GREEN BAY – Having been nothing but an observer for the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, General Manager Brian Gutekunst is heading into Friday feeling good about what he can accomplish.
The Packers own one pick in the second round and one in the third, at Nos. 52 and 84 overall, and Gutekunst didn't sound like a GM desperate to move up and sacrifice any other picks. He likes the depth of his board heading into Round 2.
"We're confident we're going to get a really good player if we stick at 52," Gutekunst said after the first round concluded Thursday night. "Even if we move back, we feel really good about how the board is, and then we're going to get good player that will help us.
"So we're excited. I know we're all itching after sitting through that today, I think we're all itching to get after it."
He added no realistic opportunity came to jump up into the first round Thursday night, knowing it "was going to be quite expensive." If he does move up at some point on Friday or Saturday, he said he'd prefer to trade only picks from this year and not dip into the large haul the Packers are expecting in 2027.
That draft reportedly will be stronger and deeper than this one, which has been described as having second-round selections just as good as many taken at the bottom of the first round. That bodes well for Green Bay.
"I do feel like the players between the end of this (round) and where we're going to be picking tomorrow are very similar," he said.
