The One Thing Packers Can’t Afford to Get Wrong in NFL Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft, which for the Green Bay Packers will start on Friday, represents the last big opportunity to add impact players to the roster before training camp.

The Packers are coming off a third consecutive playoff appearance as the No. 7 seed. Their enticing mini-playoff run in 2023 was offset by one-and-done postseasons the last two years.

In 2024, Green Bay was overwhelmed at the line of scrimmage in a dreary loss at the Eagles. Jordan Love was pressured on 41.7 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

In 2025, it was a similar story in the fall-from-ahead loss to the Bears. Love was under siege throughout the second half and Josh Jacobs gained only 14 yards before contact on his 19 rushing attempts.

During the 2023 regular season, Love faced pressure on 30.2 percent of his dropbacks, the third-lowest out of 33 quarterbacks with at least 100 under-pressure dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. In 2024, the pressure rate increased to 34.4 percent, which ranked 17th out of 30 quarterbacks. In 2025, the pressure rate increased further to 38.9 percent, which ranked eighth out of 33.

Simply put, the Packers need better blocking.

And more blockers.

This offseason, the Packers parted ways with longtime starters Elgton Jenkins and Rasheed Walker. Sean Rhyan will replace Jenkins at center and Jordan Morgan will replace Walker at left tackle.

The team probably feels fine with the new starting quintet of Morgan at left tackle, Aaron Banks at left guard, Rhyan at center, Anthony Belton at right guard and Zach Tom at right tackle. However, Rhyan and Morgan have gone from depth pieces to starters. Who will step in in case of emergency?

Last season, the Packers had an 18 percent problem on the offensive line. What’s that? Their most-used combo on the offensive line played 18 percent of the snaps together, according to Sharp Football.

% of snaps played together for the most frequent OL combination last year

96% - NYJ
80% - ATL
79% - BAL
71% - BUF
65% - IND
59% - NE
53% - MIA
52% - CIN
51% - PIT
49% - TEN
49% - SEA
48% - DEN
47% - NYG
42% - PHI
42% - CHI
40% - WAS
36% - JAX
36% - KC
35% - TB
33% - SF
33% - LAR…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 4, 2026

Only three lines played three-quarters of the snaps together. Only nine lines played half the snaps together. The league median was a paltry 40 percent. Linemen get injured. It’s a physical position. Feet get stuck in the wrong places. Knees get twisted the wrong direction. Running backs run into their backs. Heads collide. It’s a tough position played by tough men, and things happen.

The Packers have a major depth problem, no matter that general manager Brian Gutekunst said, “I feel really good about it,” when asked about the depth on Tuesday.

It was perhaps just a slip in the tongue – who hasn’t accidentally botched a name? – but it was perhaps telling that Gutekunst said “Dominic” Jennings when he meant Donovan Jennings while rattling off the potential backups.

The last six drafts, Gutekunst has added 16 offensive linemen. He drafted Anthony Belton and John Williams in 2025, Jordan Morgan, Jacob Monk and Travis Glover in 2024, Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker in 2022, Josh Myers, Royce Newman and Cole Van Lanen in 2021 and Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson and Simon Stepaniak in 2020. Plus, he signed Aaron Banks and traded for Darian Kinnard last year.

And here we are on the eve of the 2026 draft, and the Packers still need linemen. Aside from the new starting five, the only backup with 60-plus snaps of regular-season experience is Kinnard.

“We’re always going to try to add to the offensive line,” Gutekunst said. “There’s only so many big guys in the world that can play at a high level, but I feel good about it.”

At offensive tackle, there’s no obvious backup to Morgan at left tackle. Maybe it’s Belton, who played the position in college and got some work in training camp as a rookie. At right tackle, Tom is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for the end of the season and required surgery.

What will the Packers do at center if Sean Rhyan is shaken up, as was the case at the end of the playoff loss to Chicago? | Mark Hoffman/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

At center, Gutekunst said Monk “did a really good job” at center in Week 18 against Minnesota, his first real NFL action. Jennings has played six mop-up snaps in two seasons. Glover, who got worked over in the playoff loss to the Eagles as a rookie in 2024, spent last year on injured reserve. So did Williams, who didn’t even practice until the end of the season.

Florida offensive tackle Austin Barber, who played left and right tackle, or Texas A&M’s Trey Zuhn III, who played left tackle and center, could be immediate assets in the third round.

“It’s about playing anywhere I can help the team win,” Barber told NFL Draft On SI’s Justin Melo. “That’s what I’ve been telling teams. They see me as being a swing tackle. I can play multiple positions. That’s possibly the best part of my game.”

The Packers don’t need just linemen to block. They need tight ends to block. Their blocking tight end last season, John FitzPatrick, sustained a torn Achilles in December. He is an unsigned free agent.

A healthy Tucker Kraft is big enough, strong enough and tough enough to handle whatever is thrown his way, but it might be smart to take some of the heavy lifting off his plate. That’s what makes Stanford’s Sam Roush an under-the-radar possibility with their third-round pick.

“Football is a team game and I love one-on-one matchups,” Roush told Melo. “When I get that one-on-one with a defensive end, or even a combo block concept, I just hate losing. I know the running back and quarterback is depending on me.

“I just hate losing. I take a lot of pride in winning those blocks. I definitely get a lot of enjoyment out of that. Catching the ball and making plays in the passing game is great, but I love those one-on-one matchups in pass protection and as a run blocker. … I take a lot of pride in my ability to win.”

Put simply, the Packers need blockers. They need blockers on the line. They need blockers at tight end.

Blockers might not be sexy draft picks. You know what is sexy for Packers coach Matt LaFleur? Love torching defenses from a clean pocket, where he had NFL-best 128.8 passer rating last season, or Jacobs running downhill and not having to dodge defenders in the backfield.

The team’s success in 2026 could hinge on Gutekunst finding the right men for the job.

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