B-
Green Bay Packers
The Packers won the night they stopped Lew from sliding. Grade: B-.
by Kenny proctor ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 8 picks
· 5 steals
· 2 reaches
Somebody in pick No. 120 was going to get robbed, and it turned out to be the rest of the league. The Packers sat still while Connor Lew, the No. 84 name on the board, slid all the way to them, then sprinted to the podium.
Reaching for Kilgore left real value on the table behind him. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher. Cornerback was the priority and it is no longer a question, which is most of the job.
Value over need was the throughline, for better and worse.
Good work on the whole, with edge rusher the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
Caleb Banks at pick 52 is money in the bank, a interior defensive lineman taken below his worth. A sensible fit for a spot that needed help.
A big swing on Jalon Kilgore at Round 3, Pick 20, well ahead of any board in the building. A must-fix position, and they treated it like one.
Somehow Connor Lew was still sitting there in the 120th overall pick, and they pounced on premier offensive lineman value. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
A premium they did not need to pay, Kage Casey a notch or two before his time. A need, and now a little less of one.
They read the board right and CJ Daniels was the payoff at pick No. 160. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Seth McGowan slipping to slot 201 is the kind of luck good rooms make for themselves. Better still, it is exactly the hole they had to fill.
No edge and no loss on Aiden Fisher in the 236th pick; it is a wash and a sensible one. A minor itch, scratched.
The board had John Michael Gyllenborg higher than the Round 7 slot, and the tight end fell to them anyway. Another box on the needs board, quietly ticked.