Packers 2023 NFL Draft: Day 3 Targets

It's Day 3 of the NFL Draft and Brian Gutekunst has 9 picks left! Who will he spend them on? Here's our favorite remaining prospects.

The Aaron Rodgers trade is done.

The Packers broke everyone's heart on Day1 when they passed up Jaxon Smith-Njigba for monster edge rusher Lukas Van Ness.

On Day 2, they made up for it by grabbing a couple pass catching tight ends in Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, along with wide receiver Jayden Reed.

Now, we get to look ahead to Day 3, where the real gems and biggest values are found and GMs differentiate themselves.

Ted Thompson was a Day 3 legend. He fueled years of top-tier teams by finding stars like David Bakhtiari, Aaron Jones, and Josh Sitton with late round picks.  

Brian Gutekunst has been, on the whole, a pretty poor Day 3 drafter. Jon Runyan has been his most productive Day 3 pick so far, but last year, he found some potential starters in Romeo Doubs and Zach Tom.

After trading down in round 3 to grab some extra picks, Gutekunst has a whopping 9 picks today.

I wouldn't rule any position out, making this a pretty exciting day.

Here are some of my favorite remaining prospects for the Packers:

 

Jake Haener (Quarterback) If Haener was taller, he could be a top 10 pick. He doesn't have great height or a cannon arm, but he has everything else and looks like he could be a great long-term backup quarterback.

Tanner McKee (Quarterback) Great size and arm strength, McKee has an odd delivery, making him a project for the practice squad if the Packers want to mold another young passer.

Deneric Prince (Running Back) A strong, straight line runner who charges with purpose. He runs a little high and needs help with blocking technique, but can be a changeup hammer.

Eric Gray (Running Back) A 5'9, 206 spark plug, Gray wowed scouts at Senior Bowl practices with his explosive running. He's a good receiver and slippery with the ball in his hands.

Dawand Jones (Offensive Tackle) An absolute monster at 6'8, 375, Jones needs to improve footwork to be a viable NFL player, but given the Packers patience in developing linemen, he could be a long-term pick.

Carter Warren (Offensive Tackle) Smooth athlete with great foootwork, Warren has a wide wingspan and shows a natural ability to stay in front of pass rushers.

Andrew Voorhees (Offensive Guard) Big and strong, the 6'6 Voorhees is a steady, unspectacular blocker who made the AP All American team with his consistency.

Chandler Zavala (Offensive Guard) Quick off the snap, Zavala has great mobility for someone with his size and power. Would be great in a zone blocking scheme like Green Bay's, but could fall based on a back injury.

Noah Gindorff (Tight End) Because why not take another tight end? A well rounded tight end with good route-running and blocking skills. The biggest question is the competition he faced at NDSU.

Trey Palmer (Wide Receiver) Speedster (4.33) with a solid build (6'1, 190), he blew past the competition at the Senior Bowl and is a natural fit in the slot.

Puka Nacua (Wide Receiver) Uses his 6'2 frame to power past corners on quick passes and block with maximum effort, making him a fit in Green Bay.

RaJae Johnson-Sanders (Wide Receiver) A big receiver (6'4, 220) from a small school (Troy), Johnson-Sanders grabs jump balls with great body control and is tough to bring down.

Moro Ojomo (Defensive Line) A quick disrupter with the widest wingspan in this class. Strong against the run, if a bit stiff with pass rush moves.

Jalen Redmond (Defensive Line) High motor interior rusher who shows agility in picking his way through the line.

Cameron Young (Defensive Line) Powerful gap filler who shows good hand fighting skills and keeps the heat off linebackers.

Lonnie Phelps (Edge) Undersized by Packers standards, the 6'2, 245 Phelps shows violent hand moves and speed around the arc that could make him a nice rotational pass rusher. 

Kelee Ringo (Cornerback) Incredible athlete at 6'2 with 4.36 speed, he excels in bump and run with great recovery speed that can make up for slower change of direction.

Ameer Speed (Cornerback) A great size-speed combination at 6'3, 210 with 4.33 speed, he didn't get a lot of playing time and could be raw, but he has natural ball skills and could be a developmental defender.

Antonio Johnson (Safety) A big safety at 6'2, Johnson is a little stiff in coverage, but makes up for it by being a quick processor. Great tackling technique sticks out when he drive through ball carriers.

JL Skinner (Safety) Imposing at 6'4, Skinner plays with infectious energy and intensity. Not a natural cover man, but can hold his own in zone - his real strength is laying lumber in run support.

Jammie Robinson (Safety) Non-stop energy, Robinson is on the small side at 5'11, but chases down everyone and has a knack for reading quarterbacks.

Chad Ryland (Kicker) Ryland has a power leg that gets great hang time on kickoffs. He could be a candidate to replace Mason Crosby, who might not be back.

 

Day 3 is not as flashy as the 1st round of the draft, but teams who find value here put themselves ahead of the field. If Brian Gutekunst can find some contributors, or even a couple potential stars, today, it could give their retooling phase a nice boost.

 

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Bruce Irons has played, coached, and studied football for decades. Best-selling author of books such as A Fan's Guide To Understanding The NFL Draft, A Fan's Guide To Understanding The NFL Salary Cap, and A Fan's Guide To NFL Free Agency Hits And Misses, Bruce contributes to CheeseHeadTV and PackersForTheWin.com.

Follow Bruce Irons on Twitter at @BruceIronsNFL.

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Comments (18)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
greengold's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:08 am

CB Jakorian Bennett
S JL Skinner
WR AT Perry
CB Starling Thomas V
S Marte Mapu
DT Moro Ojomo
DT Karl Brooks
EDGE Andre Carter ll
WR Matt Landers
OT Carter Warren
OT/OG Malaesala Aumavae-Laulu
WR Andrei Iosivas
DT Cameron Young
OT Earl Bostick Jr.
TE Mason Fairchild
S Quindell Johnson
OT/OG Warren McClendon
EDGE Isaiah McGuire
S Jammie Robinson
C Jake Andrews

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ShooterMcGee's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:39 am

The only way to obtain Mapu would be a trade with NE. He was taken in the 3rd round.

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golfpacker1's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:01 am

He is gone.

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Lphill's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:09 am

Lions having a great draft , drafting players to start day 1 , Packers drafting developmental players other than Van Ness then again Barry won’t know how to use his new toy .

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Oppy's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:36 am

11-6
GPG

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dobber's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:29 am

They're wasting Jared Goff's prime years.

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StarrtoRodgers's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:13 am

Bryce Ford-Wheaton WR as a project.

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BruceIrons's picture

April 29, 2023 at 12:10 pm

I also like him. His size speed combo reminds me of MVS, who is a nice value role player for a Day 3 pick.

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:48 am

Maybe the top 100 players still left?

CB/S: Ringo, Johnson, Phillips, Rush, Skinner, Trice, Robinson, Hodges-Tomlinson, Jones, Clark, Ricks, Smith, Scott, Smith, Bennett, Kelly, Joseph, Ward, Johnson, Garner, Valentine, Mitchell, Wright, Hickman, Taylor, Dean, Brooks, Thomas, Merrriwether, Luter, Hellams, Austin

ED/DL/LB: Adebawore, McGuire, Brooks, To’oTo’o, Ojomo, Herbig, Wooden, Roy, Carter, Sewell, Pace, Henry, Pappoe, Hampton, Redmond, Abdullah, Coburn, Fehoko, Morris, Horton, Robinson

OL: Jones, Freeland, Wypler, Duncan, Zavala, Daniels, Oluwatimi, Saldiveri, Ekiyor, Voorhees, Bradford, McClendon, Sow, Broeker, Warren, Gouraige, Kirkland,

WR: Scott, Perry, Palmer, Washington, Boutte, Hutchinson, Moreno-Cropper, Iosivas, Jones, Wicks, Higgins

RB: Johnson, Evans, Abanikanda, Gray, Brown, McBride, Vaughn, Mitchell, Tucker, McIntosh,

QB: Haener, Thonpson-Robinson, McKee, Hall,

TE: Kuntz, Mallory, Allen, Ginsdorff

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blondy45's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:52 am

S Antonio Johnson
S JK Skinner
DL Adetomiwa Adebawore
WR Tyler Scott
WR AT Perry
OT Dewand Jones
Edge Nick Herbig

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PackEyedOptimist's picture

April 29, 2023 at 10:56 am

Of those, my favorites:

CB/S: Ringo, Johnson, Robinson, Smith, Scott, , Joseph, Valentine, Taylor, Dean, Merrriwether,

ED/DL/LB: Adebawore, Herbig, Carter, Henry,

OL: Jones, Freeland, Wypler, Daniels, Oluwatimi, Saldiveri, Voorhees, McClendon,
Sow, Warren,

WR: Scott, Perry, Washington, Boutte, Hutchinson, Iosivas, Wicks,

RB: Johnson, Gray, Brown, McBride, Vaughn, Mitchell, Tucker, McIntosh,

QB: Haener, Thonpson-Robinson, McKee, Hall,

TE: Kuntz, Mallory, Allen, Ginsdorff

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ShooterMcGee's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:12 am

With so much Dead cap money which I assume is money actually saved from not paying players. hope they spend some money attracting priority free agents.

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DoubleJ's picture

April 29, 2023 at 05:47 pm

Dead cap is money that is accelerated onto the cap from players no longer with the team. Aaron Rodgers is taking up $40M in cap space despite not being on the team.

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StarrtoRodgers's picture

April 29, 2023 at 05:52 pm

"With so much Dead cap money which I assume is money actually saved from not paying players. hope they spend some money attracting priority free agents."

ShooterMcGee,

Dead Cap money is actually the unamortized bonus money that has been paid in cash but is actually spread out over the life of a contract for accounting purposes and then accelerated and recognized - a salary cap hit - in the year the player is traded or released before June 1 or partially in the current year and partially in the next year if the player is traded or released after June 1.

As an example Aaron Rodgers' salary cap hit if he played for the Packers in 2023 was only $31.6, but when the Packers traded Rodgers before June 1, 2023 the Packers had to take the unamortized part of the bonuses they had paid Rodgers in cash in 2022 and previous to 2022 into dead cap/salary cap hit of $40.3M in 2023.

Trading Rodgers in other words reduced Green Bay's salary cap space for signing free agents in 2023 rather than increasing Green Bay's salary cap space for signing free agents in 2023.

Rodgers has restructured his contract with the Jets - therefore increasing the Jets salary cap space for 2023 by about $15M, as he said he would also have done for the Packers in 2023 if they had not traded him so that the Packers could have signed Lazard, Tonyan, Cobb, Lewis and other free agents.

The restructure that Aaron did for the Jets would for the Packers have lowered Aaron's playing salary cap hit from $31.6M to $17M giving the Packers another $14.6 M on top of the $22.4 M of Salary Cap space the Packers already had before Aaron was traded. The Packers before the trade of Aaron Rodgers had the 4th most Salary Cap space of any of the 32 NFL teams.

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golfpacker1's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:14 am

Matt Landers-WR 4.3, and Josh Whyle-TE missing from the lists above.

Also judging by how teams have been over drafting players, if we really want someone that we have a 7th round draft grade on, like Evan Hull-RB or Jake Witt-OT or a QB, We better use our 6th round picks or they will be gone.
Hope we find some draft gems.

The UFDA market will be strong with some good TEs that didn't get picked like Ginsdorf. And some sleeper WRs like Trea Schropshire from UAB who averaged 23 YPC for 3 years. Or Edge like Caleb Murphy-Ferris State who led the nation in sacks last year with 25.5! We need to be on the UFDA market strong this year.

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marpag1's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:17 am

I'll put in my vote:

Adetomiwa Adebawore DL (or Antonio Johnson, S, if "Attababy" is already gone)

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LambeauPlain's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:36 am

Gone to KC.

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CheesedDeadHead's picture

April 29, 2023 at 11:44 am

Wooden = the anti-Lowry

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