I have been on every side of the debate on what Packers GM Brian Gutekunst may be thinking ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.
At first I thought,”He’s going to trade draft capital for a vet,”
Then I had thought,”He’s gonna trade up with all that capital and go after a stud like Cooper Dejean,”
Recently I started thinking, “He’s going to trade down for a lineman like Graham Barton,”
I now find myself landing deeper into the, “He’s going to sit pretty at 25 and let the board fall to him,” camp.
Granted it’s different for those of us obsessively going between simulators to hammer out our 1,000th Mock Draft. I myself have spent an embarassing amount of time going through imaginary trades and getting the warm and fuzzies from website algorithms deciding how the board is going to fall.
“We Have No Idea What Our Needs Are Going To Be 6 Months From Now….”
At the end of the day we are all just offering up conjecture. Moreover, Gutey and the top brass are the only ones that really know how the draft is shaping up.
I wanted to reshare this clip from my article last week. I think it perfectly lays out how he sees their position in the draft. Additionaly, I wanted to reiterate and drive home the concept of just letting those 11 picks fall to them.
Brian Gutekunst 1-on-1: ‘We have a very strong locker room’ – Green Bay Packers GM Brian. Gutekunst talks about the Packers’ offseason during the Annual League Meeting.
Remembering the Past
First of all, everyone always seems to have short memories surrounding the draft. Each year we fill out our little cheat sheets with prospects that we just absolutely NEED to be drafted. Then we all tune in to have our hearts broken.
However, that being said, the creator reactions can be absolutely incredible. I put together a little compilation of that pick…
Like I’ve said before, these decisions include conversations that are not out there for all of us to hear. I know we all have our opinions and draft crushes abound. Still, we are better off staying on the armchair while the folks in charge make the tough calls. I myself was knee deep in the belief that JSN was going to come in to save the day, to now wondering where we would be without Jayden Reed, Tay Wicks, and company.
As much as we want to see top prospects landed, the Packers tend to find gold in the greenery of later rounds (see what I did there) and we need to have faith in leadership.
Draft & Develop Is The Program, But Trading Picks Is The Secret Sauce
Looking back at the Packers historically, it’s very clear that the program is draft and develop. Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has notoriously looked for hidden gems outside of the draft as well, and there’s a pretty good track record of polishing a few diamonds in the rough.
That being said, here’s a snippet from Wikipedia showing the last 5 years selections in the first round. Tell me if you see a trend…
The Packers have certainly not been shy to throw their weight around in trading draft picks to get someone they want. Looking through the list I was actually surprised by the number of early round trades. Naturally, this also confirms that same talking point we have to listen to week in and week out during the season.
“They have 8 or more first round picks on that defense,”….Every pundit in the NFL.
As if we had forgotten…
Sitting Pretty At 25
The 2024 NFL Draft has an impressive talent pool. Coupled with the depth of available prospects in later rounds, I think Gutey will be happy to let the draft board fall to him. The best player available at 25 is still likely to be someone that would normally be in the top 15 any other year. Wouldn’t be shocked to see a trade, but I think the Packers are sitting just fine where they are.
I am itchin for that meat and taters lineman draft to make a comeback. I know the bigger stories right now are surrounding Graham Barton and Jackson Powers-Johnson, but I also saw that Amarius Mims made a stop by 1265 yesterday.
3 Weeks, Might As Well Say 3 Years
We are less than a month away and the anticipation is palpable. Do you have your draft night watch party and beverages picked out yet? Those are decisions we can make that have an actual effect on the night haha.
In the end, we are going to have to wait and see what that board looks like and maybe just MAYBE this year we can all just keep our cool while Gutey works his magic.
For a full breakdown of the best Green Bay Packers prospects, click the image below and get yourself the 2024 CheeseheadTV Draft Guide.
