C+
Green Bay Packers
Some hits, some head-scratchers, and a C+ for the Packers.
by Cheezhed63 ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 15 picks
· 2 steals
· 9 reaches
You can fall in love with a player. You are not supposed to marry him in the wrong round. The Packers did exactly that with Cole Payton in the 161st overall pick. Fine in stretches, shaky in others: a C+.
The Wetjen steal is the beam this whole class leans on. For all the activity, running back went untouched, which is hard to explain.
The roster is better shaped than it was, with edge rusher chief among the fixes. The trades cost them a sliver of value they did not need to spend.
Call it incomplete, and check back in a couple of seasons.
Pick-by-Pick
A straight-up fair deal on Gennings Dunker at the 53rd pick, value and slot in agreement. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
Keylan Rutledge in No. 76 is exactly on the number, no argument either way. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
A conviction pick on De'Zhaun Stribling at slot 87 that the board grades a round light. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
Davison Igbinosun slipping to pick No. 90 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
They took Julian Neal at par in the 120th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. The one spot they could not leave alone, and did not.
They went early on DeMonte Capehart in pick 121, and the value did not follow. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
A wild overpay on Max Llewellyn in pick 123, the sort that defines a class for the wrong reasons. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
Jude Bowry at the 135th overall pick is a sound buy, the sort that quietly helps a class. The roster fit checks out.
A premium they did not need to pay, Nate Boerkircher a notch or two before his time. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
Louis Moore in the Round 5 slot is the kind of reach that only looks good if he outplays it. A minor itch, scratched.
A real head-scratcher, Domani Jackson in Round 5, Pick 20 is miles ahead of his ranking. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Cole Payton at pick No. 161 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
Value said wait; Robert Spears-Jennings in the 201st pick says they were not listening. Stacking talent where they were already deep.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Bryce Foster this early at No. 236. A need, and now a little less of one.
A wide receiver of that caliber at the 255th overall pick is the definition of value, full stop. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.