Barring a shocking and unlikely trade, the Green Bay Packers won't have a first-round pick in the 2026 draft. As such, they'll have to watch the other 31 teams make a total of 51 selections before they're finally on the clock.
Of course, that leaves them with limited options when it comes to prospects who may contribute from the jump. That said, they can still find tremendous value at that point in the second round, and it's not like they have a ton of needs.
They do need to get better at cornerback, though. And with several options still up for grabs at No. 52, it wouldn't be shocking to watch them leave the second round with Carrington Valentine's heir apparent.
The Packers Could Target Carrington Valentine's Replacement at 52
The Packers' cornerback unit was a talking point for all the wrong reasons last season, to the point that they signed Trevon Diggs late in the year despite an injury-riddled and underperforming season. He and Nate Hobbs are no longer in the building, and that unit is still a concern.
Notably, plenty of those woes had to do with Valentine. Despite starting 11 games and playing in all 17, he didn't record a single interception. Instead, he allowed a completion percentage of 59.7 for 472 yards and a whopping seven touchdowns. Opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 121.2 when going against him, and he had a 20.5 missed tackle percentage, per Pro Football Reference.
The Packers already took a big step toward potentially replacing him by signing former Los Angeles Chargers CB Benjamin St-Juste. However, Keisean Nixon isn't a lockdown cornerback on the other side of the field either, so they should definitely double down on the position in the draft.
While the top prospects like Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy, Colton Hood, and maybe even Brandon Cisse will most likely be gone by the time they're on the clock, they can still target other high-upside prospects like Chris Johnson, D'Angelo Ponds, Keionte Scott, Keith Abney II, or Treydan Stukes.
The Packers' passing defense was the 11th-best in the game, giving up just 194.1 passing yards per contest. However, Valentine and Nixon were often exposed and burned for big gains, and the Nate Hobbs experience was an abject disaster. Jeff Hafley took pride in a 'bend, don't break' approach, just to watch his team's efforts go to waste because of the cornerbacks' miscues and mental mishaps.
Now, with Jonathan Gannon taking the reins of the defense, they just can't afford to go through the same issues. What that means for Valentine will be known soon enough, as the draft inches closer with every passing day.
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