The Green Bay Packers added four players on Day Three of the 2026 NFL Draft, addressing key needs on defense, the offensive line, and special teams. After the team selected cornerback Brandon Cisse and defensive tackle Chris McClelland on Day Two, the Packers concluded their draft with the picks on Saturday.
Of the selections Green Bay made on Day Three, the Packers made one each in the fourth and fifth rounds, and two in the sixth. Two of the picks were spent on defensive players, one on a center, and the Packers’ final choice of the day was used on a sixth-round kicker.
Here’s a full list of Green Bay’s Day Three picks, along with grades and analysis for each selection.
Keeping in line with the strategy they forged on Friday, Green Bay spent its draft collateral on an edge rusher and cornerback to provide depth at areas of deficiency. Along the way, they chose a center to add to the offensive line room and a specialist to send a very clear message to their incumbent kicker.
*Dani Dennis-Sutton, Penn State: Dennis-Sutton, a towering 6’6″ pass rusher, registered 8.5 sacks in each of the last two seasons for the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Packers may bookend him with fellow Penn State alum Micah Parsons to field a vaunted pass rush from both sides.
NFL analyst Lance Zierlein projected Dennis-Sutton as a third-rounder, and falling a whole round later may fuel him this season. “I’m just happy to be a Packer,” Dennis-Sutton said. “We all wanna go pretty high — I didn’t, but now I’m a Green Bay Packer. I’m just excited to get to work. I’m excited for next week and to see what we can do this year.”
Coming from such a prestigious program made the selection much easier for the Packers’ brass, knowing Dennis-Sutton arrives in Green Bay with valuable experience. “It helps, I think with a guy that shows – especially at a place like Penn State – his commitment there to them was strong,” said Packers director of player personnel John Wojciechowski shortly after Green Bay drafted Dennis-Sutton. “He was able to develop under a system there.”
Zach Kruse, a writer for Packers Wire, feels the Packers made a steal of a pick on Dennis-Sutton: “Getting a player with Dennis-Sutton’s combination of disruptive production, elite pre-draft testing and ideal size at a premium position in the fourth round has to feel like a big win for the Packers, who needed to restock the edge rusher position after losing Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare this offseason.”
*Jager Burton, Kentucky: With their lone fifth-round pick, Green Bay went off-script and took Burton, a 6’4″, 312-pound center, making him the offensive player taken by the team. Zierlein feels Burton is a reach as a fifth-rounder, as he projected him to last until either sixth or seventh round.
While Green Bay is currently set at center after re-signing Sean Rhyan, Burton’s versatility may allow him to play guard while learning the center position.
Packers Wire staff member Brennan Rupp sees Burton as a valuable piece of the offensive line’s overall strength. “Burton will bring much-needed interior offensive line depth,” Rupp wrote. “He started 23 games at left guard, 15 at center and nine at right guard. He’s an outstanding athlete and it shows up when he’s out in space as a run blocker. A high school left tackle, Burton plays with good knee bend and utilizes a timely punch. It would not be shocking if he’s the starting center in 2027.”
*Domani Jackson, Alabama: Leading up to this past weekend, general manager Brian Gutekunst professed the cornerback position to be a target for depth in the draft. Jackson provides that, even if his future is less defined as other draftees.
Jackson, who only registered two career interceptions for the Crimson Tide, appears to be a project that will need time to develop. The 6’1″, 194-pound Jackson actually lost his starting job last season before regaining it later in the campaign.
John Mitchell, a writer for Bama Hammer, observed Jackson throughout his Alabama tenure, and he feels the defensive back is worth a sixth-round flyer. “Elite speed, but spotty as a run defender and was picked on with stretch plays on the edge by opposing offensive coordinators. Potential is through the roof.”
The fact that Jackson does not need to play every down right away for Green Bay means he is in no rush to develop into a solid NFL player.
*Trey Smack, Florida: By far, the most intriguing Packers’ selection of the weekend is the one they used on the former Gator placekicker. Not only did they draft Smack with two other kickers in the fold, Green Bay traded up with the Seattle Seahawks, giving up their two seventh-round picks, to secure him.
Smack, the only kicker selected in the draft, set the Florida Gators school record with 10 made field goals of 50-plus yards over the past three seasons. He made 10-of-13 from 50-plus, including 5-of-6 last season with a long of 56 yards. He was named third-team All-SEC. For his career, Smack made 53-of-64 field goals (82.8%) and 100-of-101 extra points.
Veteran Brandon McManus has been officially put on notice that his job is far from secure. Rob Demovsky, Green Bay’s beat writer for ESPN, wrote: “The Packers apparently aren’t handing veteran Brandon McManus the kicking job again. Not after the way the veteran kicker ended last season with three misses — two field goals and an extra point — in the playoff loss to the Bears. The Packers just gave McManus a $1 million roster bonus last month, but it doesn’t appear they’re sold on him.”
Si.com graded Green Bay’s overall draft out at a “D.” ESPN’s Mel Kiper gave the Packers a “C+.” NFL.com rated their work for the weekend at a “B+.”
What does this say about how the Packers fared in the NFL’s annual selection event? No one knows for sure; even the “experts” disagree wildly with Green Bay’s strategy. The jury will still be out for years to come to see how the players develop, and Packer Backers need to acquire some patience for that to happen.
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