The more darts you have to throw at the board, the better your chance of hitting a bullseye (or two or three). That's the philosophy when it comes to building a war chest of draft selections every year for general managers, and few have done as good of a job at hitting the target as Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
Gutekunst and the Packers have identified talent at every juncture of the NFL Draft that has helped this team, which is why a couple of compensatory selections in the 7th round are nothing to scoff at.
The Packers are currently projected by OverTheCap.com to receive two 7th-round compensatory draft selections after losing Josh Myers (Jets) and Eric Wilson (Vikings) in 2025 NFL free agency.
Packers predicted to receive two 7th-round compensatory picks in 2026 NFL Draft
There are a couple of reasons why the Packers stand to benefit as much as anyone -- maybe more -- from having additional 7th-round draft capital.
Just in the last handful of years, the Packers have unearthed some gems in the 7th round of the NFL Draft, and they've also used a 7th-round pick to make a very important trade.
In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Packers found Carrington Valentine in the 7th round out of Kentucky, and he's played all but two games in his NFL career with 30 career starts. Valentine is getting replaced in a lot of mock offseasons right now from Packers fans and analysts (guilty as charged), but when you grade on the curve of a 7th-round pick, he's been pretty outstanding.
In 2022, the Packers used a 7th-round pick on Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker. Walker is slated to hit NFL free agency here in the 2026 offseason, and is likely to leave the Packers, but not before playing his way to a massive contract. And as frustrating as this past season was for Walker from the perception of Packers fans, he's only going to be 26 this season and will be a coveted player.
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The investment the Packers made in Walker is likely going to turn into a 3rd-round compensatory pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
The same can be said of the team's investment of a 7th-round pick in a trade with the Titans for backup quarterback Malik Willis. Willis played so well these last two years for the Packers that he's likely going to get a chance to start somewhere in 2026, and the contract he is going to get will reflect that. And even if Willis doesn't get a Justin Fields-like deal, he will likely end up landing the Packers a 3rd-round or 4th-round compensatory pick next year.
The Packers are smart with the ways they've invested 7th-round picks, and it's important to remember that compensatory selections can also be traded. These will be some important darts for Gutekunst in the 2026 offseason.