GREEN BAY – With their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers selected Micah Parsons.
They’ll likely do the same in 2027.
The trade that sent the generational pass rusher to the Packers one week before the start of last season meant a quieter opening night of the draft eight months later. And not just because the draft was held in Pittsburgh, leaving the area around Lambeau Field nothing more than a parking lot one year after the draft was in Green Bay.
“Can’t say it was productive,” Brian Gutekunst said, just a tad salty after not being able to make a first-round pick for the first time in his nine drafts as Packers general manager.
Not since 2017 have the Packers gone without a first-round pick. But Gutekunst reiterated he had “no” regrets with the trade that kept him on the bench for this draft’s opening night.
“We got better,” Gutekunst said. “With this particular pick, we got better a whole year earlier. I will say this is no different than any other draft when you sit there wherever you’re picking, and you’re watching good players come off the board that you’ve spent a lot of time scouting and you appreciate their skillset. No, it’s never fun, but looking back and doing what we did, I certainly don’t think there are any players in this draft that can compare with that one.”
Gutekunst acknowledged he’s “itching” to start adding to his roster on Day 2. The Packers are scheduled to finally make a pick with the 52nd overall slot in the second round. The following is a mock draft on how the path to Gutekunst’s first pick might look.
33. San Francisco 49ers: Chase Bisontis, guard, Texas A&M
Holding the coveted first spot in the second round after trading down not once, but twice from their original 26th overall selection, the 49ers have plenty of options. They could pad their receiver depth, but the offensive line is their biggest weakness, and there’s a glaring hole at guard. Bisontis can be a starter Week 1.
34. Arizona Cardinals: Zion Young, edge rusher, Missouri
This might have been a landing spot for Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, but the Los Angeles Rams made him the second passer selected in the opening round with their 13th overall pick. So after passing on an edge rusher to draft Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love third overall, the Cardinals focus on the position early in the second round.
35. Buffalo Bills: Denzel Boston, wide receiver, Washington
The Bills seem to realize Josh Allen needs more help, trading for receiver DJ Moore from the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason. Boston, a big receiver at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, would pair nicely in the passing game.
36: Las Vegas Raiders: Kayden McDonald, defensive tackle, Ohio State
Fernando Mendoza is the future, but trading for Kirk Cousins indicated the Raiders are going to be patient in the present, not forcing their new franchise quarterback’s development. So while Mendoza needs more playmakers in the passing game, the Raiders can take the best player available here for a roster that has plenty of needs. If they go this direction, expect them to target receiver later Day 2.
37: New York Giants: Jermod McCoy, cornerback, Tennessee
A busy draft continues to fall right for the Giants. They signed Greg Newsome to a one-year, prove-it deal in free agency, but their secondary is far from settled. After McCoy dropped out of the first round, he’s too much of a value add to pass on here.
38. Houston Texans: Christen Miller, defensive tackle, Georgia
Given their needs, the Texans could be in business to trade back here. GM Nick Caserio is known to move around the draft board, and he already traded up in the first round to select Georgia Tech guard Keylan Rutledge. If they stand pat, their biggest need is defensive tackle.
39. Cleveland Browns: Avieon Terrell, cornerback, Clemson
Don’t call it a cornerback run. But the corners are starting to come off the board now. After adding to their offense with their first two picks in tackle Spencer Fano and receiver KC Concepcion, the Browns turn to their secondary. Terrell could fill a hole at slot corner.
40. Kansas City Chiefs: Cashius Howell, edge rusher, Texas A&M
Patrick Mahomes needs more weapons, but their pass rush finished in the league’s bottom 10 at reaching the quarterback last season. There isn’t a receiver available with enough value to warrant passing on an edge rusher here.
41. Cincinnati Bengals: Gabe Jacas, edge rusher, Illinois
After trading their No. 10 overall pick to the Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, the Bengals aren’t done with their defensive line. They lost Trey Hendrickson to the Baltimore Ravens in free agency, making edge rusher a premium need. Jacas has good size at 6-4, 260 pounds and had 19 sacks the past two seasons.
42. New Orleans Saints: Keionte Scott, cornerback, Miami
After losing Alontae Taylor in free agency, the Saints secondary has a big hole at slot corner. The 5-11, 193-pound Scott fills it here.
43. Miami Dolphins: Chris Brazzell II, wide receiver, Tennessee
At some point, Malik Willis is going to need someone to throw to. Brazzell has great size at 6-4, 198 pounds, and if there’s something we learned in the opening round that included a pair of draft trades for former Packers executive-turned-Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan, it’s that he learned a thing or two from Brian Gutekunst. The Packers like size at receiver. The guess here is Sullivan does, too.
44. New York Jets: Colton Hood, cornerback, Tennessee
A defense that did not intercept a single pass in 2025 could benefit from adding to the secondary. Hood is a physical corner whose play style should match Jets head coach Aaron Glenn’s mentality.
45. Baltimore Ravens: Eli Stowers, tight end, Vanderbilt
After losing Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency, the Ravens want a second tight end to match with aging Mark Andrews. Stowers seems like a perfect fit here, someone who can give the Ravens two tight ends for 12 personnel now and eventually replace Andrews atop the depth chart.
46. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Anthony Hill Jr., linebacker, Texas
The Buccaneers lost longtime veteran Lavonte David to retirement this spring. Hill, a 6-2, 238-pound linebacker who ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine, would be an ideal replacement on the second level.
47. Indianapolis Colts: T.J. Parker, edge rusher, Clemson
Like the Packers, the Colts did not have a first-round pick after trading for cornerback Sauce Gardner at the deadline last fall. Hill might have been in play here, a replacement for Zaire Franklin, but he came off the board one spot too early. They need a bookend edge rusher to pair with Laiatu Latu after losing Kwity Paye to the Raiders in free agency, and Parker had 21.5 sacks in his three-year college career.
48. Atlanta Falcons: Zachariah Branch, wide receiver, Georgia
Even if Michael Penix Jr. wasn’t returning from a torn ACL this fall, the Falcons would need to surround him with more weapons in the passing game. Branch, at 5-9 and 177 pounds with a blistering 4.35 40, could line up in the slot and pair nicely with Drake London.
49. Minnesota Vikings: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, safety, Toledo
If the board falls like this, the Vikings have to be thrilled with the chance to add McNeil-Warren, who was considered a potential first-round pick. A team could swoop him up early in the second round, but the value of a safety could also have him fall to the middle of the second. The Vikings will find plenty of value in their search for a long-term replacement for Harrison Smith.
50. Detroit Lions: Derrick Moore, edge rusher, Michigan
Aidan Hutchinson needs help. And the Lions don’t need to look far to find it, adding a Wolverines edge rusher who had 10 sacks as a senior last season.
51. Carolina Panthers: A.J. Haulcy, safety, LSU
The Panthers got in on the tackle run during the first round. They turn to the secondary in the second round, filling a hole on the back end of their defense.
52. Green Bay Packers: Brandon Cisse, cornerback, South Carolina
Gutekunst might call the pick in immediately if the top of the second round falls like this. No milking the clock. But it’s not far-fetched to think a high-upside player at a position of need could be available when the Packers are up at No. 52, something Gutekunst indicated when he said his board held up pretty well in the opening round. The reality is this draft has depth at the Packers’ biggest area of needs. Even with four cornerbacks already off the board in the second round, in part because five edge rushers already have been taken, the Packers get a potential rookie starter at their biggest positional need in Cisse. At 6-foot, 189 pounds, the corner from South Carolina has the size to line up outside. He’s rough around the edges, perhaps requiring patience as he develops early next season, but he profiles as a Packers corner. If Gutekunst prefers another corner already off the board here, or perhaps an edge rusher, he might be inclined to trade up earlier into the round. The guess here is he lets the board come to him.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is patient, picks high-upside corner | Mock draft
Reporting by Ryan Wood, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
