The Green Bay Packers’ class of selections in the 2026 NFL Draft was their smallest in more than 20 years, as the team traded up twice on draft weekend to end with just six picks. However, those picks hit on numerous critical positions of need, particularly on defense.
General manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the cornerback position both early and late, taking South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse in the second round and Domani Jackson out of Alabama in the sixth. The team also added a versatile interior
defensive linemen in round three after a small trade-up, drafting Missouri Tiger Chris McClellan at pick number 77, then they added one of the most impressive athletes in this year’s edge class in Dani Dennis-Sutton out of Penn State at pick 120 of round four. Kentucky offensive lineman Jager Burton was the pick in the fifth round, and the team closed out the draft with another SEC player, kicker Trey Smack, late in round six after trading two 7th-round picks to move up for him.
Again, that class is unusually small, and the team had no first-round pick because of last year’s trade for Micah Parsons. But for the most part, those who follow the Packers have had positive reviews of the class, particularly how the Packers were able to address critical needs while letting the board come to them.
One group that has positive feedback for Gutekunst is our readers here at Acme Packing Company. Following the conclusion of the draft on Saturday evening, we asked the community to give an initial grade for the draft, and you all were very encouraged by the Packers’ process:
As the graphic above indicates, a whopping 88 percent of readers gave the Packers either an A or B grade, with the As holding a very slim lead at 45% to 43%. Only 7 percent of survey respondents gave it a C, with three percent at a D grade and two percent at an F. That’s one of the better breakdowns for a Packers class in recent memory here at APC, and it reflects the general feeling shared by Packers analysts and APC’s writers alike.
The Packers are still not one of the top favorites to win the Super Bowl after the upcoming season, with Fanduel sportsbook currently putting them at +2000 odds. That puts Green Bay in a tie for 11th overall and slots them at sixth among NFC teams for the moment, with three NFC West squads plus the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles ahead of them. Meanwhile, Detroit has a slim lead over Green Bay in the odds to win the NFC North, at +150 against the Packers’ +230.
Let us know your thoughts on the Packers’ class and whether you think they should be getting more or less respect from the national media as serious Super Bowl contenders at this point in the offseason.
