Packers draw rave reviews for Day 3 draft steal who will aid Micah Parsons

The Green Bay Packers had a stellar 2026 NFL Draft, at least in terms of filling obvious needs. Whether it was acquiring a young, high-upside cornerback in Brandon Cisse, an uber-versatile defensive tackle in Chris McClellan, or even getting aggressive to score an upgrade at kicker in Trey Smack, Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst really got after it.

Not to be outdone by any of those moves, Gutekunst scored a prospect who many believe to be one of the draft's biggest steals.

Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton comes from a venerated line of Nittany Lions defenders, including Packers superstar Micah Parsons. Dennis-Sutton could've easily come off the board on Day 2 after recording 25 tackles for loss and 17 sacks over the last two years,

Instead, DDS fell to Green Bay at No. 120 overall in the fourth round, and in the aftermath of the draft, multiple experts are applauding the Packers for finding such great value on this particular pick.

Packers earn strong praise for high-value fourth-round draft pick Dani Dennis-Sutton

ESPN's Matt Miller did a joint piece with fellow draft expert Jordan Reid that handed out superlatives to each team, and also criticized perceived reaches. Green Bay made the cut in the expansive article for scoring Miller's best value pick of the draft in Penn State defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Here's what Miller had to say, alluding to how Dennis-Sutton's presence will give Parsons a little more runway as he prepares to return from a torn ACL:

"Let's highlight Dennis-Sutton's value. My No. 56 overall player fell to the Packers at pick No. 120 and will immediately boost the outside pass rush. With Micah Parsons' return date unknown, Dennis-Sutton will have a chance to play early."

Veteran team broadcaster Larry McCarren was also fired up about Dennis-Sutton joining the fold. Packers director of player personnel John Wojciechowski validated the hype, while emphasizing that Dennis-Sutton still has a lot of upside to explore:

"He is a pass rusher who's got size. He can chase down the quarterback, he can chase down running backs. We were very excited that he was available there. [...] It's called traits, and it's called traits that had production in college. [...] He'll be relentless. He is still green if you'll let me say that. I know he had production, but we are very excited."

Woj's assessment more or less mirrored what The Athletic's Dane Brugler stated in his take on Dennis-Sutton. Although he ranked Green Bay's draft class at 26th out of 32 teams, Brugler was bullish on DDS:

"Dennis-Sutton’s value at No. 120 makes him my favorite of the Packers’ haul. Although he doesn’t perform up to his testing numbers, he is a commanding presence who plays with force on defense and special teams (blocked three punts in 2025).

The consensus seems to be that Dennis-Sutton could make a big impact as a rookie. Not often is it that you see such gaudy expectations heaped on an early Day 3 draft choice.

But you can see the general measurables listed in the caption of that Packers X post. Dennis-Sutton is a phenomenal athlete who almost scored a perfect 10 RAS. His sub-7-second time in the 3-cone drill speaks to how quick and agile DDS is even at his massive size.

Green Bay lost Kingsley Enagbare in free agency, and traded Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys. The edge rotation was already hurting, and 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness may not get his fifth-year option picked up.

That makes it all the more clutch for the Packers to have nabbed someone like Dennis-Sutton who can be an instant difference-maker, especially much later in the draft than he was anticipated to last.

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