For the first time in nearly a decade, the Green Bay Packers will enter the NFL Draft without a pick in the first round. As of now, they also won’t have a first round selection in 2027 all due to the Micah Parsons trade. For a team that emphasizes building through the draft, this is unusual. But how have the Packers fared when they lacked a first round pick? Today we look at how the Packers did in the second round in each of the last two times they were without a first round pick in the NFL Draft.
How Have the Packers Fared Without a First Round Pick: 2017
The last time the Packers didn’t have a first round selection at the draft was 2017. Green Bay entered the draft with the 29th pick in the first round, but they didn’t keep it. Packers GM Ted Thompson traded with the Cleveland Browns and received the first overall pick in the second round and the first overall choice in the fourth round.
Green Bay used the first pick in the second round to select cornerback Kevin King. The University of Washington alum stood 6’3” which gave him great size for a cornerback. He played five seasons for the Packers and was a starter in three of them.
King’s best season came in 2019 when he had five interceptions, one sack and forced a fumble.
While King developed into a starter for the Packers, the trade caused the Packers to miss out on T.J. Watt who was selected by the Steelers with the 30th overall pick, one pick after the Packers would have chosen.
With their own pick in the second round, the Packers added safety Josh Jones. Jones spent two years with the Packers starting a total of 12 games and intercepting one pass. He played in six NFL seasons with four more teams.
The 2008 Draft
Thompson traded the Packers first round pick in 2008 to the New York Jets in exchange for a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick. That gave the Packers three picks in the second round.
Thompson hit big on one of the picks, missed badly with another and had mixed results with the third. With the pick acquired from the Jets, the Packers selected wide receiver Jordy Nelson.
Nelson played nine seasons with the Packers and earned Pro Bowl honors in 2014 when he caught a career-high 98 passes for 1,519 yards and 13 touchdowns. After sitting out the 2015 season due to a preseason injury, Nelson led the league with 14 touchdown catches and had 97 total catches for 1,257 yards. He won NFL Comeback Player of the Year that season. Nelson was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 2023.
The Packers used their second pick in the second round, the team selected quarterback Brian Brohm. In training camp, Brohm was beaten out for the backup quarterback job behind Aaron Rodgers by seventh round rookie Matt Flynn. He never played a regular season down for the Packers.
In 2009, the Packers placed Brohm on the practice squad where the Bills signed him to their active roster in November of that year. He started two games for Buffalo over two seasons and that was the end of his NFL career. He later played in Canada.
The Packers final second round pick in 2007 was used on defensive back Pat Lee. The Auburn alum played three seasons for the Packers including their Super Bowl winning team in 2010. He started just one game for the Packers. His final NFL season was in 2012 which he split between the Raiders and Lions.
How Have the Packers Fared Without a First Round Pick: Looking Ahead
This will be the first time Brian Gutekunst will have no first-round pick unless a trade happens to change that. He will face a challenge to address the team’s big needs at edge rusher, cornerback, and the interior offensive line and their many other needs.
That will mean Gutekunst will have to make sure he hits on his other picks if the Packers want to realize their ambitions of competing for a Super Bowl in their current window. The challenge awaits.
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