Gutekunst’s Five Best NFL Draft Picks as Packers GM

Posted by Admin April 25, 2024 NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. – When the Green Bay Packers are on the clock for the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday night, general manager Brian Gutekunst will try to extend his hitting streak to three.

Gutekunst is on a two-year heater. His 2022 draft landed eight significant contributors out of 11 picks: Quay Walker, Devonte Wyatt, Christian Watson, Sean Rhyan, Romeo Doubs, Zach Tom, Kingsley Enagbare and Rasheed Walker. Other than Enagbare, everyone on the list could be in the Week 1 starting lineup.

The 2023 draft looks just as strong. Of his 13 picks, Lukas Van Ness, Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed, Tucker Kraft, Dontayvion Wicks, Karl Brooks, Anders Carlson and Carrington Valentine earned major roles as rookies. Colby Wooden and Anthony Johnson got on the field with regularity, too, and Sean Clifford was the backup quarterback.

Gutekunst deflected credit, no doubt aware that draft success can be fleeting.

“I think we’ve pretty much been around here for a long time,” Gutekunst said of himself and his key lieutenants. “We believe in the draft. It’s the biggest part of what we do, so we put a lot of time and effort into it, so I think that’s why we’ve had a lot of the success we’ve had.

“I think the last couple years, there’s been a lot of opportunity for these young guys, where maybe there wasn’t in the past. And I think the opportunity can lead to these guys getting to where they’ve gotten to so quickly. If they don’t have that opportunity, it’s much harder. So, I think that’s probably the biggest thing.”

Here are his five best draft picks.

No. 5 – 2023: Jayden Reed

OK, this one might be premature, but the Packers were looking for their first dynamic slot receiver since Randall Cobb when they used a second-round pick on Reed last year. Reed might wind up being even better.

Along with breaking Sterling Sharpe’s franchise rookie record for receptions, Reed became the first rookie in NFL history with at least 60 receptions, 750 receiving yards, eight receiving touchdowns, 100 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a season. He’s tough, sure-handed and elusive. Oh, and Gutekunst selected Reed after trading back twice and acquiring picks that became Dontayvion Wicks and Karl Brooks.

No. 4 – 2019: Elgton Jenkins

Gutekunst has drafted only two Pro Bowlers. One of them is Jenkins. He was a Pro Bowl guard in 2020, filled in admirably at left tackle before tearing an ACL in 2021, then earned Pro Bowl honors again at right tackle and left guard in 2022. He’s infinitely better than the three lineman who went ahead of him in that second round: Greg Little, Cody Ford and Dalton Risner. A stud blocker from the moment he arrived, he’s also grown into a team leader.

No. 3 – 2018: Jaire Alexander

Alexander is the other Pro Bowler drafted by Gutekunst, who traded back and then up in a masterful sequence of first-round wheeling and dealing. The two-time All-Pro, when dialed in and healthy, is one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. In six seasons, he’s allowed only a 52.0 percent catch rate, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Last year was not his best year. It will be fascinating to see if the arrival of new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and a new role in the secondary will kick-start him for the next phase of his career.

No. 2 – 2022: Zach Tom

Tom was the fourth-to-last pick of the fourth round in 2022. Of players drafted during the final four rounds, maybe only 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy has been more impactful.

Tom blossomed into a cornerstone of the franchise and one of the top right tackles in the NFL last season. While left tackles make the biggest bucks, right tackle is a premium position. Of the nine edge rushers with at least 80 pressures in 2023, six rushed primarily against the right tackle at least two-thirds of the time. Tom faced all of them and allowed one sack in seven total matchups.

No. 1 – 2020: Jordan Love

On Thursday night, one quarterback after another is going to be selected in the first round. Without a quarterback, a team has no chance for success.

Gutekunst did the unthinkable four years ago when he traded up in the first round to select Love, even with Aaron Rodgers under contract and the team coming off a trip to the NFC Championship Game. It might have been career suicide for Gutekunst had Love flopped.

Love mostly certainly did not flop. During the second half of the season, Love went on a Rodgers-type roll with 21 touchdowns vs. one interception spanning the win against the Chargers at Lambeau and the win against the Cowboys in the playoffs. Just like that, Gutekunst has reset the championship clock for another 15 years.