Welcome to the first edition of Green Bay Packers offseason fan fiction, if you like it. This is my first attempt at predicting what will happen in Green Bay through the draft. I’m sure I’m going to make a lot of mistakes here, but we don’t even know (for sure) who the Packers’ head coach will be in 2026, so let’s all understand this is an educated dart throw.
Coaching changes
I think Matt LaFleur is back. I don’t know if he’ll get the kind of extension he wants, or if he’ll just coach through the 2026 season and work out a deal next year, but all reports seem to claim the Packers want him back, so I’m going to assume he will be back until we get news to the contrary.
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Without an extension, he’ll have a hard time filling spots on the coaching staff, but hey, that’s fan fiction on my part. So here it is, the offensive line coach and linebackers coach (both former internal promotions) were fired and replaced.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left to pursue a head coaching opportunity. The Packers replaced Hafley with one of defensive line coach/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington or passing game coordinator Derek Ansley, both of whom have past experience as NFL defensive coordinators. Hafley takes the other with him wherever he goes.
The Packers have fired twice in total, but even with an internal promotion to defensive coordinator, four players would need to be hired on the coaching staff (If LaFleur doesn’t get an extension, it will make it harder to find qualified candidates for the position. The team should make the decision in some way other than signing him to a one-year contract in 2026. That will affect more than just the head coaching position.)
Player Trends Before the Draft
I don’t expect the team to do much in free agency this year, partly because of the salary cap situation the Packers are in and partly because they want to retain the 2027 compensatory draft picks they have for free agents leaving in 2026.
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unrestricted free agent
Here are the players I think will be drafted by the Packers after signing with a new team in free agency:
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Lt. Rasheed Walker (4th in 2027)
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QB Malik Willis (5th in 2027)
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WR Romeo Dubs (5th in 2027)
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LB Pier Walker (5th in 2027)
Each NFL team is limited to a maximum of four compensatory draft picks per year (the league-wide total is 32 per draft), so the departure of other free agents won’t affect Green Bay’s calculations. Still, I think tight end John Fitzpatrick (after Josh Wile’s injury) and defensive end Kingsley Nnagbar (who will only hold down mid-round picks Balin Sorrell and Collin Oliver on the depth chart entering his second year) will also leave in unrestricted free agency.
Let’s bring back center Sean Rhyan, who hasn’t suffered a major injury in the playoffs, to a two- to three-year deal, similar to what Jon Runyan Jr. got a few years ago (three years, $30 million total). By far, if Green Bay doesn’t address this issue, the Packers’ biggest hole on offense (and perhaps the entire roster) in the draft will be at center. I also think Nick Niemann or Kristian Welch serve as the team’s fifth linebacker at various points in 2025, with one of them coming back.
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That’s actually the only position the Packers have assigned to special teams on the 53-man roster, at least all the time (sometimes safety Darin Leavitt or defensive end Aaron Mosby are both on the active roster) as a non-kicking group member. I’m sure Green Bay preferred Niemann over Welch, and neither would have cost much this offseason, but Niemann did sign a two-year, $6 million deal with the Houston Texans last year but was waived before this summer’s roster deadline. If Niemann’s market gets back to that level, I could see the team just adding Welch back into the mix.
restricted free agent
The only RFA I can see the Packers actually tagging at $3.5 million is swing tackle Darian Kinnard, who also plays tight end with the team off the board in 2026. Beyond that, regardless of whether Green Bay ultimately brings the RFA back, I think the team will first choose to decline the option of tendering them, making them unrestricted free agents.
When the Packers bring back RFAs, they typically give them close to the league minimum salary (one-year contract) and a signing bonus of around $500,000. The top picks for such trades this offseason would be running back Chris Brooks (who replaced Emmanuel Wilson at the end of the year and is the team’s best blocking back and has also contributed on special teams — he was the guy who turned kick return tackle for the Bears in the playoffs), tight end Josh Wile (who the team has been eyeing since 2023 , a pre-draft visitor who looked like he would be in that role in 2025 when he was transferred from the practice squad), defensive end Aaron Mosby (one of the few special teams aces on the Packers roster) and safety Zayn Anderson (another special teams ace the team actually favored on defense more than fifth-rounder Ketan Oladapo).
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The players who I expect will have their bids rejected and will not receive short-term contracts with signing bonuses are running back Emmanuel Wilson, defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. and defensive tackle Jonathan Ford.
exclusive free agency
The Packers almost always bring back ERFAs, players who are eligible to tender on league-minimum one-year contracts. Assuming these guys will return in 2026:
Block casualties
I think the departures of center Elgton Jenkins (saving the team $20 million in cash and cap space) and defensive end Rashan Gary (saving the team $19.5 million in cash and $11 million in cap space in 2026) are a sure thing. One question I have is whether the team will bring back one of Trevon Diggs or Nate Hobbs to potentially compete with Keisean Nixon (who I think will be a lock for the starting job in 2026, barring a trade) or outside cornerback Carrington Valentine next year.
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Diggs’ contract definitely needs to be reworked, as he’s due $15.5 million next year. This isn’t a “push Valentine’s Day to start” type of money. Hobbs received a $48 million contract last year to play slot back, but now it’s clear that Evan Williams has taken over as the starting safety and Javon Bullard is the team’s starting five. The team tried to move Hobbs to outside cornerback in 2025, but was unsuccessful.
The Packers would only save about $1 million in cap space by moving on from Hobbs, but they would save more than $9 million in cash. In short, eating the fixed salary cap will basically not change Green Bay’s salary cap situation in 2026, but it will free up more room in 2027. However, I think the Packers would only make this move if they could come to some kind of agreement with Hobbs and have him under contract through 2026.
Packers roster enters draft
So, with that being said, here’s what I expect from the Packers roster heading into the draft. 73 of the team’s 91 offseason roster spots will be used. Green Bay has eight draft picks, which will provide 10 open spots for undrafted rookie signings.
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Defensive tackle(9)
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Dante Barnett (international waiver)
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Defender(5)
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Either Nick Nyman or Christian Welch
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Cornerback(7)
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Either Trayvon Diggs or Nate Hobbs
2026 Packers Mock Draft
Finally let’s start picking players. In this assumption, the team has positioned itself well to be the best player it can be, and that’s what the Packers front office strives for (I know you guys dislike corners more than the team does). The only exception is nose tackle, where the team hasn’t found a replacement for Kenny Clark since the Micah Parsons trade…
2nd Place – #52: Domonique Orange, Northern Territory, Iowa
Big citrus. I really liked Orange’s film so much that I was worried he wouldn’t be in our second round. Iowa State plays a funky three-safety defense that does force Orange into a run stopper, but he’s very athletic and possesses rare athletic skills for his size. I bet he’ll move up in the All-Star and Combine Tours.
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The Kansas City product was a hot product at one point, earning offers from Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon State, among others. During the pandemic, his weight passed the 400-pound mark, and top shows began to avoid him. He is now down to 330 and has had his weight under control for several years.
The Packers were also on hand to watch him play against Cincinnati, even though there were few pro prospects at either ISU or Cincinnati earlier this season.
3rd Place – #84: Devin Moore, CB, Florida State
I honestly don’t know much about Moore, but it appears he will be the highest-ranked cornerback on the team’s third-round draft consensus committee. This is more of a placeholder.
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While I don’t think the Packers believe they’ll be in the market to find start At cornerback in 2026, they really need a long-term contract at this position. After next year, Keson Nixon and Carrington Valentine will both be free agents, while Beau Melton and Kamal Harden will be restricted free agents (who may have their bids declined). They could take a third-round pick and have him play, but he doesn’t necessarily have to start this year (then again, I know how much you hate cornerbacks).
Fourth Place – #120: Brian Parker II, OL, Duke
Parker is a tackle and when I ask the scouting staff about centers, he comes up a lot in the conversation. He kind of fits the old mold of a Packers offensive lineman: undersized, athletic, positionally versatile, with a background as a tackle. Green Bay has moved to a bigger frontcourt (300 pounds is now 320 pounds), but the coaching on the field is inconsistent because the big men’s bodies still can’t get the push in the interior run game that the team is desperate to build.
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Maybe Parker, who can play all five positions, can help! At the very least, he would give the team a reason not to need to re-sign swing tackle Kinnard after a restricted free-agent tender. Line depth is never bad.
5th – #158: Mike Washington Jr., RB, Arkansas
Heavy, heavy, heavy. LaFleur’s offense wants to be heavy. We saw it coming online. We see it at the receiver. Quietly, we also saw it running back.
Entering the 2026 season, with only MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks and the practice squad (who, to be fair, are former NFL draft picks) behind Josh Jacobs, I’ll give the Packers 228-pound running back Mike Washington Jr., who came to Arkansas via Buffalo and New Mexico. This year, Washington earned All-SEC Second Team honors.
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6th – #199: Sawyer Robertson, QB, Baylor
Hey, there’s a push for Desmond Reed to take the backup job in Green Bay. There’s a bit of Pawnix in Sawyer, for better or worse. I don’t think even the top of his career possibility tree is a quarterback you want to commit to as your franchise’s quarterback, but there’s some talent there. I wouldn’t hate this pick, especially given the state of the quarterback class.
7th – #236: Bryce Boettcher, LB, Oregon State
Green Bay may be looking to move Jamon Johnson, one of the team’s biggest undrafted prospects last offseason, for a roster spot. I’m going to throw in my home run pick here and throw in Bryce Boettcher, who originally went to Oregon State as a baseball player before moving on to the football team and being a first-team All-American in 2025. A natural athlete. If he doesn’t pursue a professional baseball career (selected 13th overall by the Houston Astros in 2024), hopefully they can develop him into a special teams player.
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7th (Game – Josh Myers) – #254: Lance Mason, TE, Wisconsin
Hey, I’ll even give you a guy from Wisconsin. Green Bay could use someone to push forward at tight end. At times, they like to keep four players on the 53-man roster. Currently, they have identified three players who can make the roster in this case.
7th (Compare – Eric Wilson) – #257: Sam Hecht, OL, Kansas State
I can’t say I’ve seen pictures of Hecht, but when I asked scouts about center, his name came up. I suspect he’ll be ranked higher than the seventh round based on word of mouth alone, but I’ll look at that with a Mr. Irrelevant pick.