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For the first time in NFL history, the Green Bay Packers hosted the 2025 NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. While general manager Brian Gutekunst hit on a lot of his early picks, he still left the draft without filling all the holes his team had heading into the process.
With 79 percent of the 600,000 fans in attendance donning green and yellow, fans cheered with nearly every one of the Packers’ eight selections. Green Bay did address several pressing needs on Day One and Day Two, but did not do enough to cover all of its bases.
By spending his first three picks on offensive players, Gutekunst did a great job addressing his team’s wide receiver and offensive tackle needs. But by waiting too long to target his defensive vacancies, the Packers left the draft with nearly as many questions as they had beforehand. Time will tell, but the 2025 NFL Draft appeared to be a tale of two stories for the hosts.
In putting defense on the back burner, the Packers did not adequately address their three biggest defensive concerns: edge rusher, cornerback and linebacker. The team feels optimistic that it can convince the disgruntled Jaire Alexander to stay, but if they are forced to deal him, the secondary is going to be in a world of trouble. The free agency market still has a handful of reasonable options, but Green Bay put itself in an unnecessarily tough position that could have been avoided.
Even if Alexander stays on the roster, the Packers still have a dilemma at their other starting outside cornerback spot. They lost Eric Stokes in free agency and failed to replace him in free agency, only signing nickelback Nate Hobbs.
While solid, Hobbs hardly plays on the outside. Neither does Keisean Nixon, who thrived in the slot for Green Bay in 2024. Hobbs’ addition likely forces one of the two to shift outside, where both have tended to be less efficient. Injuries are also a concern for Hobbs, who missed 16 games over the past three seasons. None of the other cornerbacks on the roster has any experience worth noting.
With a glaring need for help at cornerback, the Packers figured to use at least one of their early-round picks on the position. They instead opted to take two receivers in the first three rounds and did not draft a cornerback until the seventh round. Maybe Micah Robinson is the steal of the decade, but if not, this one feels like a misfire from Brian Gutekunst.
All these current issues are assuming the Packers can somehow mend the fences with Alexander before training camps begin. If they are forced to trade or release him, the situation only goes from bad to worse. Without the All-Pro cornerback, this is easily the weakest cornerback group in the NFL.
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