Brian Gutekunst started his first draft as Packers GM on fire. He traded down in the 1st round with the Saints in exchange for another 1st round pick the following year, then moved up to take Jaire Alexander (the best cornerback in the NFL).
It was the biggest steal the Packers scored by trading a draft pick since Brett Favre.
In his second draft, Gutekunst traded up with the Saints pick to take Darnell Savage (who has been a starter since Day 1) after grabbing Rashan Gary (who looks like a breakout player) earlier in the round. Then he took Elgton Jenkins (who made the Pro Bowl last year) in the second round.
Last year, he took Jordan Love, who (we hope) will be the quarterback of the future and set the Packers up for another decade plus of high-end play from the quarterback position (again, we hope).
At that level, it looks like Gutey is really lighting it up, especially after his predecessor struggled to nail his 1st round picks, taking guys like Datone Jones and Damarious Randall (and, gasp, passing on TJ Watt).
But if we look a little deeper into Gutey’s drafting, things don’t looks quite as rosy.
Last year, his draft class was a… uh, let’s just say it didn’t pay immediate dividends, since no one from the class started more than a handful of games as a rookie (and those starts pretty much all came as the result of an injury to as starter).
The year before, after hitting big with picks in the 1st and 2nd round, he failed to grab a single player who has made a difference.
In 2018, after getting Jaire Alexander, he managed to get an inconsistent deep threat and a mediocre punter.
That’s it.
Three drafts, with four 1st round picks, and he’s only been able to find four players who have started more than 6 games per year in Alexander, Savage, Jenkins, and MVS.
The draft can be a crapshoot, but even bad teams can get more than one starter out of each draft, especially when they get an extra 1st round pick. And it’s not like last decade, when the Packers were always picking around 30. Gutey had a couple chances in the top 15 before trading.
Sure, it’s possible that guys like Gary, Jon Runyan, Kamal Martin, and yes, even Jordan Love, could become starters in the future. But right now, Gutey’s drafts have not paid great dividends.
It may be a little early to judge the 2020 draft, but his 2019 and 2018 classes, which have had a couple years to develop, simply haven’t had that much of an impact.
It’s nice to see guys like Jaire and Alexander and Elgton Jenkins come in with high picks, but championship-winning teams teams are built when teams find starters, or even stars, on Day 3.
As it stands, the Packers are winning despite Brian Gutekunst’s track record in drafting.
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March 28, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Is Brian Gutekunst Really Any Good At Drafting? - Cheesehead TV
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