Packers Draft Tracker: Six Draft Picks, Instant Grades, Undrafted QB

GREEN BAY – The NFL Draft started on Thursday for most of the league. It started on Friday for the Green Bay Packers.

This will be your hub for all the quick-hitting news on all the draft picks and trades.

Packers Sign Quarterback

Kyron Drones had a predraft visit with the Packers. Having gone undrafted, he signed as an undrafted free agent. Here is his story.

The Undrafted Class

The Packers had room for 10 players. They signed these 10 players.

Sixth Round: Florida K Trey Smack

There will be one hell of a kicking competition at Green Bay Packers training camp.

With Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik on the roster, the Packers traded back into the sixth round on Saturday and selected Florida’s Trey Smack.

To move up to No. 216 cost the Packers their two picks in the seventh round. Barring a trade of one of their 2027 draft picks, the Packers’ draft is complete.

Smack was the Gators’ kicker for each of his final three seasons. He made 82.8 percent of his final goals for his career, including an excellent 10-of-13 from 50-plus yards. His career long was 56 yards. He made at least 80 percent of his field goals all three seasons and was 100-of-101 on extra points.

Smack made a 60-yard field goal at the Scouting Combine and a 65-yarder at pro day. His 10 long-distance field goals set a school record.

“A 50-yarder is like a PAT to me … I have more room to work with the ball when I have that much space because the ball will travel a little bit more on the way down than it would at the apex.” Smack said via Sports Illustrated. “I feel like I expect to make everyone.”

He was considered the No. 1 kicking prospect and the most likely to be drafted.

“It’s good for the brand. Kickers are a huge part of the game,” Smack said at pro day. “If I get drafted, that would be amazing, but I’m just glad if a team likes me and wants to sign me.”

Instant Grade: B. This is the second kicker drafted by Brian Gutekunst. Anders Carlson was a sixth-round pick in 2023 and was terrible. Given how last season ended with McManus’ disastrous playoff game, it’s not an exaggeration to say the season could hinge on this pick being correct. So long as the job isn’t handed to him on a silver platter, this is a good pick.

More on Trey Smack

How does he fit?

Sixth Round: Alabama CB Domani Jackson

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst promised there would be “numbers” added at cornerback in this week’s NFL Draft.

After selecting South Carolian’s Brandon Cisse in the second round on Friday, they added Alabama cornerback Domani Jackson in the sixth round on Saturday.

The 201st overall selection is a high-upside roll of the dice given his lack of ball production. At 6-foot 3/4 and 194 pounds, he ran his 40 in 4.41 seconds. His Relative Athletic Score was 9.00.

Jackson was a three-year starter. At USC in 2023, he started 11 games and had zero interceptions and three passes defensed. He spent his final two seasons at Alabama. In 2024, he intercepted two passes and added nine breakups. In 2025, he played in 15 games with 10 starts and had just one pass breakup.

According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed a 76.2 completion percentage, one touchdown and 108.2 passer rating in 2025. He was benched at one point in the season, though he was worked back into the lineup.

“I wasn’t living up to that standard,” Jackson told at the Scouting Combine. “If you’re not living up to it, you will get replaced. I mean, it’s a room full of talent. So, you just kind of pride yourself and just compete.”

Through a challenging situation, former Packers safety HaHa Clinton-Dix, who is Alabama’s director of player development, was there to help.

“He just pulled me aside and we were watching film,” Jackson said. “He just said ‘Be that same person. Just compete. Give your all, and the coaches ultimately see that and give you another opportunity.’”

Among the players available were LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, though his small hands might have taken him off their board. Speed receiver Jeff Caldwell off Cincinnati  was available, too.

At cornerback, North Carolina’s Thaddeus Dixon, Stanford’s Collin Wright and Toledo’s Andre Fuller were on the board.

Instant Grade: C-minus. If a player gets benched for ineffective play in college, how on Earth is he going to make it in the NFL? In the sixth round, though, his size and speed at least gives him a shot.

More on Domani Jackson

Reach or steal?

How does he fit?

Fifth Round: Kentucky C/G Jager Burton

In 2024, the Green Bay Packers used a fifth-round pick on a versatile and experienced offensive lineman, Jacob Monk of Duke.

On Saturday, the Packers used a fifth-round pick on a versatile and experienced offensive lineman, Jager Burton of Kentucky.

Burton played in 50 games with 47 starts in five seasons at Kentucky. Those starts were divided between 23 at left guard, 15 at center and nine at right guard. He opened the 2023 season at center but was shifted back to right guard. In 2025, he was moved back to center and started every game.

“I think that’s very important for offensive linemen at the end of the day,” he told NFL Draft on SI’s Justin Melo about his versatility. “It’s all about banking game reps. In my opinion, that’s the best way to get better. You have to play this position in order to improve.

“Other than practice reps and individual periods, you need to play football games. The amount of games I’ve played in, that’s a huge thing for me. I’m obviously super proud to have done that at the University of Kentucky. I stayed healthy and played a lot of football. That should serve me well at the next level.”

He did not allow a sack in 2025.

At 6-foot-3 7/8 and 312 pounds, his ran his 40 in 4.94 seconds and showed superb athletic ability for a Relative Athletic Score of 9.88.

“I would say, yeah, I think I surprised them a little bit,” he told Melo of his times. “I think they saw it on film, but it’s a little harder to tell the exact degree of anyone’s athleticism strictly on tape, especially for an offensive lineman.

“We ran a lot of inside zone this past season. I think that made it a little harder to see our athleticism up front. I knew the NFL Combine was a great opportunity for scouts to see that I’m very athletic. I wanted them to see that with their own eyes, as opposed to through a camera lens.”

Instant Grade: B-plus. The Packers love versatile linemen, and Burton has that in abundance with extensive experience at all three interior positions. He is a good player who fills a critical need. Would Duke lineman Brian Parker have been a better choice?

More on Jager Burton

Reach or steal?

How does he fit?

Fourth Round: Penn State edge Dani Dennis-Sutton

The Green Bay Packers are off and running on what promises to be a busy Day 3 of the NFL Draft by selecting Penn State edge Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Dennis-Sutton was expected to be a top-100 pick; getting him at No. 120 represents a strong value.

Dennis-Sutton will immediately strengthen an edge group that has some considerable questions beyond the expected starting duo of Micah Parsons and Lukas Van Ness. Where will the production come from with Parsons expected to miss the start of the season? The other players on the depth chart are the unaccomplished trio of Brenton Cox, Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver.

Dennis-Sutton is coming off back-to-back seasons of 8.5 sacks. He had 12 tackles for losses and three forced fumbles in 2025 and 13 tackles for losses and two forced fumbles in 2024.

“I do things that not everybody can do, especially in this class, not really anybody,” he said at pro day. “Obviously, physically ... I have the size and the speed, but I feel like I have the ability to play the run, chase plays down on the backside. And, obviously, my speed and power, that's what I feel like is one of my specialties.”

A Day 3 pick must make an impact on special teams. Dennis-Sutton blocked three kicks in 2025.

“And then a thing that nobody does in the class – no matter what position – is play special teams,” he added. “As far as being a defensive guy but also being out there for all four downs: first and second, to stop the run; third down to get after the quarterback; and then fourth down, being able to block punts and make plays on special teams give me an opportunity to get out on the field, no matter what.”

Dennis-Sutton, of course, will join fellow Penn State star Micah Parsons in the Packers’ edge room.

“His motor is always on 100 from the snap to the whistle,” then-coach James Franklin said. “He plays his tail off. And usually when you play hard, good things happen.

“He is hungry, he is motivated, he is driven. He wants to be great. A lot of guys say they want to be great. This guy eats, sleeps and dreams football and wants to be special. He’s been that way since we recruited him.”

He finished his career with 23.5 sacks, 34.5 tackles for losses, seven forced fumbles, 10 pass breakups and two interceptions.

“I made a promise to myself in high school that by the time I left college, I’d be the best defensive end in the country,” Dennis-Sutton said.

We reserve to change the instant grade when we do our full-length grades later. But this is an easy one.

Instant Grade: A.

More on Dani Dennis-Sutton

How does he fit?

Steal or reach?

Day 3 Has Arrived; How About One Last Mock?

With the Packers scheduled to be on the clock in the fourth round shortly, here’s one last mock draft. This was done with Pro Football Network’s simulator and using the Consensus Big Board.

Fourth Round, No. 120: Penn State edge Dani Dennis-Sutton

He’s one of the best players available to start the day. He’d offer a well-rounded skill-set with run-stopping ability, pass-rushing production, some coverage experience and special-teams acumen.

Fifth Round, No. 153: Southeastern Louisiana DT Kaleb Proctor

Proctor would be the attack-mode defensive tackle to join third-round pick Chris McClellan. He had a “30” with the Packers.

Sixth Round, No. 201: Oklahoma G/C Febechi Nwaiwu

Nwaiwu started 46 games during his college career, including all 26 appearances for the Sooners during his two seasons. Of note, 24 starts came at right guard but two came at center.

Seventh Round, No. 236: Toledo RB Chip Trayanum

The Packers like big backs. Trayanum and 224 pounds. He rushed for 1,015 yards and caught 21 passes in 2025.

Seventh Round, No. 253: Georgia WR Colbie Young

Young is 6-foot-4 3/5 with 4.49 speed so worth a Hail Mary after a disappointing college career.

What’s On Deck?

The Packers are scheduled to have five draft picks on Saturday. Those selections:

• Fourth Round, No. 120

• Fifth Round, No. 153 (Dontayvion Wicks trade)

• Sixth Round, No. 201

• Seventh Round, No. 236

• Seventh Round, No. 255 (compensatory).

If it stays that way, the Packers would finish with only seven picks – the fewest for GM Brian Gutekunst.

That doesn’t necessarily mean he’s looking to add picks on Saturday. In fact, he said he tried to trade back into the third round after picking Chris McClellan.

“I’ll be fine with it but, at the same time, depending on how tomorrow falls, if the board is going to be stronger, maybe moving down a little bit and adding some picks, whether that’s this year, whether that’s next year, I’m kind of all for that,” Gutekunst said.

“I think we’re sitting in a pretty good spot right now, not only this year, but next year. Unless the board looks a certain way, I don’t think I’ll pass up picking a player that I want to pick just to add picks. I don’t think it’s that kind of draft for us.”

That outlook, Gutekunst said, is based on a strong roster that he said does not have any glaring needs.

“You wouldn’t mind moving around a little bit,” he said. “I think the board is strong, and there’s good players up there. It’s always hard just to stick to the very best player available, but particularly on the third day, I think if you can do that, you’re better off. And so, I don’t feel like a pressing need. I didn’t feel that coming into this draft, and I don’t feel that now that we have to go just fill a spot. So, hopefully, I can have the discipline to kind of just stay there and take the best player and do that.”

Third Round: Packers Draft Missouri DT Chris McClellan

The Green Bay Packers have hammered away at their biggest needs on defense. After using their second-round pick on South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse, they traded up for Missouri defensive tackle Chris McClellan.

Green Bay moved up from No. 84 to No. 77 by giving up the second of their fifth-round picks, No. 160 overall.

After two seasons at Florida, McClellan transferred to Missouri. After starting nine games in 2024, McClellan had a superb final season with six sacks, eight tackles for losses and 48 tackles – all career highs.

At 6-foot-3 3/4 and 313 pounds with 34-inch arms and enormous 11-inch hands, he’s got the size to fill the big void at nose tackle in the new 3-4 scheme.

“Just being able to kind of play in multiple different defenses for multiple different years, like primarily based out of a nickel at Missouri and Florida it's like more of a 3-4 defense,” McClellan said at the Scouting Combine. “So, having that experience to kind of translate both kind of styles so I can play in any defense that I get drafted to.”

He’s still got room to grow as a player. He arrived at Florida as a defensive end.

“I didn't play D-tackle until I got to college, so each year was kind of a learning experience for me, getting better,” he said. "Obviously, this last year, my senior is my best year, sort of understanding how to beat those into your linemen and be able to get some sack production.”

More on Chris McClellan

• Reach or steal?

• How does he fit?

Second Round: Packers Draft South Carolina CB Brandon Cisse

The Green Bay Packers used their first pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse.

Cisse fits Green Bay’s usual mold at cornerback. At 5-foot-11 3/4, he’s about the same size as Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. In other words, he’s not too tall, not too short. At pro day, he ran his 40 in 4.41 seconds. He’s got smaller hands than the typical Packers cornerback at 8 1/2 inches.

Cisse is a perimeter cornerback. He will challenge Nixon, Valentine and Benjamin St-Juste for playing time.

Cisse spent his first two seasons at North Carolina State. He started nine games in 2024 – he missed four games with an injured thumb – and had zero interceptions and five passes defensed.

In 2025, he started all 12 games and intercepted one pass with six pass breakups.

According to Pro Football Focus, he allowed 18-of-38 passing with one touchdown and one interception in 2025. In 2024, he allowed 14-of-27 with one touchdown. That’s a combined completion percentage of just less than 50 percent.

Cisse was the 41st prospect, according to NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah.

“Cisse is a fast, twitchy cover corner,” Jeremiah wrote. “He usually played with his back turned to the sideline, allowing him to see through the wideout to the quarterback. He plays with vision, which allows him to use his elite speed to close space and make plays on the ball. He is a loose, fluid athlete. He’s not physical in press coverage, though. He carries his hands low and relies on his quick feet to mirror and match.

“I’d like to see him play with more aggression against the run. He gave up some plays in the games I studied, but it appeared to be more of a focus issue than any physical limitation.”

More on Brandon Cisse

Grading the pick

How does he fit?

Was Brandon Cisse a reach or steal?

Grading Jayden Reed Contract Extension

In huge news before the Packers went on the clock on Friday, the team announced it had signed receiver Jayden Reed to a contract extension.

According to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter, the three-year extension is worth $50.25 million in new money and includes $20 million guaranteed.

It might seem like big-time money, but that’s the going rate for a big-time player.

Reed is a big-time player.

Reed is coming off a disappointing season. He tried to play through a foot injury, only to suffer a broken collarbone while making a circus catch in the end zone against Washington. He wound up missing most of the season. After leading the team in receptions and receiving yards during each of his first two seasons, Reed caught 19-of-22 passes in seven games.

It was a dismal season that makes it easy to forget just how good he’d been during his first two seasons.

Take 2024, for instance. Of 84 receivers to be targeted at least 50 times, Reed rewarded his quarterbacks with a 137.5 passer rating – tops in the league. Short or long, Reed destroyed defenses. He was sixth in the league with 7.1 yards after the catch per catch and first with an 80.0 percent catch rate on deep passes.

From the 2023 draft class, Reed and Puka Nacua are tied for No. 1 with 9.7 yards per target. Of the 110 receivers who were targeted at least 75 times over the past three seasons, He’s tied for seventh in yards per target.

“I look at it as, this game ain’t all about me,” Reed said in 2024. “At the end of the day, I just want to win. As long as we’re winning, I don’t care about targets, none of that. If we’re winning, that’s all I’m about.”

Reed is a bit on the smallish side. Packers coach Matt LaFleur needs to find the right balance with his touches. Maybe some of the gadget stuff for which Reed had excelled can go to Savion Williams so Reed can run more receiver routes.

Reed got paid because he’s a really good player. He also fits the culture.

“I love the energy he brings. And it’s not just gameday, it’s every day,” LaFleur said in 2024. “We’re lucky to have a guy like that. He’s a tone-setter, he really is. I love the way he competes and prepares for every battle.”

The extension will keep Reed under contract through 2029. With Matthew Golden, the Packers have two dynamic receivers. Now, can the Packers find enough money to sign Christian Watson to an extension, as well?

If so, Jordan Love couldn’t ask for much more.

Grade: A.

Packers Have Eight Draft Picks

With no first-round pick, Thursday night was like a Seinfeld episode. Things will pick up the rest of the week.

Second Round, No. 52 (Gutekunst has made a killing here.)

Third Round, No. 84

Fourth Round, No. 120

Fifth Round: No. 153

Fifth Round: No. 160

Sixth Round: No. 201

Seventh Round: No. 236

Seventh Round: No. 255

Limited Draft Capital for Packers

With only eight draft picks and no first-round picks, the Packers have precious few resources to spend in this year’s draft.

OverTheCap.com places a value on every draft pick. The Packers’ eight picks are worth 3,941 points. Only five teams have less draft capital.

“I’m at eight and I’d like to get more,” Gutekunst said. “But it really depends on how the board falls and if the board says, ‘Hey, there’s players worthy of moving up and taking here,’ we’re going to do it. And if we really feel good about the numbers we have we’ll move back and try to acquire, whether it’s this year or next year picks, because we feel we have enough players to take. So, it really just depends on how it falls.”

It’ll be a different story next year. The Packers are scheduled to have 11 picks, including perhaps two in the third round and three in the fourth.

Packers Draft Board

Based on the talent of the players and Green Bay’s history at positions, here’s our look at a potential Packers draft board, with players broken down by positions and rounds.

For what it’s worth, the offensive line is the betting favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook to be the first position drafted by the Packers.

Hit-And-Miss History

This is Gutekunst’s ninth draft. From his first eight, here are the best and worst picks.

It’s OK to laugh at the Pro Bowl as a measuring stick, but this damning stat says something about Gutekunst’s history. He has been on a bit of a roll, though.

One thing’s for sure: The Packers can’t afford to screw this one up.

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