Green Bay Packers · 2026 Draft · (no R1 pick) · (9-7-1)

Actual Pick: Brandon Cisse (CB, South Carolina) SOLID Buy Jersey

Solid. Green Bay attacked their stated top need with a corner graded squarely to this slot, and we'd push back on anyone calling it boring. Brandon Cisse's Ohio State pedigree before transferring to South Carolina gives him SEC-tested ball skills and length the post-Jaire Alexander room desperately lacks. Gutekunst didn't overthink it — CB was need #1, the board offered a clean R2 grade, he clicked the card. That is exactly how the second round is supposed to work. Jeff Hafley's zone-match defense punishes corners who can't process route concepts in real time, and Cisse's tape against Tennessee and LSU shows a kid who reads quarterback eyes rather than chasing hips. He fits opposite Carrington Valentine immediately, with Keisean Nixon kicking inside on nickel snaps. Cap-wise, Green Bay has zero excuse not to spend Day Two capital on the secondary — they freed real money trading Preston Smith last year and parting with Alexander this spring. No trade — straight selection at #52, slotting at roughly $7.5M over four years fully guaranteed. The opportunity cost is real: Akheem Mesidor was still sitting there, as were wideout Eric Singleton and a couple of plug-and-play interior linemen. But CB ranked above EDGE on Green Bay's own priority list, and you don't pass on a Round-2 corner grade to chase pass-rush depth that Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, and Kingsley Enagbare already provide in rotation. Our internal board had Cisse 54th overall, Daniel Jeremiah floated him in the 50-to-65 range on his final ranking, and PFF's consensus mock had Carolina grabbing him at 48. He was CB3 or CB4 in this class depending on who you read. This is market-rate to the dollar — no steal, no reach, no narrative. Two picks earlier or two picks later, nobody would have blinked. Clean Round-2 value at a Round-2 position. This pick says Gutekunst is running a needs-and-grades hybrid, not the strict best-available zealotry of the Ted Thompson era. Next moves: hammer interior OL with Elgton Jenkins aging, then chase a WR2 to pair with Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. The front office earned trust tonight by being decisive instead of cute. We projected Mesidor; they took the position one rung higher on their own board. That's not stubbornness — that's discipline.

Why different: We projected Mesidor as EDGE-depth insurance after the Parsons trade, but Green Bay correctly prioritized their stated #1 need at cornerback over speculative pass-rush capital.

Actual Pick: Chris McClellan (, ) REACH Buy Jersey

Reach. Trading up for a player not even on our top-145 is the kind of move that gets scouts fired in three years. McClellan is a thick-bodied run-defender with stiff hips, his pass-rush production was thin against SEC competition, and pick 77 historically yields starters — not developmental nose tackles. Green Bay had cleaner targets at premium positions and chose a 1-tech profile when Hafley's defense begs for penetration. The DL fit is half-real. Kenny Clark is 30 and on the wrong side of his prime, Devonte Wyatt has yet to lock down a starting role, and the rotation needed beef. But Jeff Hafley's 4-3 wants disruptive 3-techs who collapse pockets, not two-down nose plugs, and McClellan's career sack total is the kind of number that doesn't translate to NFL Sundays. CB and OL — actual top-two needs — went unaddressed. Surrendering capital to leap for an off-board prospect is the cardinal sin of draft management. Pick 77 carries roughly 205 points of Jimmy Johnson value; whatever fourth and conditional swap Green Bay shipped to Tampa, they paid market rate for sub-market production. The opportunity cost stings — corners, guards, and a Day 2 receiver tier were all sitting there. Gutekunst essentially traded up to take a fifth-rounder. On our board McClellan didn't crack the top 145, putting his organic landing spot in the late-fourth-to-fifth-round range; consensus aggregators (Jeremiah, Kiper, PFF) had him similarly graded as a rotational interior body. Going at 77 means a round-and-a-half reach minimum. Position-rank wise, three to four interior linemen with cleaner pass-rush traits were still sitting on boards across the league. This isn't market-rate — it's overpay. This pick says Gutekunst's room is hunting traits over polish and trusting their tape grading over the consensus — fine in isolation, dangerous when paired with a trade-up. Green Bay still needs a starting-caliber corner and interior offensive line help before Saturday closes; whiff there and this draft slides from average to forgettable. The front office has earned a long leash, but tonight they spent some of it. Get back on need-and-value tomorrow.

Actual Pick: Dani Dennis-Sutton (EDGE, Penn State) STEAL Buy Jersey

Steal. Dani Dennis-Sutton (EDGE, Penn State) was on our top-145 board in the R2-R3 range — and the Green Bay Packers got him in Round 4. On Day 3 that's how you build a roster: value compounds quietly across the back half of the draft, and this is the kind of selection that becomes a starter in two years because the team didn't reach for him in Round 2.

Actual Pick: Jager Burton (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Jager Burton (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Green Bay Packers are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. The Green Bay Packers acquired this pick via trade (From ATL via PHI). Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Domani Jackson (, ) SURPRISE Buy Jersey

Meh. Domani Jackson (?, —) wasn't on our top-145 big board, which means the Green Bay Packers are betting on something specific that didn't show up in the consensus film grades. Day-3 picks are won and lost on traits-and-fit calls like this — if the team's scouting department saw a special-teams role, a developmental skill, or an injury-discount, that's defensible. We don't have a board grade to anchor a verdict so we're rating this neutral and waiting for training-camp tape.

Actual Pick: Trey Smack (K, Florida) SOLID Buy Jersey

Solid. The Green Bay Packers took Trey Smack (K, Florida) right where our pre-draft board had him — Round 6, projected R6-R7. The Green Bay Packers acquired this pick via trade (Compensatory Pick (From PIT via SEA)). On Day 3 the math is simple: when you land a player at the slot consensus said you'd land him at, the front office didn't outsmart anyone but it also didn't get cute. Solid pick at the right price.