal of the draft.

In his latest mock draft, he has the Packers landing Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell at pick No. 25.

“Simply a value play for the Packers, who are shocked to see the top corner sitting here this late in the first round,” Brinson writes.

Value would be an understatement. Mitchell has been rising up draft boards ever since his strong performance at the Reese’s Senior Bowl at the beginning of February. He currently ranks as the second-best cornerback and No. 9 overall prospect on Pro Football Focus’s big board.

The Toledo product is highly regarded after forcing more incompletions than any other FBS cornerback over the past two seasons. From 2022-23, Mitchell posted 83 tackles, six interceptions, 37 passes defensed and two touchdowns.

It would be very surprising if Mitchell was still available come the time when Green Bay is on the clock, but if he is, it’s a no-brainer.

The Packers already have former first-round cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, but adding a player of Mitchell’s caliber would allow them to move on from either following the 2024 season.

Green Bay can save almost $7 million in cap space if it were to cut Alexander next offseason while Stokes is entering the final year of his rookie deal.

Although it is unlikely Mitchell is still on the board this long, he is still the first cornerback taken in Brinson’s mock draft.

If other teams are lower on the cornerbacks like Brinson, there’s a chance Mitchell could fall to a potentially very happy Packers team.

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