The 2026 NFL Draft is in the books and a new crop of Green Bay Packers rookies have been revealed.

This was a unique draft for Green Bay sans a first-round pick, and no doubt had to be navigated slightly differently as a result, but on the face of it, they were still able to do plenty to add talent to the roster.

Here are some key takeaways from the Packers’ weekend of work:

Although Brian Gutekunst likes to think he is always selecting the best player available and is not driven by need, there is no doubt the Packers entered this draft with some positions that needed to be addressed, specifically cornerback and defensive tackle.

Those positions needed additions in large part because they had been neglected in recent drafts. Until they selected Brandon Cisse at 52 overall, Green Bay had not drafted a cornerback earlier than the seventh round since they took Eric Stokes in the first round in 2021. Similarly at defensive tackle, their only picks since selecting Devonte Wyatt in Round 1 in 2022 were fifth or sixth rounders. They rectified that by trading up to get Chris McClellan on Friday night.

The Packers usually try to enter the draft not truly needing anything, which they did this year by signing Javon Hargrave and Benjamin St-Juste in free agency. Even after drafting Cisse or McClellan, they do not absolutely need them to start in Week 1.

There is a difference between short-term needs and long-term ones though, and the outlook at corner and defensive tackle looked bleak beyond 2026, with barely anyone under contract. Gutekunst was able to hit two positions which had been overdue for some reinforcements.

Not only were the Packers able to address areas of need, they also did well to marry that up with getting value, as the board fell kindly for them throughout Friday and Saturday.

Getting Cisse, who was ranked 45th on the consensus big board, at pick 52 was a pretty ideal scenario entering the draft.

McClellan was seen as more of a fourth-round pick on the consensus board, but Gutekunst intimated the Packers were considering him at 52, and after selecting Cisse instead, went quickly to work on trying to trade up to get him, which they eventually did at 77.

It would not have been surprising based on Green Bay’s draft history if they picked Dani Dennis-Sutton – who was ranked 72nd on the consensus board – in Round 2. After Friday’s proceedings, Gutekunst told the assembled media he tried to trade back up into the third round but was unsuccessful. The Packers picked Dennis-Sutton at 120, and the GM later confirmed he was the player he was attempting to trade up for originally.

When speaking to the media after the selection of Jager Burton in Round 5, director of college scouting Matt Malaspina said unprompted: “I was very pleased he was there, I never ever would’ve thought he would’ve been there, so it was a win for us."

Through five rounds, this was arguably the most straightforward and boring (in a good way) draft by Gutekunst. Then he threw a bit of a curveball…

Not only did the Packers draft a kicker on Saturday, they traded up to get one, using two seventh-round picks to move up and select Trey Smack at the end of the sixth round.

It would have been easy for Green Bay to dismiss the issues McManus had last year, blame injuries for most of his struggles, and excuse his poor playoff performance against the Bears as just a bad night. Instead, they have brought in legitimate competition, and if that camp battle is close, you would have to imagine the tie goes to the rookie draft pick.

More than just making extra points and field goals, the kicking game has evolved with the introduction of the "dynamic kickoff." At his best, McManus has been a sure hand in putting the ball through the uprights, but even then, he has not provided Green Bay with an edge on kickoffs.

Get ready for Twitter updates on every kick between McManus and Smack this training camp.

Despite not having a first-round pick, the Packers entered the weekend with eight selections, but only ended up using six. That is tied for the lowest number of players added via the draft in franchise history.

Unusually for Green Bay, none of their draft picks took a ‘30’ visit with the team, but four of their UDFA signings so far were pre-draft visitors: Kyron Drones, TJ Quinn, Josh Gesky and Nyjalik Kelly.

Based on how they used their visits, it seemed the Packers would be active in undrafted free agency, and they have already filled out their draft class nicely.