The 2023 NFL Draft is this month, which means any conversation about what the Green Bay Packers might do with their 15th overall pick must include their allergy to selecting offensive skill position players. The Packers have the longest drought in the common draft era (since 1967) without selecting an a running back, wide receiver, or tight end in the first round. The last time the Packers selected an offensive playmaker in the first round was 20 drafts when they took wide receiver Javon Walker 20th overall in 2002.
Yet even with 24-year-old quarterback Jordan Love making the transition from backup to starter in 2023 with Aaron Rodgers intending to play for the New York Jets, Green Bay Packer and 2022 First-Team All-Pro kick returner Keisean Nixon would like to see this streak continue.
Longest drought without 1st-round RB, WR or TE (since 1967)
| Team | Years | Drafts |
|---|---|---|
Packers | 2003-2022 | 20 |
Seahawks | 2003-2017 | 15 |
Commanders | 2002-2015 | 14 |
Nixon also plays cornerback, and he replied to a tweet with eight potential options for the Packers to choose by saying Green Bay should go defense and select Georgia Bulldogs edge rusher Nolan Smith. The tweet he replied to did not include TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston or Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the receivers most likely to come off the board early. It did include three tight ends: Notre Dame's Michael Mayer, Utah's Dalton Kincaid, and Georgia's Darnell Washington.
Nolan Smith https://t.co/cGKNDzVayN
— K9 (@keiseannixon) April 4, 2023
It makes sense that Nixon, an incredibly fast individual, would appreciate Smith as he officially recorded a jaw-dropping 4.39 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which edged out Tennessee's Byron Young (4.43) and fellow Georgia Bulldog Robert Beal Jr. (4.48) for the title of the fastest defensive lineman in the upcoming draft. According to NFL Research, Smith's time was the second fastest by any defensive lineman in NFL Scouting Combine history behind Virginia Tech's Amaré Barno in 2022.
His time was also superior to three current All-Pro offensive players. Smith was faster than both Arizona's DeAndre Hopkins and Buffalo's Stefon Diggs when they were going through the pre-draft process. Diggs ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at the 2015 combine, while Hopkins clocked in at 4.57 seconds, noticeably behind Smith. He was also faster than Giants Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley, who ran a 4.40.
Smith also led defensive lineman in the vertical leap (41.50") and the 10-yard split (1.52 seconds). Weighing 238 pounds, he is the heaviest player with a vertical over 40 inches and a 40-yard dash under 4.4 seconds at the NFL Combine since 2003, breaking the previous record set by Seattle Seahawks Pro Bowl wide receiver DK Metcalf (228 pounds) in 2019.
He would pair well across from the Packers emerging, 25-year-old pass rusher Rashan Gary, who had 38 pressures (tied for the fifth most in the NFL) and six sacks in Weeks 1-9 last season before suffering a torn ACL.
