Even Without No. 1 Pick, Packers Won First Round of NFL Draft

The Green Bay Packers’ NFC North rivals got better in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

At No. 17, the Detroit Lions, who won the NFC North in 2023 and 2024, selected Clemson right tackle Blake Miller. Miller will pair with Penei Sewell, who is shifting to the left side to replace longtime starter Taylor Decker, to form the Lions’ bookend tackles.

At No. 18, the Minnesota Vikings selected Florida defensive tackle Caleb Banks, a potential stud so long as he stays healthy.

At No. 25, the Chicago Bears, who won the NFC North last season and beat the Packers in the playoffs, selected Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman, who intercepted six passes as a freshman and has elite speed.

Other teams standing between the Packers and the Super Bowl got better, too.

The Eagles, who bounced the Packers from the playoffs in 2024, traded up to No. 20 for USC receiver Makai Lemon, presumably clearing the way to trade A.J. Brown. The Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl and picked 32nd, drafted Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price to replace Kenneth Walker. The 49ers, a constant thorn in Green Bay’s side, traded back twice to add picks.

The Packers?

“Yeah, we got better,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said after sitting out the first round.

The Packers, of course, didn’t have a first-round pick.

They do have Micah Parsons. And that made them the overwhelming winners of Round 1.

“With this particular pick, we got better a whole year earlier, you know?” Gutekunst continued. “So, no, to answer your question. I will say – and this is no different than the other draft – when you sit there, wherever you're picking, and you're watching good players come off the board that you put a lot of time scouting, and you appreciate their skill-set, that's never fun.

“But looking back and doing what we did, certainly, I don't think there's any players that were in this draft that can compete with that one.”

The Packers traded two first-round picks to the Cowboys to acquire Parsons last summer. The first of those picks was No. 20 overall; the Cowboys traded that to the Eagles and drafted Central Florida pass rusher Malachi Lawrence at No. 23.

Parsons is one of the best players in the NFL. Lawrence? Who knows, but it’s hard to believe he’ll ever be as good as the indomitable Parsons, an All-Pro with elite talent, a relentless drive and uncanny knack for making the big play in the big moment.

Generally in the draft, there’s a top tier or two consisting of about 20 really good prospects. After that, there’s usually a big blob of about 30 players with similar talents.

From that perspective, the Packers at No. 52 of the second round on Friday night might be picking the same caliber of player as they would have picked at No. 20 on Thursday night.

“I think this year might have fell off a little earlier than that – maybe 15ish or somewhere in there. That’s usually the case,” Gutekunst said. “We’ve obviously picked in the mid to late 20s a lot. But most of the time, I would say, one of your top 15 (or) 16 (prospects) usually kind of gets close to you and you may end up picking that guy, anyway. But I do feel like the players at the end of this (first round) and where we’re going to be picking tomorrow are very similar.”

The first round on Thursday night lasted just shy of 3 hours. Gutekunst will have another long wait on Friday. If he stays put at No. 52, 19 players will go off the board before he’s finally on the clock.

“We’re confident we’re going to get a really good player if we stick at 52,” he said “If we move back, we feel really good about how the board is and then we’re going to get good player that will help us. So, we’re excited. I know we’re all itching after sitting through that today, I think we’re all itching to get after it tomorrow.”

No doubt the Bears, Lions and Vikings feel better about their team after Thursday night. But nobody will feel better than Gutekunst when Parsons is back on the field and playing at a higher level than any of this year’s draft picks.

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