Edge Rusher ‘Fits the Mold’ for Packers in ESPN’s Seven-Round Mock Draft
With the 23rd pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers select Shemar Stewart, defensive end, Texas A&M.
Those could be the words uttered by Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday night. Stewart was the predicted choice by Jordan Reid in his new seven-round mock draft at ESPN.
“At 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds, Stewart has some awesome athletic traits,” Reid explained. “That became clear after a dominant (Scouting) Combine in which he ran a 4.59 40 and leaped 40 inches in the vertical and 10 feet, 11 inches in the broad jump. But Stewart's college production didn't match the measurables.”
No, it didn’t. He had 1.5 sacks in 2022, 2023 and again in 2024. While his pressure rate improved in 2024 and he played tough run defense, he never was that game-changing, X-factor defender.
Would that matter to the Packers?
“If a player didn't have the kind of production that you think he should at the college level, there’s a lot of discussion about why, why that was and if you think that’s something that as he moves forward and he progresses as a football player, if that’s going to change or not,” Gutekunst said during his predraft news conference on Monday. It was a topic in which Stewart’s name was not mentioned but he was the focus of the question.
“So, that’s really it at the end of the day. It’s just a matter of looking at his game and as he moves into the National Football League, will those traits allow him to become a more productive player than maybe he was in college? So, I think that’s kind of how you look at it.”
Gutekunst took shots on Rashan Gary in 2019, Devonte Wyatt in 2022 and Lukas Van Ness in 2023. By comparison, they were college studs compared to Stewart, though.
“The Packers haven't shied away from taking chances on toolsy edge rushers recently,” Reid said. “Stewart fits that mold and would give Green Bay a much-needed edge presence.”
In this simulation, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden were off the board among the top receivers, but Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka was available.
Reid grabbed that receiver in the second round with Stanford’s Alic Ayomanor.
“Ayomanor is similar to recent Day 2 receiver picks the Packers have made, like Christian Watson,” Reid wrote. “Ayomanor had 35 contested catches over the past two seasons, fourth most in the FBS. Drops are an occasional issue (15 since 2023), but he's a competitive perimeter blocker.”
The native of Alberta, Canada, caught 125 passes for 1,844 yards and 12 touchdowns in two seasons. PFF charged him with 12 drops. At 6-foot-1 3/4, he ran his 40 in 4.44 seconds.
“You’re going to get somebody who is not afraid to do the dirty work,” he said at the Scouting Combine. He added: “I really do believe that it’s a skill you have to develop. And so, I think regardless of what my role is, my ability to not just accept it but attack that role to build into greater ones is a really good skill that I have. And so, wherever I do end up, I think that’s something that I can bring.”
Reid addressed cornerback in the third round with Kansas State’s Jacob Parrish. He had five interceptions and 21 passes defensed during his final two seasons. He’s got outstanding speed with a 4.35 in the 40 but, at 5-foot-9 3/4, he’s probably not on Green Bay’s board.
In Day 3, the choices were a guard, a receiver, an offensive tackle who had a predraft visit, another edge rusher and a center.
The receiver is a familiar name to Wisconsin-based Packers fans: Chimere Dike, who started his career at Wisconsin and finished at Florida.
The native of Waukesha caught 42 passes for 783 yards and two touchdowns in 2024. He averaged 16.3 yards per catch in five seasons, a byproduct of having 4.34 speed. He returned punts at Wisconsin in 2023 and Florida in 2024 with an 11.3-yard average.
“He woke some people up,” Gators quarterback Graham Mertz, who also played with Dike at Wisconsin, said at pro day. “Some people just don’t watch the tape enough. It’s all on tape. His speeds on tape, his knowledge of the game's on tape. He's physical. He can block, but he's been that dude ever since I met him when he was a freshman.”
