Packers’ Defensive Draft Picks are Rookie of Year Long Shots

It’s been a long, long time since a Packers player has won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

New Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse, their second-round pick this year, is shown at South Carolina. | Photo Courtesy South Carolina Athletics

The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award was introduced in 1967. That means this year’s award will mark the 60th time it’s been handed out.

The Green Bay Packers have had only one winner, Willie Buchanon in 1972. The odds don’t favor that long streak ending with this year’s rookie class.

According to odds from FanDuel Sportsbook, New York Jets edge rusher David Bailey and Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher Rueben Bain are the co-favorites at +500. Another edge rusher, Arvell Reese of the New York Giants, is next at +750.

What about the Packers’ picks?

Cornerback Brandon Cisse: +7500

Cisse, the team’s second-round pick, started all 12 games last season for South Carolina. He played excellent coverage but had only one interception and six pass breakups in 2025 and just two interceptions in three seasons. It’s going to be almost impossible for a defensive back to win Rookie of the Year without grabbing a bunch of interceptions.

“I thought he had good ball skills,” Packers national scout Mike Owen said. “When you go to practice, you pay attention to that stuff, see how they catch it.” 

Cisse plays the same position as Buchanon, though only one of the last eight winners – Sauce Gardner for the Jets in 2022 – has been a defensive back.

Edge defender Dani Dennis-Sutton: +10000

Dennis-Sutton, the team’s fourth-round pick, is one of the steals of the draft based on where he was expected to be drafted and where he actually was drafted at No. 120 overall.

While The Athletic’s Dane Brugler didn’t like the Packers’ draft, Dennis-Sutton was his favorite pick.

“Brandon Cisse was a quality pick (especially outside the top 50), and Chris McClellan should be a solid role player for a long time,” he wrote. “But Dennis-Sutton’s value at No. 120 makes him my favorite of the Packers’ haul. Although he doesn’t perform up to his testing numbers, he is a commanding presence who plays with force on defense and special teams (blocked three punts in 2025).”

Defensive tackle Chris McClellan: +20000

No defensive tackle has won Rookie of the Year since the Rams’ Aaron Donald in 2014. Donald, who was part of a stretch in which defensive tackles won the award three times in five years, wound up being one of the greatest players of all-time.

The Packers would settle for McClellan being a Week 1 starter and impact run defender.

“He’s a big man,” director of football operations Milt Hendrickson said when asked if he can take the place of Colby Wooden, who was traded this offseason. “You’ll see him, he’s broad shoulders, long arms, he certainly can do that. Absolutely.”

Interestingly, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said he tried to trade back into the third round to draft Dennis-Sutton. Well, he almost drafted McClellan in the second before eventually trading up for him in the third.

“We didn’t take McClellan, and the way that our board was falling, we knew that the big guys – there wasn’t going to be a lot of them left,” Gutekunst said. “So, we made the decision to move up to get him. That was probably the only time that I felt, like, ‘OK, if we don’t do this, we just might not be able to add to the interior or add to an area that we wanted to.’”

Domani Jackson: No Odds

The Packers used their sixth-round pick on Alabama cornerback Domani Jackson, who had a solid 2024 season but couldn’t follow it up with another productive year in 2025.

Running back Jeremiyah Love, the No. 3 overall by the Arizona Cardinals, is the slight favorite to win Offensive Player of the Year. Love is +320 to run away with the award – pun intended – compared to +380 for the No. 1 overall pick, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza. Receivers Carnell Tate of the Tennessee Titans and Jordyn Price of the Philadelphia Eagles are next at +650 and +750, respectively.

You’ll be shocked to know that Green Bay’s only draft pick on offense, lineman Jager Burton, does not have odds.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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