PFF's latest mock draft slots a much-needed cornerback and a versatile offensive lineman to bolster the Green Bay Packers' roster.
The Green Bay Packers have several major needs that they can fill in the 2026 NFL Draft.
It's a crap-shoot, of course. The Packers also don't have a first-round pick, but I think most of us are more than happy with what Micah Parsons has brought to the table for Green Bay.
What that means is that general manager Brian Gutekunst must absolutely crush picks No. 52 (second round) and No. 84 (third round).
Those are his two shots at getting a Top 100 player who can play right away for this team, and he needs to make both of those shots count.
No more Lukas Van Ness-ian banking on upside that may or may not ever come. Gutekunst needs to go get two players who can be the real deal from jump street.
As mentioned, he also has to fill several needs.
That's what makes the latest three-round 2026 NFL Mock Draft from Gordon McGuinness of PFF so intriguing. He projects Green Bay will select San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson in Round 2 and Duke tackle Brian Parker II in Round 3.
Right off the bat, that fills two needs that the Packers have.
Green Bay Packers have 2026 NFL Draft needs at cornerback and offensive line
Sep 30, 2023; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Nana Osafo-Mensah (31) against Duke Blue Devils offensive lineman Brian Parker II (53) during the second half at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images.They desperately need a CB1 because Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine aren't going to cut it, and they may as well use the NFL Draft to try and find that player.
The Packers also have massive needs on the offensive line, with Elgton Jenkins, Rasheed Walker and Sean Rhyan all potentially leaving this offseason. Jenkins is likely a cap cut and Walker and Rhyan are both free agents.
Parker was a 6-foot-5, 300-pound second-team All-American right tackle at Duke, but he projects to move inside to guard or even center at the NFL level. Notably, he was ranked as the No. 5 center recruit in the 2022 recruiting class, per Rivals, so he does have experience inside.
In Johnson, the Packers would be getting a four-year player from San Diego State who Bleacher Report's Daniel Harms has called "one of the best kept secrets in college football".
"A precise technician on the outside, Johnson displays the scheme versatility to excel with his eyes in off, zone, and in a man coverage phone booth," Harms wrote in a scouting report. "He trusts in his athleticism to flip his hips and run while being patient and reading manipulation tactics."
Checking in at 6-foot, 185 pounds, Johnson notched 48 tackles (34 solo), eight passes defended, one sack, one forced fumble, four interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns for the Aztecs.
He notched six interceptions and five forced fumbles over four seasons in college, and he absolutely has the nose-for-the-ball, do-it-all attitude you look for in a modern-day CB1.
If the Packers walk away with Johnson in Round 2, followed by Parker in Round 3, Gutekunst will be well on his way towards fixing two major problems for this team in just two swings of the bat.
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