Monday Cheese Curds: Packers’ remaining needs are well-defined

Nose tackle, cornerback, edge rusher, and offensive line. Those positions appear to be the areas where the Green Bay Packers still need reinforcements the most as the team comes out of free agency and heads towards the 2026 NFL Draft, which will begin in just over a month. Thankfully, all of those spots aside from nose tackle should be questions about spots down the roster rather than who will be atop the depth chart.

This year’s Draft kicks off on April 24th in Pittsburgh, just 32 days from now, and the Packers should have a pretty clear picture of what they need. Don’t expect any more significant free agent help between now and then, however; not with the team’s compensatory draft pick situation largely locked in to give them one pick each in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th rounds in 2027. If there are any veteran reinforcements to come, they would probably sign after the comp calculation deadline in May, which also will come after the team knows what its rookie class will look like.

Of course, this year wasn’t an offseason where the Packers spent big; that’s probably coming in 2027. But when the Packers have gone after big fish in the free agent market under Brian Gutekunst, results have been at least decent on the whole, albeit inconsistent from player to player and year to year. In 2024, Xavier McKinney was a home run, while Josh Jacobs at least has lived up to his contract so far.

The spending spree of 2019 was a good one as well, with both Smiths and Adrian Amos also playing up to or above contract value while Billy Turner can be debated a bit. Really, it was the 2025 signings that leave much to be desired, with Nate Hobbs already gone and Aaron Banks playing below his value last year. Banks at least has a chance to improve for 2026 and beyond, and staying healthy would go a long way towards the team recouping value on his contract.