It's Christmas Day, and as you and your family began the joyous experience of exchanging and unwrapping presents, let's not forget about the "presents" that the Front Office at 1265 are looking forward to hopefully unwrapping April 28th - 30th. For the more casual fans, it may be too early to be thinking about the Draft as the Packers begin their push for another Super Bowl title, but the scouts at Lambeau are incessantly pouring over a near limitless supply of information on the next crop of future NFL stars. Here's three presents the Packers should hope to unwrap in 2022:

#1. A trade partner.

This is probably one of the more discerning Draft Classes I've evaluated in recent years. For the teams who are picking in the back half of the Draft, I believe we'll definitely see which teams are the best at evaluating talent, because the non-playoff teams will be devouring it very quickly. While there are always gems in every class, NFL scouting departments will have to dig deeper than usual to find them. For the Packers, you add in the conundrum of a salary cap that will include both Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams lofty contracts, it's expected that a few vets may be jettisoned for cheaper rookies. If that is indeed the case, General Manager Brian Gutekunst may look to turn his currently projected 9 picks in to possibly 11 or 12. Barring the Senior Bowl, Shrine Game, and the NFL Combine, I don't anticipate any player the Packers couldn't wait just a few more picks for picking 30th or later. 

Enter the Denver Broncos, my preferred trading partner in 2022. The John Elway experiment in Denver is all but over, and new GM George Paton made that clear when he traded Von Miller to the Rams. I expect Paton to continue to put his stamp on the Broncos with this Draft. Denver has 11 picks currently, with 5 within the first 100 picks of the Draft. I'm almost certain the Broncos will be looking for their quarterback of the future at 13th Overall, but if another talent starts to fall they may try and jump back into the 1st Round. Looking at the "Best Case Scenario", the 32nd Overall Pick is valued at 590 points, and the Broncos 45th Overall Pick is valued at 450 points; it's not too much of a stretch for the Packers to ask for Denver's 88th Overall(150 points), which is a 3rd Rounder to close out the deal. 

#2. A "Do-it-All" Defensive Lineman.

In 2022 the Packers currently have 5 defensive lineman under contract: Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Kingsley Keke, TJ Slaton, and Jack Heflin. Not even taking injuries into account, but purely because of COVID-19, that's not enough to get through the season. Not to mention, when All-Pro Kenny Clark isn't out there, there's a BIG difference in the way this defense performs on the field. It's long been overdue for the Packers to get somebody to assist Clark down in the trenches. 

This defensive line class is VERY shallow from my perspective, especially when you're talking about guys who can line up in an odd front. Enter Houston DE Logan Hall, who's played every position on the defensive line for the Cougars, but I like him at 5T with the ability to rush from the outside lineback position in a pinch. Hall should make an immediate impact in sub-packages as a rusher, with his tenacity and better than good hands and counters. I'd love if he fell to the 3rd Round but given the scarcity of talent at his position, he's a lock for the 2nd Round. I have him projected for a solid but not dominating Combine but if he out performs we may be talking about a fringe 1st Round Grade.

#3. Downfield Weapon.

For the 2022 season, the only wide receivers currently under contract for the Packers are Randall Cobb, Amari Rodgers, and Juwan Winfree. At tight end the Packers will return Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, Josiah Deguara, and Tyler Davis. While Packers Nation can only assume that Davante Adams will return, the Front Office also has to game plan for every scenario, including one where perhaps Adams returns but Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Allen Lazard, and Equanimeous St. Brown (or any combination therof) do not. Going back to that "Best Case Scenario", should the Packers win it all for the 2021 season, I expect Marcedes Lewis to call it a career.

The last two years would have been the prime Draft Classes to select a wide receiver, but the Packers decided to stand pat. In 2022, the wide receiver class will not come with as nearly as much fanfare and/or notoriety. Just a month ago, there might have been a sliver of a chance for Alabama's John Metchie to perhaps fall to a position where the Packers may have been tempted to trade up, but after Metchie tore his ACL in the SEC Championship, I doubt GM Brian Gutekunst will roll the dice (I do expect the Packers medical staff to at least give Metchie a once over at the Combine, but nothing further).

I don't have a wide receiver I've yet to really fall in love with yet, but I've been watching some tape on David Bell out of Purdue, who was a Biletnikoff Award Finalist in 2021. He doesn't have the best release but he ran a pretty varied route tree in West Lafayette and he appears to be a nuanced route runner which equips him to create separation. I'm not sure how fast he runs though, but based on tape I'm going to guess somewhere between 4.47 and 4.56. The biggest question for me is will Brian Gutekunst draft a WR who's under 6'4? Bell is only 6'2, and the only immediate impact WR in this Draft Class at that height or better is USC's Drake London, who I expect to be a Top 20 pick. 

Should the Gutekunst's penchant for skyscraper wide outs ring true, there's got to be some consideration for an additional tight end added to the mix. Again, even if the Packers don't win the Super Bowl this year, the end is likely near for Marcedes Lewis as he goes into his age 38 season. Enter Texas A&M's Jalen Wydermyer, considered to be the best tight end in this year's class. Like most tight ends coming out of college, he's got some work to do with his blocking, but he's not horrible and far from a last resort option. I'd be pretty intrigued to watch how Matt LeFleur's offensive scheme would evolve with the potential Wydermyer displays from Day 1. Due to Wydermyer being TE1 for the 2022 Draft Class, he'll likely be "overdrafted"; but right now I have him penciled in for the back end of the 2nd Round. 

Barring a Wydermyer selection, I've seen two tight ends who could be appealing in the later rounds based on the role the Packers might be looking to fill. Alabama's Jahleel Billingsley is a move TE in every sense of the word, however, he needs a TON of work; and is the kind of project that might not bear fruit well into his 3rd or even 4th season. For the traditional "Y" role, Wisconsin's Jake Ferguson kind of puts me in the mind of a smaller, Marcedes Lewis....he just might be the best blocking TE in this class! He has a high IQ and in an offense where defenses don't want to see AJ Dillon running full speed through the hole, Ferguson's your man to keep the RB clean through the second level; and he's got some endzone value to boot. 

As I mentioned before, this is a Draft that I believe will take some real discernment, but don't get me wrong, some NFL GMs will definitely take a "see talent, get talent" approach (see what I did there?); which will force other teams to either trade up or trade down to get where they need to be. We already know Brian Gutekunst at least wants the ability to move around, so he can put his own mark on the frenzy. Let's hope he can find some real bargains out there on Draft Night, there's nothing better than the gift that keeps on giving, especially the kind that adds to the Packers' Super Bowl collection.

#GPG