Packers predicted to trade for former 1st-round pick to improve big weakness

The Green Bay Packers have a really good football team, but they're in a really good division.

The Lions and Vikings were both phenomenal last year and could be again, and the Chicago Bears are on the rise with second-year QB Caleb Williams and first-year coach Ben Johnson.

The Packers should be in the thick of it, and if they can win within their division, they can win against anyone.

That makes improving upon any perceived weaknesses extra important, and right now, Green Bay doesn't have a great pass rush.

ESPN's Seth Walder suggested a trade on Wednesday, proposing that the Packers trade for Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and a 2026 fifth-rounder in exchange for a 2026 second-rounder.

Here's how Walder lays it out on Green Bay's side:

The Packers are natural trade partners here. This is a team in contention now, but with a major need at edge. Their current grouping of Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell probably isn't cutting it -- the team ranked 26th in pass rush win rate last season. Thibodeaux would certainly help the cause.

Who, exactly, Green Bay would be getting remains a question. Thibodeaux hasn't quite lived up to his predraft hype. He has 21.0 sacks in three seasons with the Giants, along with a 16% pass rush win rate at edge that's essentially average for a starter at the position. But given his draft pedigree and young age (24), he absolutely still offers star-level upside. Plus, he's been on a bad team the past two years -- it's undoubtedly harder for pass rushers to generate big numbers when trailing.

In terms of contract, Green Bay would be getting Thibodeaux at an extreme bargain in 2025 ($1.1 million) and a light bargain in 2026 ($14.8 million).

It's a deal that could make sense for the Giants, too.

They already have Brian Burns on a big contract and first-round rookie Abdul Carter. It's not bad to have more pass rush than that, but for a team potentially still building up, that second-round pick would be a way to turn surplus into talent at a different spot.

As Walder alludes to in the blurb above, Thibodeaux hasn't necessarily lived up to the hype. But he's still got the level of talent that makes him worth adding, especially on his friendly contract.