Brian Gutekunst pivots in a lean draft, targeting six rookies to fill critical needs. Will this bold strategy yield future stars for the Green Bay Packers?
It's a small draft class for the Green Bay Packers. There's no doubt about it. In fact, it's the smallest draft class in the Brian Gutekunst era.
Speaking of Gutekunst, we saw some intriguing methodology from the Packers general manager during the 2026 NFL Draft. He's been making selections for the Packers for almost a decade now, and he absolutely has a way of doing things.
There's always been an argument in draft circles about selecting the best talent available versus selecting for the needs of your team -- and every general manager has a different take on that.
Gutekunst has never really drafted for the needs of his team, at least not exclusively, and especially not in the first round.
He looks for high upside and elite athleticism, no matter what the holes on the roster look like. When it works, it works great. That's how you end up with Jordan Love despite having Aaron Rodgers on the roster. That's how you end up with Tucker Kraft in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft despite having selected Luke Musgrave in Round 2.
Of course, when Gutekunst makes a mistake using this method, it can really hurt the team. That's life in the NFL Draft, though. It's not an exact science, and hitting on even two selections per draft is considered pretty darn good.
All of this is to say that it was extremely interesting to see Gutekunst switch things up in the 2026 NFL Draft. He still went after high-upside talent, but more than in years past, he also clearly was trying to address the needs of the team.
The Packers went into this draft with clear needs at cornerback, defensive line and on the interior of the offensive line. There was also a need many weren't thinking about, and that was at kicker.
Gutekunst's 2026 draft class looks like this:
- Brandon Cisse, CB, South Carolina
- Chris McClellan, DT, Missouri,
- Dani Dennis-Sutton, EDGE, Penn State
- Jager Burton, C, Kentucky
- Domani Jackson, CB, Alabama
- Trey Smack, K, Florida
The Packers have six new rookies on their roster heading into 2026. Each of these players fits a massive need on the team.
That doesn't mean that Gutekunst has changed his overall draft philosophy moving forward. This was an interesting draft. The Packers went into it without a first-rounder and he traded two picks away in move ups for McClellan and Smack.
Six is a small class, all things considered, and you can bet Gutekunst is going to try to balance it out in the future.
“I'm probably going to try to get to 20-some picks next year,” Gutekunst jokingly said after the draft, according to Jason Wilde.
“So I don’t think it’s going to change the way I’m really looking at things. This was a unique year — and it certainly wasn’t lost on me as we went through it that we ended up with six and not more.”
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