GM Brian Gutekunst says Packers
will need to boost their cornerback depth in draft
[April 22, 2026]
By STEVE MEGARGEE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst
isn’t shy about noting one position the Packers must address in this
week’s draft.
They’re looking for cornerbacks.
“We’re going to add numbers there,” Gutekunst said Tuesday at a
pre-draft news conference.
Green Bay returns Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine from the
team that went 9-8-1 and lost at Chicago in the NFC wild-card
playoff round last season. The Packers also added Benjamin St-Juste,
who started two games for the Los Angeles Chargers last season and
has 47 career starts.
But they lack proven cornerbacks beyond those three.
“That’s probably our group, from a numbers perspective that as we
sit here today, we’re going to need to add the most numbers,”
Gutekunst said. “So we’ll see how that goes.”
Finding cornerbacks who could contribute right away could prove
troublesome because the Packers don’t have a first-round pick. They
sent their 2026 and 2027 first-round selections to the Dallas
Cowboys as part of the package that brought All-Pro pass rusher
Micah Parsons to Green Bay.
This is the first time Green Bay has entered a draft without a
first-round pick since 1986, though the Packers traded out of the
first round on draft day in 2008 and 2017. The Packers’ first pick
is at No. 52 overall.
Gutekunst said the lack of a first-round selection only caused minor
alterations in the way they prepared for this draft, which starts
Thursday in Pittsburgh.
“Maybe how we chopped up our 30 visits, what pro days maybe that I
went to was maybe a little different than it would have been in the
past,” Gutekunst said. “But it hasn’t been a whole lot different.”
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Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst walks on the field
before a NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Green Bay,
Wis., Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, File)
Gutekunst does believe he will have flexibility to
move up or down in this draft. The Packers have eight picks,
including two each in the fifth and seventh rounds. They expect to
have at least 11 picks in next year’s draft because of compensatory
selections they should get following the free-agent departures of
Malik Willis, Quay Walker and Romeo Doubs among others.
“I do feel like if, if the right player were there, that we would be
able to go get him,” Gutekunst said.
While Gutekunst acknowledged the Packers need to boost their
cornerback situation, he struck a more optimistic tone about the
offensive line depth, another area that has generally been regarded
as an area of need.
“I feel really good about it,” he said.
The Packers released two-time Pro Bowl lineman Elgton Jenkins and
lost starting left tackle Rasheed Walker to Carolina in free agency.
Gutekunst said he feels good about his five projected starters on
the offensive line. He also praised the way backup Jacob Monk
performed at center during the Packers’ regular-season finale.
The Packers could still add to the offensive line by the end of the
week. They have drafted multiple offensive linemen five of the past
six years.
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