When do the Packers pick in the 2026 NFL Draft after Parsons trade?

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Projecting how the NFL draft will play out for the Green Bay Packers is difficult enough in a regular year, but for the 2026 draft, it's even more complicated since the Packers don't have a first-round pick.

That was part of the deal for Micah Parsons, one of two first-round picks – along with next year's first rounder – traded to Dallas along with defensive lineman Kenny Clark.

With that as a backdrop, here's what we can tell you about the Packers and the 2026 NFL Draft as they head into their wild-card playoff game against the Chicago Bears on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Soldier Field in Chicago:

Where will the Packers pick in the 2026 NFL Draft?

If Green Bay loses to Chicago, its first-round pick headed the the Cowboys will be No. 19 or 20. The order will be determined by final regular-season record – and only one possible losing team in the playoffs, the Carolina Panthers, has a worse regular-season record than the Packers. So, it'll likely be No. 19.

In the past six drafts, the Packers have only once selected higher than No. 22, when they took Lukas Van Ness with the No. 13 pick in 2023.

If Green Bay beats Chicago and loses in the divisional round, it'll be pick 25 or 26. If the Packers lose in the conference-title game, it'll be pick No. 29. A Super Bowl loss would be 31 and a win would be 32.

The team's first-round slot has implications for later rounds, since the draft order essentially repeats – with some flips for teams with identical records – each round before compensatory picks are awarded. Thus, we also don't know yet when Green Bay's first pick – in the second round – in 2026 will fall.

Their first pick could be 51st or 52nd if the Packers lose in Chicago. It could move to 57 or 58 with a win and loss the following week. With a postseason run to remember, it'll be 61, 63 or 64.

Where is the 2026 NFL Draft?

After Green Bay hosted the 2025 NFL Draft, the 2026 installment will be in Pittsburgh. The 2027 draft, by the way, is scheduled to take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

When was the last time the Packers didn't have a first-round draft pick?

The Packers haven't been without a first-round pick since 2017, and that was the result of a draft-day trade in which they famously traded back, missing out on T.J. Watt and selecting Kevin King early in the second round.

Before that, the Packers last came away without a first-round pick in 2008, when they traded the 30th pick to the Jets and took Jordy Nelson in the second round.

The last time the Packers went into a draft without a first-round pick? That would be 1986; the Packers had previously given that pick to the San Diego Chargers in exchange for safety Mossy Cade.

Could the Packers trade back into the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft?

Of course. The Packers have moved up in the first round of the draft before, including in 2020, when they traded for Jordan Love, and the year before that, when they moved up nine spots to draft Darnell Savage.

So there's no reason to think the Packers would be averse to trading up. It's just a little more complicated without the asset of an original first-round pick.

Eight players who could be available to the Packers in the second round

Using ESPN's "Best Available" players 50-60 as a guide, and considering the Packers' needs, here are a few names to consider:

Gennings Dunker, Iowa offensive tackle
Isaiah World, Oregon offensive tackle
Cashius Howell, Texas A&M edge rusher
Malik Muhammad, Texas cornerback
Tim Keenan III, Alabama defensive tackle
Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State cornerback
Jaishawn Barham, Michigan edge rusher
Chris Johnson, San Diego State cornerback

What picks do the Packers have in the 2026 NFL Draft?

Besides the second-round pick, the Packers have single draft picks in the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. They also may receive one or more compensatory picks, which will be determined by the NFL in March.

The current projection by overthecap.com says the Packers would get two seventh-round compensatory picks – one for the New York Jets signing center Josh Myers and the other for the Minnesota Vikings signing linebacker Eric Wilson.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: When do Packers pick in 2026 NFL Draft after Micah Parsons trade?

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