23. Green Bay Packers: AJ Harris, CB, Penn State
We’ve got a couple of teams going back-to-back Nittany Lions here in this 2026 NFL mock draft with the Packers taking cornerback AJ Harris just one selection after the Chargers took his teammate Dani Dennis-Sutton. The Packers have somewhat neglected the cornerback position the past couple of years, and it’s coming back to bite them a bit. They traded Rasul Douglas in 2023 and then moved on from a pair of former first-round picks – Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes – in 2025. And they did it with no real backup plan. The Packers have to be one of the most likely teams in the NFL to take a 1st-round corner in 2026.
Key X-factor this season: The Packers desperately need Lukas Van Ness to take the next step in his game and be a disruptive force off the edge.
24. San Francisco 49ers: DJ McKinney, CB, Colorado
We did not make the order for this mock draft, so obviously it came as a bit of a shock to see the 49ers this low in the order. The 49ers lost so much this past offseason that it’s hard to see them finishing as one of the top 10 overall teams in the NFL, but you never know. Regardless, the Niners absolutely need to upgrade their secondary after losing both Charvarius Ward and Talanoa Hufanga in 2025 NFL free agency. One player who isn’t a unanimous first-round guy right now but could be soon is Colorado’s DJ McKinney, a long player with great ball skills.
Key X-factor this season: 49ers need to stay healthy, and the key to this team being back in contention in the NFC overall might be Robert Saleh. He always gets the most out of his guys, but there are a lot of moving parts on his defense. How much can he elevate that talent?