GREEN BAY, Wis. — Maybe J. Michael Sturdivant never should’ve gone undrafted.
But that’s what the Green Bay Packers were hoping for when they opted against drafting the wideout when he was still on the board by the time the seventh round began. The Packers dealt a pair of seventh-round picks—Nos. 236 and 255—to the Seattle Seahawks to move up in the sixth round and draft rookie kicker Trey Smack. They needed a fresh leg after the way Brandon McManus’ 2025 campaign ended, and he wasn’t their long-term answer.
It turns out the Packers were able to have their cake and eat it, too. After landing Smack, they were still able to sign Florida’s Sturdivant—and a teammate of Smack’s—as a priority free agent following the conclusion of the draft. Both players have blossomed into summer standouts for the Packers, with Smack converting on all nine of his field goal attempts across three preseason games, and Sturdivant showcasing a tremendous, savvy skill set that earned him a spot on the team’s initial 53-man roster.
