By: Ben Lindsley

CC BY-SA 2.0 by Mike Morbeck

It’s that time of year again: NFL Draft season. For weeks fans like myself have been making their mock drafts for Thursday night… and then they all got screwed up when the Bengals traded their top-10 pick. Of course, Dexter Lawrence is an insane talent on the defensive line and will make an immediate impact on that defense. But that’s neither here nor there; point is, the Packers once again have another opportunity to use the eight (now seven) (now six) picks they have to add some young talent to their roster. Specifically, Green Bay is in dire need of young bodies at cornerback and defensive tackle, and they could probably use another edge rusher after trading Rashan Gary to the Cowboys. I did this last year too, so I thought I’d once again give my thoughts on and grade every single Packers draft pick. The only difference this year is that they have no first round picks, meaning they will first be on the clock at pick 52. So while top guys like CBs Mansoor Delane and Jermod McCoy almost certainly will not be in the mix, there is still an array of talent to work with. But it got us Micah Parsons, and so I do not care even a little bit. Anyways, enough of me rambling. 

Lock in. 

Round 2, Pick 52: Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina

The Packers were put in a nearly perfect position following the end of the first round, as only two cornerbacks were taken in the first 32 picks: Mansoor Delane of LSU and Chris Johnson of San Diego State. Johnson was someone I really liked as a potential Packer in the second round, but unfortunately the Dolphins traded up and got him first. Even so, a multitude of corner prospects were still available in the second round. The board fell perfectly for Green Bay, and they took advantage by selecting Brandon Cisse at pick 52. 

Man, I cannot remember the last time the Packers addressed their top need with their first pick; how refreshing this is. The way I see it, this is a home run of a pick. Cisse spent two season at NC State before transferring to South Carolina his junior year where he logged 27 tackles and a pick. The 6’0”, 189 lb CB tested well too, recording an above average 75 7/8” wingspan and a 41” vertical. His athleticism is off the charts, especially in run defense, and a blazing 4.42 40-yard dash certainly helped his case too. Scouts considered him a first round talent, falling into the lap of Green Bay mainly due to the CB drought in the first round. Even so, I am shocked he was still available here.  

On top of all of that, Cisse is only 20 years old. Youth is on his side, giving him a lot of years to do his thing in the NFL. Overall, I am thoroughly satisfied with this pick; this is a guy who excels in man coverage, something that Green Bay has been hard pressed to find for a while now. My only concern is that he can be inconsistent with tackling and sometimes whiffs in coverage. Regardless, he’s a starter for this team within the first five weeks of the season and should take a whole lot of pressure off Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. Perfect timing for Green Bay’s first non-7^th-round CB since Eric Stokes in 2021. 

Grade: A- 

Round 3, Pick 77: Chris McClellan, DT, Missouri

Green Bay was originally at pick 84 here, but GM Brian Gutekunst decided to move up seven spots by sending picks 84 and 160 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With that pick, Gutey addressed the team’s second-biggest need (didn’t know that was possible) by taking DT Chris McClellan out of Mizzou, and this is exactly the type of guy the Packers needed on the defensive front. At 6’4” and 323 lbs, McClellan is your standard big-bodied nose tackle that they haven’t had since Kenny Clark. He’s excellent at defending the run and can pass rush pretty well too, taking some pressure off the d-line during non-Micah snaps. He recorded 13.5 TFLs and 8.5 sacks in two years with the Tigers, mainly utilizing his size in a bullrush to get to the opposing quarterback. Mainly he’s here to stuff the trenches with his size and be a consistent run stopper. 

Picking up a nose tackle was almost certainly a given for the Packers, as they’d lost Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton and Colby Wooden in the past two offseasons. Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks are both on contract years, meaning they’re likely to only extend one of them. And while Javon Hargrave was a good pickup this offseason, he’s 33 and coming off a couple bad campaigns with the Vikings and Niners. So, there was definitely need for a long-term solution at the position. Whether or not McClellan is that answer certainly remains to be seen. Worst case is he’s just a depth piece for a few years, which the team needs anyway. 

Regardless, a trade up this aggressive signals that this is a guy Gutekunst really wanted and wasn’t willing to stick around and see if he’d still be there seven pick later. So there’s clearly something there. He doesn’t have to be the next Kenny Clark by any means, but as long as he can continue to be an above-average run defender, he’s got a good place on this team for the considerable future. 

Grade: B+ 

Looking ahead to day 3, it’s very refreshing that the two biggest needs at CB and DT have already been taken care of. This means the Pack can safely add depth to other positions without feeling compelled to fix a position group with a remaining pick. What I’m looking for yet is an edge rusher and probably one more cornerback before the seventh round. Beyond that, the team could use backups at running back, tight end and quarterback, and more offensive line depth never hurts either. 

Oddly enough, Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy is still available in the fourth round after dropping from his projected first round landing spot. There are a lot of injury concerns with him, including that he may not be able to play in 2026 due to cartilage issues in his knee. Even if that’s the case, I think if you’re the Packers you have to take him if he’s still around at pick 120. He’s a first round talent regardless of injury status, and we’re at the point in the draft where the benefits if he stays healthy far outweigh the risk of potentially missing on a fourth rounder. We’ve done that more times than I can count already; worst case scenario, it’s just another day at the front office. (Of course, hours after I write this, Jermod McCoy gets taken by the Raiders with the first pick of the fourth round. Oh well.) 

Round 4, Pick 120: Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State

The Packers picking up an edge rusher from Penn State… where have I seen this before? He’s no Micah Parsons, but Dani Dennis-Sutton is an absolute steal in the fourth round as I believe he should have been gone near the middle of the third. He’s not as good in the pass rush as he is as a run defender, but that of course doesn’t mean he’s a liability at either. The way I see it, this is basically the Kingsley Enagbare replacement. He certainly has the upside to be a starter for this team, but there’s no pressure on him to become a game-wrecker like Micah is. He even has the benefit of being valuable on special teams, as he led the FBS with three blocked kicks last season. The potential is there, but he really only needs to be a solid rotational player for the Packers in order to have a decent role on the team. With that, my three top needs for Green Bay have been filled. I don’t think that has ever happened before. With the way the Miami Dolphins’ draft has been going, maybe Jon-Eric Sullivan had something to do with it… 

Grade: B+ 

Round 5, Pick 153: Jager Burton, C, Kentucky

While the Packers did trade away their own fifth round pick to move up in the second round, they still have one more thanks to trading Dontayvion Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles. With that pick, they take the center out of Kentucky by the name of Jager Burton. Besides having a great name, Burton is a great fit as a depth piece in the interior. After a less-than-ideal freshman year, Burton completely stepped up his game only allowing 3 sacks in the past 3 years. His main strength is his versatility, as he played all across the interior o-line throughout his college career. One thing to watch is current Packers center Sean Rhyan, who just signed a 3-year, $33 million contract with the team this offseason. Burton is probably his backup, but both players have history at multiple position meaning we could see some more shuffling of the line this season. 

Offensive line depth isn’t surprising to me at this point in the draft; with the exception of 2023, Green Bay has taken at least one offensive lineman in every draft since 2021. And with longtime starter Elgton Jenkins now playing for the Cleveland Browns, the interior could sure use all the help it can get. 

Grade: B 

Round 6, Pick 201: Domani Jackson, CB, Alabama

Is this draft going… well? The Packers did what I expected them to do and double-dipped at cornerback with Alabama’s Domani Jackson. Jackson started all 13 games as a junior and 10 as a senior and recorded 91 tackles, 7 PBUs, and 2 interceptions during that span. His speed and size make him an immediate asset on special teams, giving him time to adjust to the league and learn how to read routes quicker. Again, as a sixth rounder you aren’t expecting Jackson to become a full-time starter; depth is the biggest reason for this pick, and I’m all for it. 

The way Green Bay has addressed CB this season reminds of a lite version of how they overhauled the safety room in 2024 when they brough in Xavier McKinney and drafted three. There’s room for improvement no doubt, but a cornerback room of Cisse, Jackson, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and the newly acquired Benjamin St-Juste looks a lot prettier than it did just a few short months ago. We know how well the safety rework worked out; maybe they can pull it off again. 

Grade: B- 

Round 6, Pick 216: Trey Smack, K, Florida

Another trade for Green Bay, sending pick 255 to the Seahawks to draft the weekend’s first and only kicker: Trey Smack from Florida. A lot of people online raised some anger over drafting a kicker, especially after paying out Brandon McManus’ $1 million roster bonus in March. Personally, I’m a big fan of this move. For one, Smack is a generational name for a kicker, so there’s that. Aside from that, this team was in dire need of some actual competition at the kicker position. While McManus was fine during the regular season, his performance in the Wildcard Round against Chicago singlehandedly lost the game and was absolutely unacceptable. Late Day 3 picks usually don’t have a huge impact on the outlook of a team, but this feels like it could be an exception. I hope whoever wins that training camp battle sees this as a wake-up call that the Packers are done putting up with the kicking inconsistencies that have plagued them since Mason Crosby left. Let’s just hope this doesn’t turn into another Anders Carlson situation. 

Grade: A- 

2026 Draft Class as a Whole

Even with just six picks, tied for the fewest by the Packers since 2004, Brian Gutekunst managed to markedly improve the roster at the positions that needed it most: cornerback, defensive tackle, and edge rusher. Some extra o-line help and an initiated kicker competition, and it seems Green Bay is in business. If anything, I would have liked to see some depth added at tight end, running back or quarterback. The tight end class was pretty weak this year and kind of weird in general, so I understand not wanting to deal with that. There will be a lot to work with in the UDFA class though, so that’s really not that big of a deal.  Depending on how everything goes down, this may be one of my favorite draft classes in a long time solely because of how many big needs were actually addressed with top picks. You’ve got to be feeling over the moon right now if you’re a fan of the Green Bay Packers. 

Grade: A-