With the 2025 Green Bay Packers draft class officially registered and in the process of being signed, we now wait to see which players will have successful careers in Green Bay.<\/p>\n
It generally takes about three years to gauge whether a prospect will live up to their draft status, but that\u2019s not a hard and fast rule. Some players are late bloomers, and others peak early. Some don\u2019t really get a chance to break out until they find another team.<\/p>\n
For all the work that goes into draft analysis, no one can accurately project every player\u2019s NFL career. Mel Kiper is the face of the modern NFL draft, and once said<\/a> he\u2019d retire if Jimmy Clausen<\/a> wasn\u2019t a successful NFL quarterback. Obviously, Kiper didn\u2019t follow through on that.<\/p>\n Still, many will stick to their pre-draft biases long after the draft. Even Brian Gutekunst will take a swing on a player because of their draft pedigree (look at the signings of Andre Dillard<\/a> and Isaiah Simmons<\/a>).<\/p>\n For fun, I\u2019ll take a look at my favorite draft picks of the Brian Gutekunst era, round by round, and look at how their career panned out compared to their pre-draft analysis.<\/p>\n Round 1: Matthew Golden<\/a>, WR, Texas (2025)<\/p>\n This one probably isn\u2019t fair because it just happened, and Golden has yet to play a single down for the Packers. There\u2019s no way to judge his career fairly because it hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n But, by Odin\u2019s beard, who couldn\u2019t be excited by the Packers finally taking a first-round wide receiver, and such a fun one? Green Bay\u2019s first-rounders are typically surprising in the moment. Often, the GM passes on fan favorites to take a less-celebrated player who actually makes quite a bit of sense on paper. In the moment, cautious optimism was more in play than true excitement.<\/p>\n So maybe I suffer from New Toy Syndrome, but Golden is the first pick of this regime that got me hooting and, I\u2019ll admit it, hollering. The Packers needed a wide receiver, especially one with speed. Golden\u2019s career will be under a microscope<\/a> as the first first-round wide receiver taken since 2002, especially considering the Packers could have gotten a luxury package had they traded out of the spot.<\/p>\n Round 2: Christian Watson<\/a>, WR, North Dakota State (2022)<\/p>\n Any charitable soul who has read my work<\/a> over the past few years knows I\u2019m a Christian Watson truther<\/a>. Had the Packers successfully traded back into the first round to get him, he\u2019d take the Round 1 crown. Thankfully, Gutekunst got him in the second round, saving me from writing about my woefully wrong excitement toward 2018\u2019s Josh Jackson<\/a>.<\/p>\n Watson\u2019s top-flight athleticism, dynamic speed, and experience as a run blocker made him a tantalizing fit for Matt LaFleur\u2019s offense despite his raw route-running abilities. An unfortunate injury history<\/a> has kept him from becoming a true star, but he\u2019s been a key component of this offense\u2019s best form. Watson\u2019s field presence alone causes pressure, and he has the most reliable hands on the team and is the best man-beater the Packers have.<\/p>\n Round 3: Jace Sternberger<\/a>, TE, Texas A&M (2019)<\/p>\n One could say I was dead wrong about this one. At the time, the Packers were still chasing a true weapon at tight end they hadn\u2019t had since Jermichael Finley<\/a>, and this was a deep class. I really wanted one of the Iowa tight ends (T.J. Hockenson<\/a> and Noah Fant<\/a>). Still, I was thrilled to get Sternberger, a touchdown machine, in the third round.<\/p>\n Sternberger had 10 touchdowns in his final collegiate season but lacked run-after-catch and blocking ability. Still, it seemed like he could catch on early as a red-zone threat and eventually develop his other skills.<\/p>\n It was a short road thanks to missing time and not picking up the offense, and the Packers released him in 2021. After bouncing around a few other NFL teams, Sternberger has built a successful career with the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL\/UFL.<\/p>\n Round 4: Zach Tom<\/a>, OL, Wake Forest (2022)<\/p>\n No team turns Day 3 offensive talent into stars like the Packers, but it had been a few years since it happened. Royce Newman<\/a> had a promising<\/a> rookie season before falling from grace<\/a>, while Jon Runyan<\/a> Jr. didn\u2019t earn a second contract.<\/p>\n Tom\u2019s two first names and history at both tackle and center made him an intriguing player to develop. Despite his experience at left tackle, Scouts believed that Tom was destined to become a successful interior lineman. Perhaps that\u2019s still true, with Tom\u2019s best position a popular topic of discussion<\/a>. But Tom surprised most people by getting his first shot at tackle and excelling. Entering the final year of his rookie deal, Tom should<\/a> see an extension soon and is another late-round OL success story.<\/p>\n Round 5: Jacob Monk<\/a>, OL, Duke (2024)<\/p>\n My 2024 first-round draft crush was Graham Barton<\/a>, Monk\u2019s teammate. Still, I was pleased with Monk, an experienced and versatile player with the quintessential \u201cvibes\u201d of an offensive lineman. I thought<\/a> Monk could be ready to step in immediately and even push Josh Myers<\/a> for time at center.<\/p>\n Not only did that not happen, but Monk was a healthy scratch for much of the 2024 season, even with interior offensive line depth almost nonexistent. By the time Elgton Jenkins<\/a> exited the Wild Card loss, LaFleur was throwing in tackles to shore up the gap. Monk\u2019s NFL career has only begun. Hopefully, he can get in the coaching staff\u2019s good graces, but it wasn\u2019t a promising rookie season.<\/p>\n Round 6: Karl Brooks<\/a>, DT, THE Bowling Green State University (2023)<\/p>\n Not many Bowling Green players get drafted, so any time one does, it\u2019s cause for celebration. Brooks wasn\u2019t the typical Packers pick, with a lower RAS and playing for a non-Power Five school. But in his time at Bowling Green, Brooks dominated the MAC, the nation\u2019s best conference, and was ready to contribute as a rookie.<\/p>\n Am I just a biased alumnus? You bet! But it\u2019s hard to deny Brooks has become a fun rotational player on the defensive line, and who could forget his finger<\/a> saving the Packers from a loss to the Chicago Bears last season?<\/p>\n