With the NFL Draft just eight days away, Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers are deep into the final stages of their draft prep. The board is being finalized, meetings are wrapping up, and the all-important top-30 visits are giving us a glimpse into what this team might actually do come draft weekend.
For those who don’t follow it closely, every team gets 30 “official visits” leading up to the draft. These are in-person meetings where prospects come into the building, meet coaches and front office staff, and go through a more detailed evaluation process. Since Gutekunst took over, the Packers have hosted nearly 250 prospects through these visits—and history shows they matter.
Last year alone, draft picks Matthew Golden, Anthony Belton, Micah Robinson, and Jonn Williams all made top-30 visits to Green Bay before hearing their names called. Even undrafted players like Taylor Elgersma and Dalton Cooper came through on visits and ended up sticking around on the practice squad.
Go back another year, and names like Edgerrin Cooper, Javon Bullard, Ty’ron Hopper, Marshawn Lloyd, Kitan Oladapo, and Kalen King all made stops in Titletown before becoming Packers. The trend is pretty clear: if Green Bay brings you in, there’s a real chance they’re serious about you.
Tipping Their Hand?
This time of year, you’ll hear a lot about “consensus boards”—basically where the league as a whole values each prospect. It helps teams figure out who might realistically be available at each pick and where they might need to trade up or down.
For the Packers, those boards are just one piece of the puzzle. The visits help confirm what they already think—or raise red flags they didn’t see on tape.
Now that 23 of their 30 visits have been reported, we’re finally getting a clearer picture of what positions they’re focusing on—and it does feel like they’re tipping their hand a bit.
Cornerback leads the way with five visits, which shouldn’t surprise anyone. It’s arguably the biggest need on the roster both short-term and long-term.
Wide receiver and running back each have three visits. That lines up with recent roster changes—losing Romeo Doubs and moving on from Dontayvion Wicks has thinned out the receiver room, while the backfield has its own questions with Josh Jacobs showing some wear and uncertainty around Marshawn Lloyd.
The trenches are interesting. Two defensive linemen have visited, which makes sense given the lack of a true nose tackle and the need for more depth. Only two offensive linemen have been brought in so far, which is a bit surprising considering how exposed that group looked during an injury-heavy 2025 season.
Then you’ve got smaller clusters—two defensive ends, linebackers, and safeties. Not immediate needs, but positions that could become important over the next couple of years.
How the Visits Match the Board
Looking at where these players are projected to go adds another layer to all of this.
Three of the reported visits are consensus second-round picks, including Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller—who has some familiarity with former Bulldogs now in Green Bay—along with LSU safety A.J. Haulcy and Texas Tech edge rusher Romello Height.
In the third round range, you’ve got defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, running back Mike Washington, and wide receiver Ted Hurst.
After that, the numbers start to thin out. Cornerback Will Lee III and receiver Chris Brazell II are mid-round names, while Charles Demmings and Jordan Van Den Berg fall into that fifth-round range.
But the biggest group? Late Day 3 and undrafted prospects.
Out of the 23 known visits, 13 are players projected to go in the sixth round or later—or not be drafted at all. That includes four cornerbacks, multiple linebackers, offensive linemen, running backs, and even a quarterback.
That’s not random. That’s planning.
What It All Means
If you step back and look at the full picture, a few things stand out.
First, defensive line feels like the early target. With Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks both heading toward free agency after the season, it’s a clear need—and one the Packers seem to be doing their homework on.
Second, offensive playmakers are very much in the mix. Whether it’s wide receiver depth or a contingency plan at running back, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Green Bay go that direction early on Day 2.
The middle rounds are where things get murky. The mix of visits and projections suggests the Packers could be looking to move around—potentially packaging a fourth- or fifth-round pick to go get someone they really like.
And then there’s the back end of the draft.
That’s where this front office has made a living. The heavy focus on late-round and undrafted prospects shows they’re already lining up priority free agents before the draft even starts.
With no first-round pick and eight total selections, the Packers are going to need to be efficient. Some of those picks may be used to move around the board, which makes hitting on late-round talent even more important.
If history tells us anything, Gutekunst and his staff believe they can find those diamonds in the rough.
And based on these visits, they already have a pretty good idea of where to look.
