NFL Draft: Previewing the 2026 cornerback class

The Green Bay Packers are almost certainly going to take a cornerback in the 2026 draft, if not to replace Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine or Nate Hobbs in 2026, then to replace the expiring contracts of Nixon, Valentine, Bo Melton and Kamal Hadden in 2027. Nixon, Valentine and Hadden are going into the final year of their deals in Green Bay, Melton is an exclusive rights free agent (which means that he will receive a one-year tender this offseason) and Hobbs could be a cap casualty either this year or next year. To make it simple: They need warm bodies at the position moving forward, at a minimum.

So, who are the Packers going to take in this draft? We’ll get to that, including my thoughts on some of these prospects after hours of film work and phone calls/texts to people in the scouting world. But first, I want to talk about who they probably won’t be adding.

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Do not be worried about players’ names being cut off lists. Teams like small boards. Typically, NFL teams usually only have about 100 to 150 prospects ranked on their “big board” on draft weekend, which includes players who don’t even end up getting drafted. The point of a big board is to not have to drink water from a fire hose. All of these draft meetings that you hear about are to get the coaching staff and front office on the same page about which types of players are worth the man-power to fully evaluate. At this point in the year, area scouts have grades in the system for every player on their radar. But do the coaches and top front office members know what their options are on Day 3 (or even Day 2) at this point? No!

If you want an example of an NFL big board, the Dallas Cowboys seem to leak theirs about every three years at this point. Here’s one from 2016, when they only had 16 players graded with first-round grades.

Limiting the board isn’t a bad thing. It helps teams understand their options better and how to navigate the draft. When do teams need to trade up or trade back? Narrowing down options will help give the team that feedback.

At cornerback, the Packers have some pretty specific measurements that they look for at the position, which naturally helps shed some names on the board. But before we get into that, let’s talk about who won’t be there for Green Bay.

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Cornerback who will likely be gone by the Packers’ first pick

• #14 Jermod McCoy, Tennessee

• #21 Avieon Terrell, Clemson

• #32 Brandon Cisse, South Carolina

• #33 Colton Hood, Tennessee

Historically, almost no players who are ranked among the top-40 players on the consensus draft board make it to pick #52, which will be the Packers’ first selection in 2026, as they traded away their next two first-round picks for Micah Parsons. The major exceptions are almost always 1) quarterbacks who were overvalued by the media or 2) players with medical or character red flags. For the most part, Green Bay has stayed away from players with major red flags, so even if the five players above end up popping up with concerns, the Packers probably won’t be the team catching their fall.

Cornerbacks who are probably too small for the Packers

• #44 Keith Abney II, Arizona State

• #58 D’angelo Ponds, Indiana

• #77 Malik Muhammad, Texas

• #98 Chandler Rivers, Duke

• #148 Hezekiah Masses, California

Here is where we get to talk about long-term trends. The Packers hate small cornerbacks. They don’t necessarily want their cornerbacks to be big, but they don’t want them to be small. It’s one of the defining traits of the organization.

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Since Mike Sherman was fired, the Packers have never drafted a cornerback shorter than 5’10” (and Jaire Alexander was the only cornerback closer to 5’10” than 5’11) or under 194 pounds in the top-150. After about the top-150, the draft essentially turns into priority free agency and the Packers break their rules more, both at cornerback and other positions. Based either on confirmed (from all-star games) or estimated heights and weights, these five players don’t fit what Green Bay looks for.

Could the Packers change two-decade-long trends in this draft? Sure! Anything is possible. I wouldn’t hold my breath about it, though.

Cornerbacks who were college slot defenders

• #95 Treydan Stukes, Arizona

• #100 Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina

You will see these players listed as cornerbacks. They are not cornerbacks. They were already slot defenders at the college level. The Packers already have a logjam in the slot with Javon Bullard and Hobbs at the position, even after moving Nixon to a full-time outside cornerback position. If they’re taking a cornerback in this draft, it’s probably to play outside cornerback, specifically.

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So, with all that in mind, there are really eight guys who are projected to go in the relevant portion of the draft (there’s really no significant difference between sixth-rounders and high-end undrafted free agents) that the Packers could take a look at. I’d bet that if/when Green Bay takes a cornerback this April, it’ll come from this shorter list of names.

Here’s how I’d rank them.

The rest of the top-150

Davison Igbinosun, Ohio State (#72 on the consensus board)