Super Bowl 60 Spotlights Two Stars the Packers Passed On in 2023 Draft
As the Seahawks and Patriots gear up for their Super Bowl 60 clash, there’s only one former Packer suiting up on Sunday: Seattle defensive tackle Jarran Reed. Reed, who spent a single season in Green Bay back in 2022, isn’t expected to be a major storyline in the game. But the matchup does offer a sharp reminder of two players the Packers could have drafted in 2023-players who are now centerpieces for the teams vying for the Lombardi Trophy.
And for Packers fans watching from home, it might be tough not to think about what could’ve been.
Lukas Van Ness: The Pick That Hasn’t Paid Off-Yet
With the 13th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Packers selected Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness. It was a move that raised some eyebrows at the time, given that Van Ness had never started a game in college. The bet was on upside-raw athleticism, power, and long-term potential.
Two seasons in, the return on that investment has been underwhelming.
Van Ness didn’t start a single regular-season game in his first year. Heading into 2025, there was hope he’d take the leap and earn a starting role.
But those plans got complicated-fast. The Packers traded for superstar pass rusher Micah Parsons, pushing Van Ness back down the depth chart.
He ended up making just two starts in 2025 and missed eight games with a nagging foot injury.
There’s still time for Van Ness to develop, but so far, he hasn’t come close to delivering the kind of impact you expect from a top-15 pick. And that’s where the frustration starts to build-especially when you look at who was still on the board when Green Bay made its selection.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba: A Star the Packers Could’ve Given Jordan Love
The Packers had a golden opportunity to break a long-standing trend in 2023. They hadn’t taken a wide receiver in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002, and with Aaron Rodgers heading to the Jets and Jordan Love stepping into the starting role, the timing felt right to finally invest in a top-tier pass catcher.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was sitting there, available and widely considered the best receiver in the class-even after missing most of his final season at Ohio State with a hamstring injury.
Green Bay passed.
Seattle didn’t. The Seahawks scooped up Smith-Njigba at No. 19, and he’s been nothing short of electric ever since.
His rookie year was strong, but 2024 is when he truly exploded. Smith-Njigba hauled in 100 catches for 1,130 yards and six touchdowns, earning his first Pro Bowl nod.
In 2025, he elevated to another level-leading the league with 1,793 receiving yards on 119 receptions, with 10 touchdowns. He added 13 more catches, 172 yards, and two scores in the playoffs, torching both the 49ers and Rams on Seattle’s road to the Super Bowl.
The Packers did add weapons for Love in that draft-Jayden Reed and Dontayvion Wicks at wide receiver, and tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft. All have shown promise.
But Smith-Njigba has shown dominance. He’s already one of the league’s elite, and it’s hard not to imagine what he and Love could’ve done together in Green Bay’s offense.
Christian Gonzalez: The Shutdown Corner Green Bay Could Use Right Now
Then there’s Christian Gonzalez, the smooth, athletic corner out of Oregon who went to the Patriots at No. 17-just two picks before Seattle grabbed Smith-Njigba.
At the time, cornerback didn’t seem like a pressing need for the Packers. Jaire Alexander was still playing at a Pro Bowl level, and Eric Stokes, their 2021 first-rounder, had shown promise as a rookie. Safety was the bigger concern, and the Packers opted to address the pass rush instead.
But hindsight can be brutal.
Alexander has played just 16 games combined over the past two seasons and was released after the 2024 campaign. Stokes, meanwhile, appeared in only three games in 2023 and lost his starting job in 2024. Suddenly, what once looked like a position of strength has become a glaring weakness.
Gonzalez, on the other hand, has been everything New England hoped for-and then some. He earned Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2024 and made the Pro Bowl this season. His biggest moment came in the AFC Championship Game, when he picked off Jarrett Stidham late in the fourth quarter to seal the Patriots’ trip to the Super Bowl.
A Painful “What If” for Green Bay
Every NFL team has its share of draft-day regrets. That’s the nature of the game. But for the Packers, watching Smith-Njigba and Gonzalez go head-to-head on the sport’s biggest stage-while Van Ness fights to stay healthy and find his footing-hits a little harder.
These aren’t just good players. They’re game-changers. And right now, they’re helping lead their teams to a shot at the title.
For Green Bay, it’s a reminder that draft decisions don’t just shape rosters-they shape futures.