The 2026 NFL Draft is nearly upon us, with the first 32 picks set to take place in Pittsburgh on Thursday night, April 23.
The Green Bay Packers, of course, won't make their first selection until Friday, April 24, as they sent their first-round selection, which turned out to be No. 20 overall, to the Dallas Cowboys in the Micah Parsons trade last August.
So, barring any trade between now and then, Green Bay will go on the clock for the first time in Round 2 at No. 52 overall. Since the inception of the draft in 1936, the Packers have made the 52nd overall selection on six occasions. And it's been quite the interesting number.
The reason we have to say that is because of the six selections at that number, three of them failed to ever take the field—not just for Green Bay but in the NFL at all—those being Northwestern back Dick Conners (1947), Kansas back Wade Stinson (1951), and Syracuse quarterback Wally Mahle (1965). Mahle was also taken in the AFL draft by the Oakland Raiders in '65, but never played a snap for them either.
And the Packers' first-ever pick at No. 52 overall, who just happened to be at the first-ever draft back in 1936, that being Stanford superstar Bob Reynolds, never suited up for Green Bay either. But his story is much more interesting.
For one, he played both offensive and defensive tackle for the Cardinal and will forever be the only player to take every single snap on both sides of the ball in three consecutive Rose Bowls. So, there's that.
After being taken by the Packers in the draft, however, Reynolds decided he'd had enough of football. In 1937, though, Detroit Lions owner G.A. Richards, who also owned several radio stations, offered Reynolds a job with the Lions. Reynolds still had no interest in playing football but did desire to work at one of Richards' stations in Los Angeles. Eventually, Reynolds wildly lost a coin toss, with the result being that he played two seasons with the Lions, which he did in 1937 and 1938, and then spent the offseason working in radio.
So, that's four.
As for the other two, each of those worked out wonderfully, as Green Bay got itself a couple of Pro Bowlers.
The two Pro Bowlers the Packers have drafted at No. 52 overall
Dave Hanner, DT, 1952
With the 52nd overall pick in the 1952 draft, the Packers selected Arkansas defensive tackle Dave Hanner, who ultimately spent his entire 13-year playing career with the franchise, helping the team to back-to-back NFL titles in 1961 and also earning a pair of Pro Bowl selections during his tenure in Titletown.
After appearing in 163 total games for Green Bay as a player, starting all but five of those, Hanner remained with the organization as a coach, first serving as a defensive line coach from 1965 to 1971, then as defensive coordinator from 1972 to 1979, and then one season as a quality control assistant in 1982 before moving into a scout role.
His initial 28-year run with the Packers before the two-year gap was the second-longest in team history behind only Curly Lambeau, which is obviously saying something. Hanner was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1974.
Greg Jennings, WR, 2006
More than half a century after picking Hanner, the Packers used the No. 52 overall selection in the 2006 draft to take Western Michigan wide receiver Greg Jennings.
Like Hanner, Jennings earned a pair of Pro Bowl appearances during his time in Green Bay, which was a little shorter at just seven seasons, and also helped the team win a title, as he and running mate Donald Driver were Aaron Rodgers' two biggest weapons en route to the Packers winning Super Bowl 45.
While that run, as mentioned, was only seven years, Jennings still managed to make his way into the top 10 in Packers history in every major category, ranking 10th with 425 receptions, ninth with 6,537 receiving yards, and seventh with 53 receiving touchdowns.
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