The Green Bay Packers have one of the most difficult assignments in the NFL. They play in the highly competitive NFC North and that means there are no easy victories on the schedule. All four teams in the division have had legitimate playoff opportunities in the last two seasons.
The Packers have made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. The Chicago Bears won the NFC North last season. Neither the Detroit Lions nor the Minnesota Vikings made the playoffs last year, but those two teams had the best records in the NFC in the 2024 season.
The Packers are looking to step up in all areas in an effort to gain an edge on the competition. The Packers have attempted to do that with their sixth-round selection in the NFL Draft. They became the first team to select a kicker in 2026, as they drafted Trey Smack of Florida to take over the placekicking responsibilities.
This is a move that could be considered fine-tuning the Green Bay operation. Brandon McManus was the Packers kicker last year and he had a good but not great season. He made 24 of 30 field goals attempts last year, succeeding on 80 percent of his attempts. However, he was just 3 of 7 on attempts between 40 and 49 yards and 3 of 5 on those of 50 yards or more.
Smack has a big leg and he served as Florida’s kicker for three seasons. He made 82.8 percent of his FG attempt throughout his career. Smack made 18 of 22 FG attempts last year, including his career long of 56 yards. He demonstrated excellent consistency on long attempts, making 10 of 13 tries from 50 yards and beyond.
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