Without a first-round pick in their NFL Draft war chest, the Packers' best chance of adding an impact player at the cornerback position might be by taking advantage of a rebuilding team in a trade.
And every year, there are teams out there looking to reset and reload their rosters, with a willingness to offload big-name veterans even if the cost to acquire is not substantial.
Bleacher Report recently put together a massive offseason manifesto taking a look at every NFL team's top trade assets this coming offseason, and they may have identified the top potential blockbuster trade candidate for the Packers in the process.
Among the potential trade candidates for the Cleveland Browns, B/R listed veteran Denzel Ward as a possible option to be traded, and that's something the Packers should be all over if he's available.
Denzel Ward would be ideal and obvious Packers offseason trade target
The Browns hired Todd Monken as their head coach in 2026, and given the state of their roster, they're not likely looking at trying to run it back with everyone they've got.
The Browns have obviously been stingy with certain veterans, proving to be completely unwilling to trade guys like David Njoku and Myles Garrett despite significant interest around the league, but perhaps this is the offseason they're willing to budge.
Here's what B/R had to say about Ward's situation this offseason, and why he might be available if the price is right:
The way (the Browns) do business doesn't afford them a lot of trade candidates that would actually clear space. Denzel Ward is the most notable. A pre-June 1 trade would create $3.2 million in savings.
It's not a lot of money, but he's still a name to keep an eye on. He's never played a full season and he's going to be 29 next season. He's been good enough to still warrant a pick, so this could be their best chance to get a return for him.
- Bleacher Report
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The cap savings for trading Ward is minimal (before June 1), but this is a Browns roster that needs to be almost completely reconstructed offensively, and they barely have any cap space to work with right now.
They'll find ways to add to that outside of trading one of their best defensive players, but if the Packers are willing to wait until later in the Summer, this is a move that could make so much sense for both sides.
The Browns and Packers could go through the entire 2026 NFL Draft process, put together their offseason plans, and have everything in place in the event that a trade like this doesn't occur.
What Bleacher Report didn't look into was how much cap savings the Browns would have if they traded Denzel Ward after June 1, which would be substantial. The Browns would save nearly $20 million ($19.93M) by trading Ward after the June 1 cutoff date.
At that point, the Packers could more realistically dip into their 2027 and even 2028 NFL Draft capital to entice the Browns, who would probably love to have the extra darts in next year's draft with such a deep class coming.
At his age and contract situation, it's not going to be realistic for the Browns to get a 1st-round pick for Ward, and if the price to play is less than a 1st-round pick, the Packers would be fools not to get in on it.
It might not be until the middle of Summer, but this is a no-brainer trade for the Packers to keep in mind.