Why Packers left Mel Kiper ‘scratching head’ in 2025 NFL Draft

As hosts of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers unsurprisingly received the loudest ovations for each of their eight selections. While most of them were reasonable given their roster needs, ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. believes they left one significant stone unturned.

The Packers’ need for receivers was blatantly evident, and Kiper feels they did a stellar job of addressing it with Texas’ Matthew Golden and TCU’s Savion Williams. However, he does not understand why general manager Brian Gutekunst did not take a cornerback until the seventh round.

“Despite how well the Packers addressed their biggest need, I was scratching my head with their approach to their second-biggest,” Kiper wrote. “Green Bay made eight picks, and only one of them was addressed toward the cornerback room: Micah Robinson at No. 237. I ranked 62 corners this year, but Robinson wasn’t on the list. The situation with corner Jaire Alexander is still lurking, and [Nate] Hobbs and Keisean Nixon are both better in the slot.”

The Packers lost starting cornerback Eric Stokes in free agency but managed to replace him with Nate Hobbs. However, with Jaire Alexander constantly injured and seemingly nearing the trade block, Green Bay does not have much depth at the position behind its main trio.

Packers’ full 2025 NFL Draft class

The Packers began the 2025 NFL Draft with eight picks and used all of them without making any trades. Golden became the first wide receiver taken by the team in the first round in 23 years and received the loudest pop from the sold-out crowd on Day One.

After Golden, the Packers used their second-round pick on tackle Anthony Belton before concluding Day Two with Williams in the third round. They started Day Three with a trio of defensive linemen in Texas’ Barryn Sorrell, Oklahoma State’s Collin Oliver and Georgia’s Warren Brinson before taking Tulane’s Micah Robinson with their final pick.

Historically, the Packers have not been very successful in the draft, but are hoping the pseudo home-field advantage will help in 2025. After nailing a string of first-round picks from 2018 to 2022, Green Bay has missed on its last two. Neither Jordan Morgan nor Lukas Van Ness — the team’s first-round selections in 2024 and 2023, respectively — have lived up to their hype thus far.