The story of Brian Gutekunst, general manager of the Packers since early 2018, is an interesting one. After taking the reins from the late Ted Thompson, Gutekunst made an early impact, trading up to pick No. 18 and selecting future All-Pro Jaire Alexander.
He followed that up with the jarring, mind-boggling Jordan Love selection two years later. Despite early success, Gutekunst has struggled to draft Pro Bowlers lately, leading fans to develop a strange love-hate relationship with him. Nevertheless, he signed a contract extension that ties him to Green Bay for the foreseeable future.
Gutekunst’s 2022 draft is widely regarded as his best. That year’s class included solid defensive starters Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, and Kingsley Enagbare. On offense, a trio of offensive line starters in Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker, coupled with receivers Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, polish off an impressive spread of talent.
So, what can we learn here? Avid Packers fans know about Gutekunst’s love for raw, athletic talent out of college. Gutekunst frequently drafts project players in early and late rounds.
Guys like Jordan Love and Edgerrin Cooper are examples of early-round projects who panned out. Conversely, Lukas Van Ness and Eric Stokes are examples of this backfiring. Van Ness showed flashes last season, but most still agree that using his pick on a more established college star would’ve been more beneficial.
In all honesty, the first round Georgia duo of Walker and Wyatt was a risk that (somewhat) paid off, but is hard to replicate. Although they played on a historically dominant Georgia defense, they still came out of college lacking veteran football IQ, relying more on speed and pure talent. The real meat of the 2022 class is to be found in Gutekunst’s Day 2 and 3 picks.
The typical draft blueprint involves taking more raw talent later in the draft, since those picks carry much less risk of blowing up. That has been Gutekunst’s specialty lately, particularly in 2022. His Day 3 picks tend to be pleasantly surprising and are the least of Green Bay’s concerns.
It’s becoming blatantly clear how important this upcoming draft is for Green Bay. For a team appearing to go “all-in,” rookie contracts are the best way to increase a championship window. That’s how the Los Angeles Rams salvaged their salary-cap/draft-pick nightmare after they went all-in to win a championship in 2021.
Brian Gutekunst rarely drafts Packers fan-favorite picks; the two most prominent from recent seasons are All-Pro Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Pro Bowler Cooper DeJean. If Gutekunst wants to keep this dynamic yet porous roster afloat, he needs to nail his early picks.
Gutekunst should look into more established college stars, rather than developmental players who will barely see the field in their first two seasons. However, if he continues this trend, the Packers will be in cap hell with Love and Parsons by the time any of his picks see meaningful playing time.
On a more positive note, Gutekunst’s strategy in 2022 (and almost every other year) involved drafting multiple players at the same position. That worked out with Watson and Doubs, as well as the OL trio.
The Packers could apply the “one of them will surely pan out” mentality to DT and CB in this draft. That worked especially well in 2023, when Gutekunst selected two tight ends and two receivers, with one of each emerging as a star (Kraft and Reed).
To consider this coming draft a success, most would agree the Packers need to draft at least one solid cornerback and one solid defensive lineman. Sure, a starting offensive lineman would always be appreciated, but recent drafts haven’t exactly bolstered this expectation.
If this draft is anything like 2022 with solid starters all over Gutekunst’s late-round spread, Green Bay could be poised for a deep run next season with stars at all positions ready to go.