Green Bay
added six players in the draft, and those selections speak a lot about the front office's plans for the next few years of the roster.
You can lie before the draft, but what you actually do with the picks is much more telling about what's ahead. That's what we can take from the Green Bay Packers' draft process
.
With only six draft picks
, the first conclusion is that general manager Brian Gutekunst didn't like this class very much. But with the picks the Packers did make, the front office sent some impactful messages about the future
.
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That's the easy one. The Packers made an aggressive move
to get back into the sixth round to select kicker Trey Smack
, the best kicker of this class. As much as they want to sell this as a competition, you don't take a kicker in the sixth round to cut him after training camp. Unless disaster breaks out, veteran Brandon McManus and last year's standout Lucas Havrisik have played their final games for the Packers.
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This isn't as obvious, the Packers don't have a huge motivation to move on from Valentine now - he'll certainly be on the roster in 2026. However, despite his coverage ability, Valentine turned out to be a disappointing player due to his lack of willingness to tackle and play the run. The Packers drafted two cornerbacks in Brandon Cisse
and Domani Jackson
, and with Valentine entering the final year of his rookie deal, he'll have to take a clear step forward to be in Green Bay beyond this season.
Brooks is in a similar position to Valentine's, but for different reasons. Brooks is a fine rotational defensive lineman, with an impressive capacity to generate pressure and disrupt from the interior. However, he's been a liability in the run game, and it's hard to put those kinds of players on a full-time role - especially when the roster also has a similar profile in Devonte Wyatt
.
The Packers added Javon Hargrave
in free agency and traded up
to draft Chris McClellan in the third round
, an indication that they want well-rounded players along the defensive line. And just like Valentine, Brooks is entering the final year of his rookie deal.
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The Packers have spent a lot of capital to reinforce the edge rusher position. In addition to trading for Micah Parsons
and using a first-rounder on Lukas Van Ness
, the Packers selected Barryn Sorrell
, Collin Oliver, and now Dani Dennis-Sutton on Day 3
over the past two drafts.
Sorrell had an intriguing showing
in Week 18 last year against the Minnesota Vikings
and DDS was a highly-productive college player. But Oliver is a more complicated evaluation. First and foremost, because he missed almost his entire rookie season with an injury.
But also because he's a hybrid player and deviates from what the Packers tend to prefer at the edge defender position. The staff will give him every opportunity to develop as a designated pass rusher, but a move to off-ball linebacker eventually wouldn't surprise.
