With NFL free agency already kicked off, team personnel are also preparing for the 86th annual NFL draft happening April 29 – May 1 in Cleveland, OH. The NFL has released every team’s current picks for the upcoming draft. Early this month, the NFL also awarded three compensatory draft picks to the Packers, bringing their total picks to 10.

For in depth draft knowledge leading up to the NFL draft, I highly suggest purchasing the CheeseheadTV 2021 Pro Football Draft Guide, which will be available in early April.

Compensatory picks that the Packers received will be at the end of the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. These picks are due to their net losses in free agency a year ago. The picks were gained from losing Bryan Bulaga, Blake Martinez, Kyler Fackrell and B.J. Goodson in free agency. Granted the Packers did add wide receiver Devin Funchess in free agency, but do to the COVID-19 pandemic, he opted out of this past season.

They are currently one of a handful of teams with the most picks in the upcoming NFL draft. So, when will the Packers be drafting:

2021 Packers Draft Pick Order

  • Round 1: Number 29 overall
  • Round 2: Number 62
  • Round 3: Number 92
  • Round 4: Number 135
  • Round 4: Number 142
  • Round 5: Number 173
  • Round 5: Number 178
  • Round 6: Number 214
  • Round 6: Number 220
  • Round 7: Number 256

The Packers received the second most compensatory picks from the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys were the only NFL team who received more compensatory picks as they received 4 additional picks. The Atlanta Falcons also received 3 compensatory picks.

There are several directions that General Manager Brian Gutekunst and company can take with the additional picks. They could stay pat and keep all 10 picks, which I think is highly unlikely. They could used the picks to up in and select someone they have higher on their board, which is a possibility. I tend to think that the team would use the picks to move back, still allowing them to draft the player that they want but also keeping a surplus of picks.

It will definitely be interesting to see how this unfolds leading up to the draft and throughout the draft. Either way, this gives the team some flexibility to add talent that will make an immediate impact but also continue to build for the long-term.

Round 1 of the NFL Draft will take place on Thursday, April 29, 2021, while rounds 2-3 will be held on Friday, April 30 and rounds 4-7 will be completed on Saturday, May 1.

Anthony Haag is a writer for PackersTalk.com. He has been a Packers fan since the day he was born and truly bleeds green and gold. He makes annual visits to Lambeau Field and has attended his fair share of games. You can follow Anthony on Twitter at @anthony_haag