Packers Coaches Highlight Draft Picks on Defense

GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers wound up with only six picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Four of them, including the first three, were dedicated to the defensive side of the ball.

One of them was defensive tackle Chris McClellan, who the Packers traded up for to acquire in the third round.

“I think bringing him in, watching his college tape and only having two days of exposure with him, we want him to come in and be able to compete with our guys and, obviously, help us out in all phases of the game – the run game and pass game,” outside linebackers coach and defensive run-game coordinator DeMarcus Covington said. “Hopefully, he’s up to that challenge. So far, from what I’ve seen, he’s definitely up to that challenge.”

Based on their exposure during the predraft process and last weekend’s rookie minicamp, here’s what Green Bay’s assistant coaches on defense told reporters on Tuesday.

Cornerbacks Coach Daniel Bullocks on Brandon Cisse

“Smart player, hard worker. Just getting a chance to see him run around the field in person, he’s athletic, got good quickness, got good transition, got good burst out of his breaks. He’s a guy that hit me up every night going over talking about scheme, talking about players. He’s the same guy I see on the tape. He’s going to be a good player.”

Defensive Line Coach Vince Oghobaase on Chris McClellan

“An incredible, incredible person. Learning him through the draft process, I believe that he can do a lot of different things. You saw his college tape, he’s playing 0, shade, 3, 5, 4i. But more so than his skill-sets and his tools, his mind is really, really advanced for a guy that young. What we’re able to do in two days from a technique, a scheme standpoint, he was picking it up, picking it up, picking it up faster than I thought he would.”

They talked over the phone on Monday and were scheduled to meet via Zoom on Tuesday to watch workouts, drills and  “some off the formation-wreck stuff,” Oghobaase said.

“So, he’s hungry. That’s the thing of mine. Are you hungry to go eat? And he’s very hungry to go eat. So, I’ve got high hopes for him. A lot of competition in the room, which is very good. It drives the room to get better. He’ll come in and he’ll compete his … tail off.”

Covington on Dani Dennis-Sutton

“Obviously, excited to work with him. Just evaluating him, (he has) size, length, speed, all the above, to be able to set the edge, rush the passer. I think anybody who’s stepping on our football team has a chance to compete and get better. Now in this phase, this is the time to build fundamentals.

“And then No. 2, I would say, is earning the trust and respect of your teammates on a daily basis. That’s their job – earning respect of their teammates every day. That’s by what they do in the classroom, what they do on the field, being consistent every day and then that carries over onto the field. That’s really what we’re trying to do out of those guys. If they do that every single day, we’ll be OK.”

Bullocks on Domani Jackson

“Very excited to coach him. He did a good job, too, at minicamp. He’s athletic, he can run. He’s got size, he’s got length, he’s got some ball production. The thing about him, he’s got a lot of experience playing the corner position, playing at Alabama, playing at USC. He can play off, he can play press, he can tackle. He’s got the play style we’re looking for at the corner position.”

Taken in totality, Jackson had this to say about the position group.

“It’s a good group. Excited about the group. Seeing the DBs, especially the corner room and the safety room, there’s a lot of talent in that room. We added competition to that room drafting two corners in the draft and going to get a free agent in (Benjamin) St-Juste. You look at the guys that’s already there in (Keisean) Nixon and CV (Carrington Valentine), there’s already talent there in that room.

“Then you look at the safety position, as well, with X (Xavier McKinney and Evan (Williams) and Bull (Javon Bullard), it’s a talented room and I’m excited to work with them guys.”

Special Teams Coordinator Cam Achord on Trey Smack

New special teams coordinator Cam Achord spoke about a number of topics on Monday, including what he liked about sixth-round kicker Trey Smack.

“Straight ball, accuracy. His ball doesn’t move a lot. I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of guys that are really good. I don’t need a guy that can kick 65 yards personally. I want the guy who’s going to put it through consistently from 58, 55 because we’re playing in Green Bay.

“Whether I was coaching in New England, coaching in MetLife (Stadium with the Giants), we’re going to play in elements and you’re not going to need the 60-yard ball all the time. You’re going to need the 45-yard ball with a 14-mile-an-hour crosswind, so his ball not moving and stuff like that was definitely a big part for me.”