C+
Green Bay Packers
The Packers did enough to get by: C+.
by moi ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 16 picks
· 0 steals
· 12 reaches
Some picks age like wine; Riley Mahlman at Round 7, Pick 4 will need to, sitting 75 spots clear of his grade. It washes out to a C+, no better and no worse.
The edge rusher spot stays a question, and it was the one they most needed an answer at. On the needs board they went 6 of 8, with cornerback the one that mattered most. The phones were busy but the ledger stayed level.
If Domonique Orange and a couple of the gambles land, hindsight will be kinder than this grade.
Pick-by-Pick
They took Domonique Orange at par in pick No. 72, which is nothing to complain about. A need, and now a little less of one.
Daylen Everette at pick 84 is a sensible buy, a touch better than market for the cornerback. That was the need underlined and circled, and now it is checked off.
Kaleb Elarms-Orr at No. 146 is the kind of overdraft that needs everything to break right. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A reach for Kaleb Proctor in the 149th pick; a little patience would have been rewarded. It shores up a spot that genuinely needed the help.
Matt Gulbin at the Round 5 slot is a clear overpay, with better names still on the board. One more legitimate question on the roster, answered.
They left a pile of value on the table to take Kaelon Black this early at the 165th overall pick. This was priority one on the needs board, and now it is handled.
The board had cheaper options than Ephesians Prysock at No. 168, and it noticed. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
They talked themselves into Trey Zuhn III at pick No. 199, and the board did not agree. A real hole, addressed with a reasonable pick.
John Michael Gyllenborg at the 201st overall pick is a steep price for a hunch, hard to square with any board. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
This one needs a full-page explanation: Cole Payton in pick 206, miles early. It answers the question that was keeping the coaches up at night.
Riley Mahlman at slot 220 is an overdraft of the loud, memorable kind. A sensible fit that makes the depth chart a little sturdier.
A reasonable price with a little left over, TJ Hall in the 221st pick. It also answers one of the loudest questions on the roster.
A real head-scratcher, Fa'alili Fa'amoe in Round 7, Pick 10 is miles ahead of his ranking. The roster fit checks out.
They reached into another round for Riley Nowakowski, and the board is nowhere close to agreeing. It fills a real need, too.
They jumped the gun on Wesley Bissainthe, taking him earlier than his grade liked. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Jack Kelly at slot 255 is neither steal nor reach, just the going rate. Depth on depth, at a spot that was hardly crying out.