Draft week opened with Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst meeting with reporters for his annual pre-draft chat. The nearly 20 minute session covered plenty of ground without any earth shattering pronouncements. In his 5th Packer draft as GM, Gutekunst will have 11 picks at his disposal including two choices in each of the first two rounds, the most ammunition he’s had at the top of the draft. The extra first and second round selections are courtesy of the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for All Pro wide receiver Davante Adams, traded by Gutekunst on March 17.
The void left by arguably the game’s best receiver, not to mention the free agent departures of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Equanimeous St. Brown leaves the Packers precariously thin at the position and it’s expected one and maybe two will be added by the end of round three on Friday night.
Several questioners tried to pry the GM’s intentions from him but as you’d expect, he didn’t bite. Gutekunst did however talk about how recent high picks at receiver had no trouble jumping into the NFL and excelling, players like Minnesota’s Justin Jefferson or last year dynamic rookie JaMar Chase with the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals. Gutekunst says there are no guarantees any of the celebrated receivers in this year’s class can do the same.
When Adams was drafted in the second round in 2014, the Packers had Jordy Nelson as the established number one receiver on the team. James Jones and Randall Cobb were veterans Adams could learn from. Cobb, in his second tour of duty with the Pack is not quite in the same class as Nelson was in his prime and Allen Lazard is far from established. Could that change the dynamic with a new cast of characters coming on board this weekend?
Javon Walker was the last receiver taken in the opening round by the Packers, way, way back in 2002. That streak is likely to come to an end. Gutekunst did add one veteran receiver to the mix in Sammy Watkins and he said he believes “he still has some juice left.” Another veteran could still join the mix.
Gutekunst knows he’s in an advantageous position having four picks in the top 59 and they have had discussions internally about the possibility of packaging picks to move up or down on Thursday night but pulling the trigger will depend on how the early portion of round one falls.
The overall depth of this year’s class is strong said the GM, particularly with big men on the offensive and defensive lines. Adding to the depth is the fact a host of players opted to return for an extra year of college eligibility thanks to the pandemic. Perhaps on the down side is some players are already aged 24 and some will turn 25 before their rookie season is over.
Packer needs go beyond receiver of course, an offensive tackle, another edge rusher and interior defensive lineman have to be on the wish list as well.
Gutekunst said his 5th draft calling the shots is no more important than his first:
On a couple of other notes, Gutekunst knows the 5th year option for the last pair of first round picks, Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage taken in 2019 is under consideration but he’s going to address those two players after the draft.
Will Aaron Rodgers be consulted on the weekend decisions? Gutekunst said the dialogue between the front office and the quarterback will continue the way it developed throughout last season but he’ll hold off on discussing any specifics.
