Packers Big Board Vote #4: Amarius Mims vs. Kool-Aid McKinstry

It looks like the biggest matchup left is between two SEC products who faced off in the conference’s title game.

Walking the line of who will be available for the Green Bay Packers with the 25th overall pick is a tricky thing. In our big board exercise, we’ve used ESPN’s Draft Day Predictor to narrow down the potential options for the Packers — ruling out players who have less than a 10 percent chance of being there at #25.

With that being said, the top three vote-getters in our big board results thus far are still players who are expected to be gone by Green Bay’s first-round pick. Those players are Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean (20th on the consensus draft board), Duke offensive lineman Graham Barton (26th) and Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu (19th). While Barton isn’t considered a top-20 lock, his versatility in being able to play all five positions on the offensive line makes him a potential choice for nearly every team — which very well might push him up on draft day.

Previous Results

1. Iowa DB Cooper DeJean: 43 percent
2. Duke OL Graham Barton: 30 percent
3. Washington OL Troy Fautanu: 30 percent

So who’s left for the Packers at 25 if those three are gone? According to the last poll we ran, the favorites seem to be Georgia right tackle Amarius Mims and Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. Both have injury questions, which makes this decision even harder.

Mims, who received his first start of his college career against Ohio State in the college football playoff two years ago, had high expectations coming into the 2023 campaign. The thought was that he had a rare upside that few, like Alabama’s JC Latham, Notre Dame’s Joe Alt and Penn State’s Olu Fashanu, possessed. That part of his scouting report remains true, even though he missed a solid portion of his only full-time season as a starter due to a high ankle sprain — which required in-season surgery to ensure that he’d be able to return to the lineup by the SEC Championship vs. Alabama.

Unfortunately, Mims reaggravated his ankle injury in that game and then later pulled his hamstring at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, leaving gaps in his evaluation. If you’re wondering why Mims took a pre-draft visit to Green Bay, it was likely to fill those gaps as he’s primed to be the best offensive lineman available at #25 based on recent mock drafts.

At the same time, McKinstry, the top alternative to Mims in this situation, also has an injury question mark. At the combine, it was discovered that McKinstry had a Jones fracture in his foot, essentially meaning that the bone that stabilizes his pinky toe at the base of the foot was broken. Since then, it’s been reported that he has also received a pre-draft visit with the Packers — again, likely due to his ongoing medical questions.

While McKinstry didn’t work out at the combine due to his Jones fracture issue, he did participate at Alabama’s pro day a few weeks later, recording a 4.52-second 40-yard dash that is a bit lackluster for the average first-round cornerback. Still, how much did McKinstry’s ongoing foot problem have to do with an average time? That’s what the Packers must figure out.

So out of the remaining options on the board, which player do you think that general manager Brian Gutekunst selects in this scenario? Upon request, we’re going to add Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton and Texas A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper to this round of voting, as they both have received pre-draft visits with the Packers.