The Packers tried to trade back into the end of the 3rd round of the 2026 draft
It would have taken a lot for Green Bay to get an extra third-round pick after previously trading up in the same round
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MAR 01: Brian Gutekunst, general manager of the Green Bay Packers speaks to reporters during the NFL Draft Combine at the Indiana Convention Center on March 1, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) | Getty Images After Friday’s selections, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the team tried to trade back into the end of the third round to make another draft choice. “We took some cracks at getting back at the bottom of the third round,” said Gutekunst, who doesn’t believe that the Packers need to “make picks just to make picks” with their current roster situation, unlike in previous years.
Gutekunst said that the “board is strong” and that he “wouldn’t mind moving around a bit on Saturday. ” For perspective, the draft value chart , which has been spot on for trades during the 2026 draft, gives the 100th overall pick, the final pick in the third round of this draft, similar value to the Packers’ fourth-, fifth- and sixth-round picks. To move back into the third, unless it was on a discount, Green Bay probably would have had to give up the opportunity to make a selection before the seventh round, where they have two remaining selections.
We have our post on the best players still available going into Day 3 of the draft , but one prospect who makes a lot of sense is Arkansas running back Mike Washington Jr. , who is not only one of the higher-rated prospects still on the board but also visited Green Bay pre-draft, usually a sign that the Packers are going to target a player. On the topic of cornerback Brandon Cisse, whom the Packers took in the second round with their original choice, Gutekunst said that a big selling point was his age.
Cisse, still only 20 years old, will “get bigger and stronger,” said Gutekunst. He also stated that Cisse was a player the team “didn’t see being available” with the 52nd overall pick. As I mentioned in our Day 2 discussion thread , the buzz I had heard over the past day about the Packers and their second round pick boiled down to a couple of names: T.