The Green Bay Packers selected six players in the 2026 NFL draft. How did Brian Gutekunst and the Packers do in terms of value this year? It’s a tough question to answer. Maybe impossible.
Value is an important part of the draft process. An understanding of the board is vital to judging how teams went about maximizing value during the draft.
However, establishing true “value” is incredibly difficult. Thirty-two teams each have a different draft board, and there is no consensus big board for all teams because the information team-to-team isn’t available. Teams scout differently and have different schemes, coaching staffs and needs. The best we can do is base value on the consensus of the information available. The “wisdom of the crowd” can help.
Arif Hasan of Wide Left Football creates the go-to consensus board, which ranks the top 300 players in the draft class based on 134 different big boards from draft analysts. As Hasan says, “the consensus of these experts does a better predictive job than individual experts.”
Here are the Packers’ picks in the 2026 draft, their consensus rank, their pick number and the difference between the two. This is how we’ll establish value.
CB Brandon Cisse
Strong start. Throughout the pre-draft process, Cisse was a “hope he falls” type of possibility for the Packers. Even Brian Gutekunst admitted he didn’t think Cisse would be on the board at 52. The Packers got a “value” prospect at a premium position and a big position of need on the roster.
DL Chris McClellan
The Packers saw McClellan as good enough to be considered in the second round, so clearly the team was considerably higher on him than consensus. The “reach” was by almost a full round (but the “value” gets sorted out with the next pick). McClellan at No. 77 is similar to the Packers taking Anthony Belton at No. 54 last year. Milt Hendrickson described McClellan as a riser during the pre-draft process, so it’s possible the media/consensus just didn’t catch up in time.
Edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton
One of the best “values” of the first four rounds by the consensus. Most saw Dennis-Sutton as a Day 2 pick, some had him as high as a second rounder and a possibility for the Packers at No. 52. That would have been a “reach.” At 120? A potential steal.
OL Jager Burton
Getting Burton at 153 is in the right ballpark for where most analysts saw him going as a middle-round prospect.
CB Domani Jackson
A 10-point difference from consensus in the sixth round is nothing.
K Trey Smack
Taking a kicker almost always goes against consensus “value” because very few analysts rate kickers among their top 300 players. Smack had one of the only draftable grades among specialists, however.
Overall
In terms of the consensus board, the Packers “reached” on four of six picks, although they received great “value” with their top pick and third pick, helping negate any lost value. Let’s throw out the kicker, for a moment. The other five picks equaled out to -8 points on the consensus board, so the Packers ended up following consensus quite closely. If you simply swapped McClellan in the third round for Dennis-Sutton in the fourth, this is essentially a chalk draft for the Packers. It lines up incredibly well with the consensus.
Big reaches don’t typically work out, so it will be worth evaluating the McClellan pick in a few years. More importantly, the Packers did not “reach” with their top pick, and it’s possible Cisse ends up looking like one of the better value picks of the draft’s first two days down the line. Dennis-Sutton has enormous potential given his athletic profile, giving this class a “home run” type of swing.
Although the Packers only made six picks, and ended up trading two seventh-round picks to draft a kicker in the sixth round, the undrafted free agent class likely negates any lost value late in the draft. Receiver J. Michael Sturdivant is the No. 239 overall player on the consensus board, and offensive lineman Josh Gesky, edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly and tight end RJ Maryland were all draftable players on Dane Brugler’s board.
Recent years
How did Packers do in draft value relative to 2025 consensus board?
How did Packers do in draft value relative to 2024 consensus board?
How did Packers do in draft value relative to 2023 consensus board?
How did Packers do in draft value relative to 2022 consensus board?
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How did Packers do in draft value relative to 2026 consensus board?
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
