Welcome to the first edition of Green Bay Packers offseason fan fiction, if that\u2019s something you fancy. This is my first crack at predicting what will happen in Green Bay through the draft. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll get plenty wrong here, but we don\u2019t even know (for sure) who the head coach will be for the Packers in 2026, so let\u2019s all just understand this is an educated dart throw.<\/p>\n
I think Matt LaFleur comes back. I have no idea if he\u2019s gonna get the kind of extension that he wants, or if he just coaches out the 2026 season and walks for a deal next year, but all of the reporting seems to be claiming that the Packers want him back, so I\u2019m gonna assume he\u2019s coming back until we\u2019re told otherwise.<\/p>\n
Without an extension, it\u2019s going to be tough for him to fill positions on the coaching staff, but, hey, this is my fan fiction. So here, the offensive line coach and linebackers coach<\/a> (both former internal promotions<\/a>) get fired and are replaced.<\/p>\n Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley leaves for a head coaching opportunity. The Packers replace Hafley with one of defensive line coach\/run game coordinator DeMarcus Covington or passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley, both of whom have NFL defensive coordinator experience in the past. Hafley takes the other with him, wherever he goes.<\/p>\n In total, the Packers have two firings but need to make four hires on the coaching staff even with the internal promotion at defensive coordinator (if LaFleur does not get an extension, this will make it harder to get qualified candidates for this role. The team should just make a decision, one way or another, instead of having him on a one-year deal in 2026. It will impact more than just the head coaching role.)<\/p>\n Pre-draft player movement<\/p>\n I don\u2019t expect the team to do much in free agency this year, in part because of the salary cap situation the Packers are in<\/a> and in part because they will want to preserve the compensatory picks they would receive in 2027 for free agents leaving in 2026.<\/p>\n Below are players that I think will net the Packers picks after they sign with a new team in free agency:<\/p>\n LT Rasheed Walker (2027 4th)QB Malik Willis (2027 5th)WR Romeo Doubs (2027 5th)LB Quay Walker (2027 5th)<\/p>\n Every NFL team is capped at receiving four compensatory draft picks per year (out of a league-wide total of 32 per draft), so no other free agents leaving would impact the calculus for Green Bay. Still, I think that tight end John FitzPatrick (following the emergence of Josh Whyle after his injury) and defensive end Kingsley Enagbare (who would only suppress mid-round picks Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver even more on the depth chart going into Year 2 of their careers) leave in unrestricted free agency, too.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s bring back center Sean Rhyan, who didn\u2019t have a major injury in the playoffs, on a two- or three-year deal similar to what Jon Runyan Jr. received a couple of years ago (3 years, $30 million total). By far, the Packers\u2019 biggest hole on offense (and maybe the entire roster) going into the draft would be center, if Green Bay doesn\u2019t address it. I also think that one of Nick Niemann or Kristian Welch, who have each served as the fifth linebacker on the team at different points in 2025, comes back.<\/p>\n That\u2019s really the only position that the Packers allocate as a special teams-only role on the 53-man roster, at least consistently (there have been times when safety Dallin Leavitt or defensive end Arron Mosby were on the active roster) for a non-member of the kicking battery. I\u2019m sure Green Bay would prefer Niemann over Welch, and neither should cost much this offseason, but Niemann did sign a two-year, $6 million deal with the Houston Texans last year before being cut at the roster deadline this summer. If Niemann\u2019s market goes back up to that, I could see the team just adding Welch back.<\/p>\n The only RFA I can see the Packers actually tagging, at a $3.5 million value<\/a>, is swing tackle Darian Kinnard, who also helped fill in as a tight end when the team was banged up at the position in 2026. Aside from that, whether Green Bay eventually brings the RFAs back or not, I think the team will first elect to turn down the option to give them tenders, making them unrestricted free agents.<\/p>\n When the Packers bring back RFAs, they usually give them something close to the league minimum in salary (on a one-year deal) with a $500k-ish signing bonus. The best candidates for those types of deals this offseason will be running back Chris Brooks (who displaced Emanuel Wilson toward the end of the year, is the team\u2019s best blocking back and also contributes on special teams – he was the guy who made the tackle on the Bears\u2019 fake end-around kick return in the playoffs), tight end Josh Whyle (the team has had their eyes on him since 2023, when he was a pre-draft visitor<\/a>, and he looked the part in 2025 when he was brought up off the practice squad), defensive end Arron Mosby (one of the few special teams aces on the Packers\u2019 roster) and safety Zayne Anderson (another special teams ace who the team actually likes to play on defense more than fifth-rounder Kitan Oladapo).<\/p>\n Players I\u2019m projecting to have their tenders turned down and don\u2019t think will be receiving those short deals with a signing bonus are running back Emanuel Wilson, defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. and defensive tackle Jonathan Ford.<\/p>\n Exclusive rights free agents<\/p>\n The Packers almost always bring back ERFAs, which are players who are eligible to be tenders on what is essentially a league-minimum one-year deal. Assume these guys will be back in 2026:<\/p>\n WR Bo MeltonOL Lecitus SmithOL Donovan JenningsCB Kamal Hadden<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s a done deal that center Elgton Jenkins<\/a> (saves the team $20 million in cash and cap space) and defensive end Rashan Gary<\/a> ($19.5 million in cash and $11 million in cap space in 2026) are gone. The one question I have is whether the team will bring back one of Trevon Diggs or Nate Hobbs to potentially compete with Keisean Nixon (I think he\u2019s locked into a starting job in 2026, barring a trade) or Carrington Valentine at outside cornerback next year.<\/p>\n Diggs\u2019 contract would absolutely need to be reworked, as he\u2019s due $15.5 million next year<\/a>. That\u2019s not \u201cpush Valentine to start\u201d type of money. Hobbs got a $48 million contract last year to play as a slot defender<\/a>, but it\u2019s clear now that Evan Williams has run away with the starting safety job and Javon Bullard is the team\u2019s starting nickel defender. The team tried to pivot into making Hobbs an outside cornerback in 2025, but it didn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n The Packers would only save about $1 million in cap space by moving on from Hobbs, but they would save north of $9 million in cash. In short, eating the dead cap, which would basically not move Green Bay\u2019s 2026 cap situation, would free up a lot more space in 2027. Again, though, I think the Packers would only make that move if they can figure something out with Hobbs to have him under contract in 2026.<\/p>\n Packers roster going into draft<\/p>\n So, with all that being said, here\u2019s what I would expect the Packers\u2019 roster to look like before the draft. 73 of the team\u2019s 91 offseason roster spots would be used. With eight draft picks on the docket, this would give Green Bay 10 open roster spots for undrafted rookie signings.<\/p>\n Quarterback (2)Jordan LoveDesmond RidderRunning Back (5)Josh JacobsMarShawn LloydChris BrooksPierre Strong Jr.Damien MartinezReceiver (9)Christian WatsonMatthew GoldenJayden ReedDontayvion WicksBo MeltonSavion WilliamsWill SheppardIsaiah NeyorJakobie Keeney-JamesTight End (6)Tucker KraftLuke MusgraveJosh WhyleDrake DabneyMessiah SwinsonMcCallan CastlesOffensive Line (14)LT Jordan MorganLG Aaron BanksC Sean RhyanRG Anthony BeltonRT Zach TomDarian KinnardJacob MonkTravis GloverDonovan JenningsLecitus SmithJohn WilliamsBrant BanksDalton CooperKarsen BarnhartDefensive End (5)Micah ParsonsLukas Van NessBarryn SorrellCollin OliverArron MosbyDefensive Tackle (9)Devonte WyattColby WoodenKarl BrooksWarren BrinsonJordon RileyNazir StackhouseJames EsterAnthony CampbellDante Barnett (international exemption)Linebacker (5)Isaiah McDuffieEdgerrin CooperTy\u2019Ron Hopperone of Nick Niemann or Kristian WelchJamon JohnsonCornerback (7)Keisean NixonCarrington Valentineone of Trevon Diggs or Nate HobbsKamal HaddenShemar BartholomewJaylin SimpsonTyron HerringSafety (7)Xavier McKinneyEvan WilliamsJavon BullardZayne AndersonKitan OladapoJonathan BaldwinMark PerryKicker (2)Brandon McManusLucas HavrisikPunter (1)Long Snapper (1)<\/p>\n Let\u2019s finally start picking players. In this hypothetical, the team has positioned itself pretty well to go best player available, which is what the Packers\u2019 front office strives for (I know you guys like the corners less than the team does). The one exception is nose tackle, where the team hadn\u2019t had access to a player who could replace Kenny Clark since the Micah Parsons trade\u2026<\/p>\n 2nd – #52: Domonique Orange, NT, Iowa State<\/p>\n BIG CITRUS. I really like Orange\u2019s film, so much so that I\u2019m afraid he won\u2019t be there for our second-rounder. Iowa State played a funky three-high safety defense, which really forced Orange to be only a run-stopper, but he\u2019s very athletic and has rare movement skills for his size. I bet he rises up boards during the all-star and combine circuit.<\/p>\n At one point, the Kansas City product was a hot recruit, earning offers from the likes of Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon. During the pandemic, he cracked the 400-pound mark, so top programs started to shy away from him. He\u2019s down to 330 now and has had his weight under control for a couple of years.<\/p>\n The Packers also went to watch him live against Cincinnati, despite both ISU and Cincinnati having few pro prospects, earlier this season.<\/p>\n 3rd – #84: Devin Moore, CB, Florida<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to be honest, I don\u2019t know much about Moore, but it appears that he is projected to be the highest-ranked cornerback on the consensus board<\/a> for the team\u2019s third-round selection. This is more of a place-holder than anything.<\/p>\n While I don\u2019t think the Packers believe they\u2019re in the market for a starting cornerback in 2026, they really need long-term contracts at the position. Both Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine will be free agents after next year, while Bo Melton and Kamal Hadden will be restricted free agents (and likely have their tenders declined). They\u2019re in a spot where they can take a third-round pick and let him join in on the competition, but he doesn\u2019t necessarily have to start this year (again, I know how much you guys hate the cornerbacks).<\/p>\n 4th – #120: Brian Parker II, OL, Duke<\/p>\n Parker is a tackle who has come up a lot in conversations I\u2019ve had with people working in scouting when I\u2019ve asked them about the center class. He\u2019s sort of the old mold of Packers-like offensive lineman: smaller, athletic, positionally versatile with a tackle background. Green Bay has moved to a bigger approach up front<\/a> (the 300-pounders are now 320-pounders), but inconsistent coaching at the position has shown on the field, as the big bodies are still unable to get a push on inside runs, which is desperately what the team wants to build around.<\/p>\n Maybe Parker, who can play all five spots, can help! At a minimum, he would give the team a reason not to need to re-sign swing tackle Kinnard after his restricted free agent tender. Line depth is never bad.<\/p>\n 5th – #158: Mike Washington Jr., RB, Arkansas<\/p>\n