100 Days of Mocks: Packers Pick Kincaid in PFF Three-Round Mock

Josiah Deguara and Tyler Davis are the only tight ends on the Green Bay Packers’ roster who’ve caught a pass in an NFL game. Combined, they caught 17 passes last season.

Utah’s Dalton Kincaid caught 16 in one game against USC.

Kincaid was the pick in a new three-round mock draft by Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus. It’s an odd mock. McGuinness used PFF’s simulator to conduct the first three rounds for each team individually. So, Kincaid was the pick for Green Bay, Washington and Cincinnati.

Since a mock draft is make-believe, here is a make-believe projection: Divide those 16 receptions evenly over three teams, one-third of Kincaid would produce almost 91 receptions for each of the teams.

In the mock, McGuinness traded Aaron Rodgers for both of the Jets’ second-round picks. That gave Green Bay Nos. 42, 43 and 45 of the second. The first two of those second-rounders were used on instant-impact defenders on the line and outside linebacker.

The third of the second-round selections was used on Houston receiver Tank Dell, who at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds almost certainly isn’t on Green Bay’s draft board. The third-round choice was used on Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee, a big pocket passer with limited mobility.

Yahoo’s Curt Popejoy also put out a three-round mock. He led off with Georgia’s undersized but sportscar-fast edge rusher Nolan Smith, then added a safety and interior blocker. So, no receiver or tight end to help Jordan Love in Year 1 as the team’s starting quarterback.

Draft Countdown’s Shane Hallam cranked out a seven-round mock, with Iowa pass rusher Lukas Van Ness in the first round and potential-packed Oregon State tight end Luke Musgrave in the second round. The third-round choice was Stanford receiver Michael Wilson.

Wilson missed significant chunks of the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons due to injuries. In six games in 2022, he caught 26 passes for 418 yards and four touchdowns. He’s not 6-foot-5, like Allen Lazard, but Wilson is one of the top blockers at the position in this year’s draft. At 6-foot-2, he ran his 40 in 4.58 seconds.

The Day 3 picks: corner in the fourth, safety and quarterback in the fifth, and defensive line, kicker and two offensive linemen in the seventh.

Matt Fitzgerald of Barstool landed Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

“Would it kill the Packers to draft a receiver who’s not super tall? They should make an exception here with a slot dynamo like Smith-Njigba,” he wrote. “If only for the high comedy of finally going to the well at this position in Round 1 after refusing to while Rodgers was in town. Jordan Love sure would welcome this news with open arms.”

At USA Today, Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz grabbed Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer ahead of Kincaid and a couple top receivers.

“No matter how optimistic Green Bay brass is about starting the Jordan Love era, equipping a little-used quarterback with an underdeveloped and erratic receiving corps should be cause for concern,” the author wrote. “A rookie tight end might seem ill-equipped to alleviate that issue, but Mayer has rare ability to haul in even the most difficult catches.”

The Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer picked Mayer, as well.

So did Mike O’Hara of DetroitLions.com.

And 247 Sports did, as well.

CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson also picked a first-round tight end but it was neither Mayer nor Kincaid. In fact, those players didn’t even go in the first round.

Walter Football added a fourth round to a mock draft that started with Alabama defensive back Brian Branch in the first round. After going tight end in the second round and receiver in the third round, the fourth-round choice was used on BYU quarterback Jaren Hall.

In 2022, Hall, USC’s Caleb Williams and North Carolina’s Drake Maye – arguably the top two quarterback prospects for the 2024 draft – were the only FBS-level signal-callers with 3,000 passing yards, 65.0 percent accuracy, 30 touchdowns, less than 10 interceptions and 300 rushing yards.

At 6-foot 1/8, he might be too small for Green Bay’s tastes but there’s an obvious need to add a quarterback to the two-man depth chart of Jordan Love and Danny Etling.

100 Days of Mocks

Starting Jan. 17, when there were 100 days until the start of the NFL Draft, we started our mock-worthy goal of 100 mock drafts in 100 days. Here are the last 10 days of the series.

25 days: The Wright tackle?

26 days: A “plug-and-play” tight end

27 days: NFL.com picks Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Packer Central’s fifth seven-round mock draft

28 days: An “Energizer bunny”

Breaking down ESPN.com’s seven-round mock

29 days: Tannenbaum takes a tackle

30 days: Three mocks, three different first-round tight ends

31 days: First-round receiver streak in Jeopardy

32 days: A Rodgers trade and a short story

33 days: Breaking down NFL.com four-round mock

34 days: Kincaid rests his case