Barring an unforeseen trade, Day 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft will come and go without the Green Bay Packers making a pick. The first member of their incoming rookie class is due to arrive with the 52nd overall pick in the second round.
That league landscape-altering Micah Parsons trade came at a steep cost, but it should be worth it for Green Bay in the long run. It just means missing out on some of the fun in this year's draft.
Despair not, Packers faithful. The front office routinely drafts productive players in the middle to late rounds, and if the latest stock report on one particular prospect is any indication, they just might have themselves a steal at No. 52 to fill a major need.
Lee Hunter is a polarizing prospect but could fix Packers' need at defensive tackle
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN surveyed scouts and executives from all around the NFL to get their thoughts on the most divisive draft prospects in this year's class.
One of them should be squarely on Green Bay's radar. Texas Tech nose tackle Lee Hunter didn't blow the doors off in athletic testing at the NFL Scouting Combine, yet he's a space-eating, 318-pound behemoth who'd be a great fit for what the Packers need on defense.
While 33-year-old free-agent signing Javon Hargrave can line up right over the opposing center, he's much more suited to be a 3-technique at this point in his career. Devonte Wyatt is that brand of interior defensive lineman, too.
So even if Hunter is more of a situational player as a rookie, he'd be a strong long-term fit for the Packers.
As is the case with every prospect, however, Hunter comes with some drawbacks. Or at least that's the word on the street from Fowler, whose general narrative about the Red Raiders star underscore concerns about the All-American's consistency:
"What some scouts saw in the preseason still sticks with them a bit," writes Fowler.
"'He was around 346 pounds and wasn't doing much,' an AFC scout said. 'If you evaluated him in person in November, you probably loved him. If you scouted him early and then turned in your eval, probably not as much.'"
Fowler noted that the consensus around Hunter is that he can tend to, well, hunt the big play too often and lose gap integrity as a result. There's a little bit of boom or bust to his game that way.
Regarding the concerns about his weight, Hunter tipped the scales much lighter than anticipated at the combine at the aforementioned 318-pound mark. That's way down from what the scout in Fowler's piece had him at in the preseason.
Another aspect of Hunter's scouting profile that obscures his evaluation is the fact that Texas Tech had some studs around him in the trenches. Defensive end David Bailey is projected to go in the top three overall, and Romello Height, from the opposite edge, is a likely Day 2 pick.
Plus, the Red Raiders had one of the premier playmakers in the country at linebacker in Jacob Rodriguez, who could help mask any overeager gap-shooting Hunter was prone to.
Green Bay's front seven is pretty stacked thanks to the likes of Parsons (once he returns from his ACL injury), Hargrave, Wyatt, and an ascending young linebacker in Edgerrin Cooper. Not too dissimilar to the caliber of supporting cast Hunter was accustomed to at the collegiate level.
If the Packers don't go with, say, a boundary cornerback with their second-round pick, or they can't find a way to pull off a trade for Giants All-Pro nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, that'd make Hunter among the most appealing options with that 52nd overall selection.