Senior Bowl update delivers the best possible news for what the Packers want in the draft and how they see their future taking shape
Defensive line class has a lot of talent and depth.
The 2025 offseason was hard for the Green Bay Packers’ interior of the defensive line. TJ Slaton left the team in free agency to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, and then Kenny Clark was a part of the Micah Parsons package in a trade with the Dallas Cowboys.
Because the Clark trade happened right after the season, there weren’t really many ways to solve the issue, except hoping for an improvement from within. Devonte Wyatt did have a career year before his injury, but the production and depth were still big issues.
Heading into 2026, defensive tackle is an obvious need on the roster — especially if new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon moves the base defense back to a 3-4 formation. And that’s why the latest update from the Senior Bowl is so impactful.
Trevor Sikkema, a lead NFL draft analyst for PFF, mentioned a perception about the interior defensive lineman class that will make the Packers extremely happy.
“This defensive trench group is awesome,” Sikkema wrote on X. “Lee Hunter, Caleb Banks, TJ Parker, Derrick Moore, Nadame Tucker, etc. Very representative of this draft class as a whole. If you need a defensive lineman, there’s a lot of good ones top 100.”
Perfect scenario for the Packers
After trading two first-round picks in addition to Kenny Clark to the Cowboys, the Packers won’t make a selection before the 52nd overall pick. Yet, they still need a defensive tackle, a cornerback (or multiple ones), and some offensive line depth.
More impactful than having one or two intriguing prospects on the class, the Packers need the depth of the class to have good options — and that seems to be exactly the case here.
The Packers are set to have picks 52 (second round), 84 (third), and 120 (fourth). And based on what the Senior Bowl is showing, that will be the perfect range to address the roster’s biggest holes for 2026 and beyond.
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