Here’s Why Each Packers Rookie Could Start in Week 1, And Why They Won’t

The NFL Draft, of course, is not about instant gratification. Each of the Green Bay Packers’ six draft picks will start OTAs later this month at or near the bottom of their positional depth charts.

Even the draft pick with the clearest path to the starting lineup, sixth-round kicker Trey Smack, will be kicking second behind Lucas Havrisik when the team steps on the practice field for the first time after Memorial Day weekend.

Here is why each of Green Bay’s draft picks could start in Week 1, and why they won’t.

Round 2: No. 52: Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina

Why he’ll start: Clearly, the Packers weren’t thrilled with the returning cornerback duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. That’s why general manager Brian Gutekunst released Nate Hobbs, signed Benjamin St-Juste and drafted Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson.

Cisse was one of top cornerback prospects in this year’s draft. He’s got excellent coverage ability and is a solid tackler. Nixon tied for sixth in the NFL with 17 passes defensed, even though he played only a handful of snaps in Week 18, but Valentine didn’t make many plays on the ball and tackled with his feebility.  

Why he won’t: Nixon might not be as good as he thinks but he’s better than what you probably think. It would be a significant upset if he’s not a Week 1 starter. That could create a three-man battle between Valentine, St-Juste and Cisse to be the other starter.

Valentine is a solid coverage player. As he enters his final season under contract, he’s going to be hungrier than ever. St-Juste has an up-and-down history but was definitely more up than down last season for the Chargers.

If Cisse is as good as the Packers believe, he’ll probably start at some point this season. It might not be Week 1, though. It took until Week 3 of their rookie seasons for former first-round picks Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes to start. Chances are coach Matt LaFleur won’t be in a hurry with Cisse, either, because of the veteran options.

“Just getting a chance to see him run around the field in person, he’s athletic, got good quickness, got good transition, got good burst out of his breaks,” new position coach Daniel Bullocks said this week. “He’s a guy that hit me up every night going over (and) talking about scheme, talking about players. He’s the same guy I see on the tape. He’s going to be a good player.”

Round 3: No. 77: Chris McClellan, DT, Missouri

Why he’ll start: The shift to Jonathan Gannon’s 3-4 defense will require a nose tackle. That’s McClellan. The battle will be between McClellan, who the Packers traded up to select in the third round, Nazir Stackhouse, who went undrafted last year, and Jonathan Ford, a seventh-round draft pick by the Packers in 2022 who finally made his debut with the team when he returned late last season.

“We want him to come in and be able to compete with our guys and, obviously, help us out in all phases of the game – the run game and pass game,” defensive run-game coordinator DeMarcus Covington said last week. “Hopefully, he’s up to that challenge. So far, from what I’ve seen, he’s definitely up to that challenge.”

Why he won’t: There are two simple reasons. One, the Packers could opt to ease McClellan into things and focus on one of the returning big guys at the start of the season. Two, the opposing offense could line up in a three-receiver set to start the game, which would put the Packers into nickel and leave only Devonte Wyatt and Javon Hargrave on the field.

The Packers believe McClellan is more than a nose tackle, which should create ample opportunities to get him on the field, even if he’s not a starter.

Round 4: No. 120: Dani Dennis-Sutton, Edge, Penn State

Why he’ll start: There’s a clear-cut path for Dennis-Sutton to be a Week 1 starter. With Micah Parsons likely to miss the first few games as he finishes his comeback from last year’s torn ACL, there’s an opening opposite Lukas Van Ness.

If Dennis-Sutton is the draft steal many believe him to be, there is a starting job for the taking in what could be a camp-long battle with last year’s fourth-round pick, Barryn Sorrell.

College is college and the NFL is the NFL, but Sorrell as a senior at Texas set career highs with six sacks and 11 tackles for losses, and he forced one fumble for his career. Dennis-Sutton had 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for losses as a junior, 8.5 sacks and 12 TFLs as a senior, and seven forced fumbles for his career.

“Obviously, excited to work with him, just evaluating him – size, length, speed, all the above, to be able to set the edge, rush the passer,” Covington said. “I think anybody who’s stepping on our football team has a chance to compete and get better.”  

Why he won’t: Sorrell will be the clear and obvious front-runner. He was a solid contributor as a rookie and has spent the offseason training for football rather than training for 40-yard dashes.

Round 5: No. 153: Jager Burton, C, Kentucky

Why he’ll start: There is no reason whatsoever to believe the starting interior trio will be anything but Aaron Banks at left guard, Sean Rhyan at center and Anthony Belton at right guard.

Injuries, of course, are the elephant in the room, as evidenced by last year’s 18 percent problem. If one of the three starters are banged up, Burton could start. Heck, if left tackle Jordan Morgan is banged up, the backup plan could be shifting Belton to left tackle, which is where he played in college, and inserting Burton at right guard.

Why he won’t: The Packers have invested a lot into the returning interior group. Banks signed a blockbuster contract in free agency last offseason, Rhyan signed a big contract this offseason and Belton was a second-round pick last year.

The coaches will swear “everything’s a competition,” but if Banks, Rhyan and Belton are healthy but not starting, that’s an organizational problem.

Round 6: No. 201: Domani Jackson, CB, Alabama

Why he’ll start: Jackson was a sixth-round draft selection but with the skill-set of a player who some pundits at this time last year thought could make him a first-round pick. Jackson wound up being benched for a stretch of games but, with the help of former Packers starter HaHa Clinton-Dix, returned to the starting lineup for the final few games was excellent.

He could be the steal of the draft if he can put it all together now that there’s nothing else to focus on other than football.

Why he won’t: The depth chart, obviously, is working against him with Nixon, Valentine, St-Juste and Cisse. Plus, a high-ranking scout wondered how Jackson would fit Gannon’s defense.

“It’s like a Gutey pick – fast, tall, looks good, probably hasn’t put it all together,” he said. “He’s more of a press guy but that’s not really J.G.’s defense.”

With Nixon and Valentine entering their contract seasons, Jackson’s time could be in 2027.

Round 6: No. 216: Trey Smack, K, Florida

Why he’ll start: The Packers didn’t trade their two seventh-round picks to target Smack in the sixth round just to create some competition at kicker, and they didn’t cut Brandon McManus just to create some cap space.

A team doesn’t draft a cornerback in the sixth round with the intention of starting as a rookie. That’s the only reason to draft a kicker. If Smack is competent and in a good head space, he will be the kicker.

Why he won’t: With a kicker, you never quite know. The Packers drafted Brett Conway in the third round of the 1997 draft to replace longtime kicker Chris Jacke. The Packers indeed found their next longtime kicker. It was Ryan Longwell.

Lucas Havrisik is a talented kicker. Clearly, the Packers will want Smack to win the job but it’s definitely not a lock.

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