GREEN BAY − Green Bay Press-Gazette and PackersNews columnist Pete Dougherty responds to reader questions ahead of the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. The Green Bay Packers are set to be on the clock at No. 52 overall.
Who will the Packers pick?
Larry: Who do you think will be the 52 pick?
Pete Dougherty: Hi everybody, let’s get started and right to the nub of things.
I went with Illinois edge defender Gabe Jacas in my prediction column that posted the morning of April 23, and nothing happened in the first round to provide reason to change that.
But let’s face it, it’s a big shot in the dark. Nineteen more players are going to come off the board before the Packers pick, if general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t trade up. I think Jacas has a decent chance of being available at 52, but it’s not a given.
The big Packers-related surprise of the first round, for me, was Caleb Banks going at No. 18 to Minnesota. That was a high-risk, high-reward pick to the max. The scouts I talked to didn’t think he’d go in the first round and that he’d probably go sometime in the late 40s or early 50s. A couple thought he might last until early third round.
Gutekunst would have had to do a lot of work on Banks, because there appeared to be a real possibility Banks would be available at 52, and Gutekunst would have to decide whether to take a big swing with his first pick. That’s not a decision he’ll have to make.
I have to think Georgia DT Christen Miller really interests the Packers. He’s a big guy who can play all across the interior of the defensive line and is talented, a run-stopper for sure but not just a run-stopper. There’s not much chance he makes it to 52, but if he’s there at, say, 44 or so, I could see Gutekunst trading up to get him.
Same for Missouri edge Zion Young. It’s just hard to know whether either will stay on the board that long.
South Carolina CB Brandon Sisse fits the Packers’ mold too. Pretty decent height (5-11¾), ran well (4.41), very athletic (41-inch vertical). Lots of upside. He’s more of a zone corner than man-to-man, and new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon plays a lot of zone.
But especially when you get into the second round, you never know who any particular team might really like. When Ted Thompson picked Nick Collins in the second round in ‘05, it was deemed a big reach by a lot of draft pundits, and he became a really good player. A.J. Dillon was a surprise second-rounder in 2020. He didn’t pan out, but the point is, the Packers really liked him and took him even though a lot of pundits (and probably a lot of teams) didn’t rank him that high.
You just never know what player they might really like that the independent draft analysts aren’t as high on. When you speak to multiple scouts and assistant coaches about draft prospects, you quickly find out how much opinions can vary on players. There are 32 GMs, that’s a lot of room for differences on draft boards. Some teams might have a guy in the second round, whereas another might see him as a late third or fourth.
Why emphasize prospect ceiling over floor?
Joe from New Jersey: Pete, understanding the odds of hitting big on a draft pick hover around 50%, do the Packers make it even more difficult by seemingly drafting for potential as opposed to game-ready with a lower ceiling? Feels to me like developmental players lengthen the odds against finding players that are keepers. Thoughts?
Dougherty: I’d put the odds of hitting big on a draft pick at a lot lower than 50 percent, even in the first round. Maybe it’s 50 percent with a top-five pick, maybe, maybe top 10, but it goes down fast after that and keeps diminishing with each round.
Trying to hit big is the reason teams draft potential. The player more ready to play but with a lower ceiling might give you better odds of finding a decent player, but drafting for upside gives you a chance to do better than decent, though with a greater chance of busting or being average.
That’s what makes drafting so difficult. Teams pour millions of dollars into college scouting, and yet it’s still as much art as science. You’re projecting what a player will do against NFL-caliber competition rather than only how he’s done against college players. There’s a lot of guesswork and beauty-beholder.
Are Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse not future starters?
Steve: Thank you for the chats, which are always informative. With all the talk about the Packers needing to draft a defensive lineman, have they given up hope that Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson can be anything but backups at best?
Dougherty: Given up hope is probably a step too far, but the Packers have to know the odds aren’t great that Stackhouse or Brinson will be more than backups.
Brinson has a better chance of panning out because he has versatility that fits the new 3-4 scheme. He’s 6-5 and 315, and he can play anywhere from nose tackle to five-technique (3-4 defensive end).
Both are still young enough to improve and become starters. We also don’t know for sure what the Packers really think. It’s not uncommon for a team to be higher on a given player than its fan base or outside observers might be.
But if I’m the Packers, I’m certainly not counting on either becoming a starter. The Packers badly need a run stuffer who can help them immediately. They don’t necessarily have to spend either of their Day 2 picks on one to find one, but if Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter is still available at No. 52, I’d think they’d seriously consider taking him.
Iowa State’s Domonique Orange is a guy to watch in the third round, or if they trade back from 52.
Patrick: Packers take the Big Citrus (i.e., Iowa State’s Orange) at 52 if he’s still around?
Dougherty: I talked to five high-ranking scouts in the last couple of weeks, and all five thought 52 was too rich for Orange. That doesn’t mean the Packers agree, but that’s what they all said.
I’m thinking Orange is more likely a Packers pick if they trade back from 52 or maybe up from 84. He is a true nose tackle, which as already stated the Packers badly need.
What if Jermod McCoy falls?
Paul S: Hi Pete! Thanks, as always, for taking the time to chat with us, especially in the middle of a busy time for you. Have you dug into the Jermod McCoy knee issue at all? If he somehow slips to 52, is the bone-plug issue a long-term concern, or would he be the perfect pick there?
Dougherty: For those who don’t know, McCoy is a Tennessee cornerback who’s very talented and probably would have been one of the top two CBs in this draft but for the aftereffects of an ACL surgery that sidelined him all last season.
His surgery included a bone plug that’s a repair for a cartilage tear. Reports in the last week or so said some teams are concerned he’ll need another bone plug procedure in the next few years and it could be an issue that shortens his career.
McCoy tested well (4.40 40, 38-inch vertical), and he’s a talented player. But there’s more risk with him too because of the knee. That’s why he didn’t go in the first round.
Everything I’ve read suggests he’ll go in the first half of the second round. There’s no indication he needs surgery anytime soon, and he tested well. Teams are more willing to take these kind of risks on a talented guy in the second round than the first.
If he makes it to 52, I really don’t know what Gutekunst would do. My best guess is he wouldn’t take that big a medical risk with his top pick in this draft. I’m thinking Gutekunst will go safer and for a player he thinks has upside but is not as big a medical risk.
But you never know. It depends in part on what the Packers’ medical staff thinks. And maybe without a first-rounder, Gutekunst will be tempted to take a big swing at a guy who has the talent to have been a top 10 or 15 pick but for the knee issue. My best guess is Gutekunst wouldn’t do that, but you never know, depending on the medical.
Does Gutekunst move or stay at 52?
Troy Rejholec: What are your thoughts going into the draft tonight. Does Gutey move up or move back to add another pick? Who do you think we will take first a DT/DE or a CB? Thanks. Go Pack Go!!!
Dougherty: Those are three most likely positions (DT, CB, edge), but it would not be a shock at all if Gutekunst drafted an offensive lineman. I wouldn’t rule out receiver, either, though I’m thinking that’s unlikely at 52 considering the Packers’ relative depth at that position.
I also wouldn’t rule out running back, theoretically, though I have serious doubts there will be one worth picking at No. 52. The Packers had Arkansas’ Mike Washington Jr. in for one of their 30 visits, but the second round seems too high for him. But as mentioned earlier, Gutekunst did draft Dillon in the second round even though independent draft analysts saw him as a third-rounder at best, so you never know.
On the offensive line, I think back to Ron Wolf drafting Chad Clifton in the second round in 2000. In my draft research that year all the scouts I asked before the draft thought Clifton would have to move from tackle to guard, and that he was a third- or fourth-rounder. But Wolf saw a tackle and took him at No. 44 overall, and Clifton went on to have a 12-year career as the Packers’ starting left tackle.
In other words, maybe there’s a tackle in this draft Gutekunst really likes – Northwestern’s Kaleb Tiernan? Memphis’ Travis Burke? – and thinks is position versatile and worthy of a second-round pick.
As for trading, my guess is Gutekunst will be more inclined to move up than back, but that depends in part on the offers. There are a few teams that have multiple third-round picks (Jacksonville, Pittsburgh, Miami, Buffalo and Cleveland). What if one of them offered two thirds for 52? That would be interesting. Would it be better to have three third-rounders (your own and two from another team), or one second (52) and one third (84)?
Was Jeremiyah Love a surprise?
Terry W: With the running back position being devalued a bit in the NFL, were you surprised to see Jeremiyah Love go off the board at No. 3?
Dougherty: No. You’re right that it’s rare in today’s game for a running back to go that high, but there’s still a place for it.
Saquon Barkley was the No. 2 pick overall in 2018 and proved worthy of it. Philadelphia wasn’t the team that drafted him, but he was as important as anyone to the Eagles winning the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.
If you take a back that high, he needs to be good in the pass game, which Barkley and Love are. And he needs to be a threat to go all the way anytime he touches the ball. Again, that applies to both. Love also is young (turns 21 in May) and doesn’t have a lot of miles on him (433 career carries).
Sounds like a lot of scouts considered him the best player in this draft.
Why the Packers’ interest in safeties?
Mayor McCheese: Thank you as always for taking our (my) questions! Looking at how our safety room stacks up and then how many pre-draft visits were done with safeties, do you see any world where we see these prospects as a Brian Urlacher type? Productive college safety who can profile as a NFL linebacker if you add some bulk?
Dougherty: Based on the visits tracker that our Tom Silverstein compiled, the Packers had only two safeties in for visits. But one was LSU’s A.J. Haulcy, who’s a likely second-round pick.
The Haulcy visit was an eye-catcher, because the Packers have as good a starting safety duo as you’ll find in Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams. Plus they have an ascending nickel safety/corner in Javon Bullard. So it’s really hard to see why they’d pick a safety in the second round.
But Haulcy’s visit made me wonder if Gannon might be open to playing a fair amount of dime defense on early downs, with two safeties playing the slots. That would improve coverage over a regular nickel grouping (Bullard and two true off-ball linebackers) and still at least give you a fighting chance against the run.
That was my best guess on why they showed such interest in Haulcy. Maybe his visit was just subterfuge to misdirect teams into thinking they’re interested in him at 52 when in fact they aren’t. Teams do that occasionally. But I wonder if they’re open to playing four safeties (and two outside cornerbacks) at times in their dime.
And with that, we’ll call it a wrap on this mailbag, need to get this posted so readers have time to see it before the second round begins tonight. Thanks all for submitting questions, always much appreciated.
Just a reminder, we’ll be back next week for the final chat of the offseason. Until then, enjoy draft weekend and take care everybody!
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Pete Dougherty has answers on who Packers will pick, Domonique Orange
Reporting by Pete Dougherty, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Packers News
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