Every pick made the 2026 NFL draft deserves a realistic timeframe to prove their value as an NFL player, and it’s near impossible to predict how an individual player will develop amidst a million factors, so this will not be a typical “draft grades” post. What is possible in real time is grading the process behind a draft pick.
Attempting to find the answer to “What was the team thinking and trying to accomplish with this pick” is a valuable draft exercise. It is less about the evaluation of the player and what it means in the short term and more an analysis of the thought process long term in terms of player fit and roster construction multiple years down the road.
Packers Wire will attempt to grade the process of every pick made by the Packers during the 2026 draft below:
No. 52 overall: CB Brandon Cisse, South Carolina
Everything about the process looks solid here for the Packers. There was probably temptation to trade up when the run on defensive linemen and cornerbacks happened mid-round, but the Packers stayed put and still landed a top-50 player at a premium position. Cisse will need development, but most corners entering the NFL do, and he’s a 20-year-old with elite athleticism who started as a true sophomore at NC State and was up to the task as a full-time starter in the SEC in 2025. No need to overthink this one. With a glaring long-term need at cornerback, the Packers made a smart, sensible pick.
Process grade: Excellent
No. 77 overall: DL Chris McClellan, Missouri
The long-term roster need on the interior defensive line was substantial, and there’s a short-term need for a player who can play snaps on the nose. Getting McClellan in the third round helps check those boxes. He appears to be a versatile interior defender who can play multiple spots, and there might be some untapped pass-rushing potential. That’s all good process. However, trading up — and sacrificing one of your fifth-round picks — to take the 108th overall player on the consensus big board is the questionable part here. The Packers clearly think highly of McClellan and weren’t willing to wait seven more picks. And McClellan likely wouldn’t have lasted until pick No. 120 in the fourth round. Nothing about this is horrible process, but it’s not nearly as clean as Cisse in the second round.
Process grade: Bordering on questionable
No. 120 overall: Edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State
This is the fourth-round version of Brandon Cisse in the second. The Packers stayed put in the fourth round and still managed to land a big, elite athlete at a premium position, checking a box for a long-term need. Few predicted Dennis-Sutton would be available at this point on Day 3; in fact, many saw him as a Day 2 pick, and a possible option in the second round. This looks like excellent process overall. Drafting an elite athlete at edge rusher drastically improves the chances of a hit, and Dennis-Sutton tested like one of the most athletic edge rushers ever. By size and athleticism, he’s comparable to Danielle Hunter. That’s not guaranteeing Dennis-Sutton will become a Hunter-like player, but the Packers have given themselves a chance to get a very good player by drafting an edge rusher with this productive and athleticism profile. After losing Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare this offseason, edge rusher probably needed an investment, and this is a really smart one.
Process grade: Excellent
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Grading the process behind every Packers draft pick in 2026
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
