GM Brian Gutekunst says Packers will need to boost their cornerback depth in draft
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.