Niner Noise
FanSided

2018 NFL Draft: Round 1 mock after flurry of NFL trade deadline deals

By Peter Panacy

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell annonces DeForest Buckner of Oregon as the #7 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 28: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell annonces DeForest Buckner of Oregon as the #7 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers during the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University on April 28, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jon Durr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
21 of 33
Next
WACO, TX – OCTOBER 28: Malik Jefferson #46 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with a fan following Texas’ 38-7 win over the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images)
WACO, TX – OCTOBER 28: Malik Jefferson #46 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates with a fan following Texas’ 38-7 win over the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium on October 28, 2017 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) /

Outside Linebacker. Texas. Malik Jefferson. 20. player. 49.

The Green Bay Packers have defensive needs both within the secondary and the front seven, and it would be smart if this first pick was used to simply grab the best defensive player available.

One area of concern is linebacker, where the Packers could use an upgrade to pair with inside linebacker Blake Martinez.

Texas’ Malik Jefferson is currently slotted as an outside linebacker, who has the abilities to operate in both the pass rush and in coverage. But at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, Jefferson probably projects to more of a traditional 3-4 inside linebacker at the NFL level.

This would ease some of the coverage issues Green Bay has experienced this season.