The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers have competed in the National Football League (NFL) since 1921, two years after their original founding by Curly Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun. They are members of the Northern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) and play their home games at Lambeau Field in central Wisconsin.
The NFL draft, officially known as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings; the teams with the worst win–loss records receive the earliest picks. Teams that qualified for the NFL playoffs select after non-qualifiers, and their order depends on how far they advanced, using their regular season record as a tie-breaker. The final two selections in the first round are reserved for the Super Bowl runner-up and champion. Draft picks are tradable and players or other picks can be acquired with them.
The Packers participated in the first ever NFL draft in 1936 and selected Russ Letlow, a guard from the University of San Francisco. The Packers have selected the number one overall pick in the draft twice, choosing Paul Hornung in 1957 and quarterback Randy Duncan in 1959. They have also selected the second overall pick three times and the third overall pick once. On 14 different occasions the Packers have had two selections in the first round, while on four occasions they have had no selections. The team's eight selections from the University of Minnesota are the most chosen by the Packers from one university. Five first round draft picks by the Packers have gone on to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Hornung, Herb Adderley, Dave Robinson, James Lofton, and Sterling Sharpe), while two have won an NFL MVP Award (Hornung and Aaron Rodgers). John Brockington and Willie Buchanon, the team's first round selections in 1971 and 1972 won back-to-back NFL Rookie of the Year Awards (Brockington on offensive, Buchanon on defense), the only Packers' first round selections to win the award. The team's most recent first round selection was Matthew Golden, a wide receiver from Texas, in the 2025 NFL draft.
Player selections
+KeyInducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of FameInducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of FameMVPElected as the NFL Most Valuable PlayerROYElected as the NFL Rookie of the year BoldPlayer is currently active in the NFL
+Green Bay Packers first-round draft picks by seasonSeasonPickPlayer namePositionCollege 1936 7 GuardSan Francisco 1937 9 BackWisconsin 1938 7 BackPurdue 1939 9BackMinnesota 1940 9BackMinnesota 1941 7BackWisconsin 1942 9TackleMinnesota 1943 8 TackleMinnesota 1944 7GuardMichigan 1945 11BackTexas Tech 1946 6 BackMarquette 1947 6BackUCLA 1948 7BackWisconsin 1949 5BackNevada 1950 4 CenterMinnesota 1951 5 TackleMinnesota 1952 4 QuarterbackKentucky 1953 7HalfbackUSC 1954 3 TackleNotre Dame 4BackKansas State 1955 5LinebackerPurdue 1956 8HalfbackMiami (FL) 1957 1 HalfbackNotre Dame 4 EndMichigan 1958 3 LinebackerMichigan State 1959 1QuarterbackIowa 1960 5 Running backVanderbilt 1961 12 CornerbackMichigan State 1962 14Running backLSU 1963 14 LinebackerPenn State 1964 13Defensive endNebraska 1965 7 Running backTexas Tech 10Wide receiverBaylor 1966 9Running backIllinois 13 GuardMinnesota 1967 9GuardBoston College 25QuarterbackSan Diego State 1968 5 LinebackerUTEP 26GuardArizona 1969 12Defensive tackleVillanova 1970 2Defensive tackleNotre Dame 16Tight endElon 1971 9 Running backOhio State1972 7 CornerbackSan Diego State 11QuarterbackNebraska 1973 21Wide receiverFlorida State 1974 12Running backRichmond 1975 1976 23TackleColorado1977 9Defensive endKansas 28 Defensive endMorris Brown1978 6 Wide receiverStanford 26 LinebackerMichigan 1979 15Running backGeorgia Tech 1980 4 Defensive tacklePenn State 26LinebackerOklahoma 1981 6QuarterbackCalifornia 1982 22GuardIowa 1983 11CornerbackPittsburgh 1984 12Defensive endFlorida State 1985 7TackleUSC 1986 1987 4 Running backAuburn 1988 7 Wide receiverSouth Carolina 1989 2 TackleMichigan State 1990 18LinebackerMississippi 19Running backMinnesota 1991 19CornerbackOhio State 1992 5CornerbackFlorida State 1993 15LinebackerClemson 29SafetyAlabama 1994 16GuardNotre Dame 1995 32CornerbackArizona State 1996 27TackleUSC 1997 30GuardIowa 1998 19Defensive endNorth Carolina 1999 25SafetyClemson 2000 14 Tight endMiami (FL) 2001 10Defensive endFlorida State 2002 20 Wide receiverFlorida State 2003 29LinebackerOregon State 2004 25CornerbackArkansas 2005 24QuarterbackCalifornia 2006 5LinebackerOhio State 2007 16Defensive tackleTennessee 20082009 9Defensive tackleBoston College 26 LinebackerUSC 2010 23TackleIowa 2011 32TackleMississippi State 2012 28Defensive endUSC 2013 26Defensive endUCLA 2014 21SafetyAlabama 2015 30SafetyArizona State 2016 27Defensive tackleUCLA 2017 2018 18CornerbackLouisville2019 12Defensive endMichigan 21SafetyMaryland 2020 26QuarterbackUtah State 2021 29CornerbackGeorgia 2022 22LinebackerGeorgia 28Defensive endGeorgia 2023 13Defensive endIowa 2024 25TackleArizona 2025 23Wide receiver Texas 2026
See also Lists of Green Bay Packers players
Notes
References