The Green Bay Packers start their draft journey in Round 2, eyeing defensive line talent. Get the full 7-round prediction and see who they snag!
The 2026 NFL Draft is almost here. If you're reading this, that means it's less than one week away.
The draft kicks off on Thursday, April 23rd, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the first round scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Rounds 2 and 3 will be on Friday evening, starting at 7 p.m. ET and Rounds 4-7 will kick off on Saturday at noon ET.
The draft is a must-see event for fans of the NFL. Sure, it may start slowing down in those middle rounds and most casual fans will tune out, but the nerdiest amongst us will be keeping track of each and every single pick.
For fans of the Green Bay Packers, the draft will really start on Friday evening. The Packers don't have a first-round pick this year (or next) because of the trade that netted them Micah Parsons last offseason. The Dallas Cowboys hold the Packers' first-round pick in this draft, which is pick No. 20.
Most would tell you it was well worth it for the Packers, but the first round will feel a bit anticlimactic.
The Packers are scheduled to be on the clock at pick No. 52, which is the 20th pick in the second round. Pending a trade, that's when this thing will really kick off for Green Bay.
As we prepare for the draft here at PackersRoundtable, we'll delve into the world of mock drafts for the next week. Here is Mock Draft 1.0, taking into account every projected pick in 2026.
Note: This mock draft was done using the Pro Football Network mock draft simulator and a consensus big board (trades on).
Pick No. 52 (Round 2): Caleb Banks, DT, Florida Gators
Nov 16, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators defensive lineman Caleb Banks (88) celebrates with the ball after a fumble recovery against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images.In mock draft 1.0, we selected defensive tackle Lee Hunter out of Texas Tech, and it's worth noting that Hunter was still available in this mock draft. With that said, Caleb Banks, out of Florida, was available as well, and there's something about him that's incredibly enticing.
Perhaps it's the fact that he checks in at 6-foot-6, 327 pounds. The Packers need some beef in the interior of the defensive line, and Banks certainly brings that.
Banks missed most of 2025 due to injury, so he does have that as a concern. If the Packers can look past that, though, he's a huge player who was a three-year starter at Florida. In 2023 and 2024, he combined for 40 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Pick No. 84 (Round 3): Davison Igbinosun, CB, Ohio State Buckeyes
Getting Davison Igbinosun in Round 3 would be a massive steal for the Packers. He was a three-year starter at Ohio State who led the Buckeyes in passes defended (11 and eight) and interceptions (two and two) in his junior and senior seasons, respectively.
He's big and physical, and what makes him a third-round pick is the fact that he may be too physical. Igbinosun was flagged 16 times in coverage over his junior and senior seasons.
The elite upside is there, though.
"If he can trade his grabby tendencies for better trust in his technique, he has a multi-contract NFL career ahead of him," writes Dan Bruger in The Beast.
Pick No. 120 (Round 4): Will Lee III, CB, Texas A&M Aggies
We selected Will Lee III with pick No. 84 in our first draft, so we're tickled pink to wait a round and still be able to get him 36 picks later in mock 2.0.
Lee is a lanky cornerback who uses his 6-foot-1 frame to get in the way of passes. In three seasons as a collegiate defender, he broke up 24 passes and snagged three interceptions.
Pick No. 153 (Round 5): Jager Burton, IOL, Kentucky Wildcats
The Packers like positional versatility on the offensive line, and they'll get that in Jager Burton out of Kentucky. He started 13 games at left guard for the Wildcats as a redshirt freshman in 2022. He played center in 2023 but initially struggled, so he was moved to right guard. He moved back to center for his senior season and started 12 games there for Kentucky last season.
He checks in at 6-foot-4, 312 pounds and looked like a great athlete at the NFL combine, putting up a 4.94 40-yard dash with a 1.77 10-yard split as well as a 9'3'' broad jump.
Pick No. 160 (Round 5): Cyrus Allen, WR, Cincinnati Bearcats
The Packers definitely need some wide receiver depth out of this draft class, and they've got a chance to find a real sleeper in Cyrus Allen out of Cincinnati.
Allen is a dynamic athlete, which makes up for his small size at just 5-foot-11, 183 pounds. Last season for the Bearcats, he started 13 games and caught 51 passes for 674 yards and 13 touchdowns, and just one drop. Early in his college career, he played at Louisiana Tech. There, he put up 1,278 yards and eight touchdowns in his freshman and sophomore seasons.
The high upside is there for a fifth-round selection.
Pick No. 201 (Round 6): Nadame Tucker, EDGE, Western Michigan Broncos
This is big-swing territory draft-wise, and the Packers have a need at pass-rusher. At this juncture, why not take a big swing on a boom-or-bust pass-rushing specialist?
That would be Nadame Tucker out of Western Michigan, who only started playing football in his senior year of high school.
He's only 6-foot-2, 247 pounds and he's going to be a 26-year-old rookie, but again, we're talking about spending a sixth-round pick here. The upside is that he has serious speed and pass-rushing ability. Tucker notched 14.5 sacks and 21 tackles for loss last season for the Broncos.
He led the FBS in sacks per game (1.12), tackles for loss per game (1.62) and pass rush win percentage (28.4%).
Pick No. 236 (Round 7): Desmond Reid, RB, Pittsburgh Panthers
The Packers could certainly use a "lightening" to Josh Jacobs' "thunder", and Desmond Reid out of Pitt would be a great fit for that role -- especailly as a Day 3 pick.
His collegiate career started at Western Carolina, where he put up a combined 2,216 yards and 18 touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore. He was an All-American at Western Carolina and was an All-American in 2024 at Pitt after putting up a combined 1,549 yards and nine touchdowns as a rusher and a receiver.
He played in just seven games in 2025 due to a lower-body injury, but if he can get healthy as a pro, he's got a chance to impact the game in a lot of ways. Even better for the Packers, he returned two punts for a touchdown while at Pitt.
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