NFL
Brian Gutekunst has been the Green Bay Packers’ general manager for eight seasons and is now entering his ninth season and ninth NFL Draft. In those eight seasons and drafts, Gutekunst has had 80 draft picks, averaging 10 picks per draft—which is roughly two picks above the league average since 2018.
With those 80 picks, he has selected only eight true cornerbacks. Of those eight, five came in rounds 5–7, with three of them in the seventh round. Gutekunst has not selected a Day 1 or Day 2 cornerback since 2021, when he took Eric Stokes in the first round. Before that, in his rookie season of 2018, he drafted Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson in rounds 1 and 2.
Yes, Gutekunst has selected one cornerback in each of the past three drafts, but all were seventh-round picks:
• 2025, pick 237: Micah Robinson (no longer with the Packers)
• 2024, pick 255: Kalen King (no longer with the Packers)
• 2023, pick 232: Carrington Valentine
Carrington Valentine remains with the Packers, but his tenure has been bumpy at best. The other Day 3 cornerback picks include Shemar Jean-Charles (2021, pick 178) and Ka’dar Hollman (2019, pick 185), both of whom are no longer with the team.
Not only has Brian Gutekunst largely ignored the cornerback position with premium picks, but the few cornerbacks he has drafted have mostly failed to pan out—leaving a glaring hole on the defense.
Meanwhile, Gutekunst has aggressively addressed other glaring roster holes in multiple drafts:
• In 2018, he drafted three wide receivers.
• In 2020, he drafted three offensive linemen.
• In 2022, he drafted three offensive linemen and three wide receivers.
• In 2023, he drafted three wide receivers and three defensive linemen.
• In 2024, he drafted three safeties and signed Xavier McKinney to help rebuild the safety room.
However, Gutekunst has consistently ignored the cornerback room both in the draft (with high picks) and in free agency (with high-value signings).
With the 2026 NFL Draft less than two weeks away, the Packers have already used 16 of their 30 top-30 visits—many of them on projected Round 7 or undrafted free agent-type cornerbacks and other positions. I fully expect Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers to ignore the cornerback position again with high-value picks. At best, I anticipate they might use one or both seventh-round selections on low-level talent they brought in for top-30 visits, such as Karon Prunty (CB, Wake Forest) or Malcolm DeWalt IV (CB, Akron).
If the past is any indication, the Packers’ scouting and development of Day 3 cornerbacks has not been strong. Packer fans, be prepared for another rough year of cornerback play.
