The Green Bay Packers reportedly have their eyes on the top cornerback prize in the 2018 draft.

According to Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst, the Packers “truly covet” Ohio State cornerback Denzel Ward, who most expect to be off the board by the time Green Bay picks at No. 14 overall.

Pauline believes the Packers would have trade up to get Ward.

Although Ward (5-10, 191) doesn’t possess great size, he blew away the combine – running the 40-yard dash in 4.32 seconds and hitting 39 inches in the vertical leap – and many believe he’s the best pure cover cornerback in the class.

Getting Ward would give the Packers another young talented corner to go with Kevin King, last year’s top pick, and veterans Davon House and Tramon Williams.

Pro Football Focus recently identified the Packers as a top fit for Ward, noting his ability to get his hands on the football (21 passes defended in 2016) and shut down the passing game (54.0 passer rating against his coverage in 2017).

Even if the Packers believe Ward is too small to play full-time on the outside, he could be a stopper from the slot. The nickel cornerback role is a starting position in today’s subpackage-heavy NFL. The Packers don’t currently have a good option there.

Several teams picking before the Packers in the first round also have big needs at cornerback, creating the difficulty in envisioning Ward dropping to No. 14. But if he suffered even a slight fall, with the quarterbacks and a few of the top defensive players pushing him down the board, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst might be tempted to move up and secure the Ohio State star.

If the Packers miss out on Ward, Pauline reports the team is looking at Iowa cornerback Josh Jackson or Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. It’s clear Gutekunst and the Packers want to find an impact player to add to the secondary early in the draft.