In just a matter of days, Brian Gutekunst will make his first selection in the NFL draft as General Manager of the Green Bay Packers.
It’s a responsibility he’s not taking lightly for his decisions will set the course of the franchise for years to come.
Gutekunst succeeded Ted Thompson who was given the role of football operations consultant after his 13 year run as GM, a tenure that began with the drafting of Aaron Rodgers, earned the Packers a fourth Super Bowl championship and kept the franchise in title contention throughout.
Gutekunst was around for all of that, having spent 20 years in the scouting business and now he assumes the personnel reins of the organization.
He held his first pre-draft news conference on Monday, in advance of Thursday night’s first round and the drafting will continue Friday night and all day Saturday, headquartered at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Gutekunst said Thompson will still have a role on draft weekend, seated at the draft room table with the other top scouts.
The new GM was once on that table when Thompson’s chief lieutenants were the likes of John Schneider, John Dorsey, Reggie McKenzie and Eliot Wolf but now Gutekunst has his own group and it’s their turn to keep the Packers among the NFL’s elite.
Gutekunst didn’t stray much from the ‘ol best player available versus need debate. He’ll stay true to his board that’s been developed for months but when his value based rankings have that best player graded identically to one that fits a need, the scale might tip toward need.
He said there won’t be much difference in the operation selecting 14th in the first round Thursday night, thanks to the painful 7-9 campaign last year, versus the perennial 25th to 30th position. There will be a fewer number of players targeted at that spot and if there’s the expected run of quarterbacks early, that number will continue to shrink.
Armed with a league high 12 selections, the trade calls are already being placed but they are more of a feeling out conversation at this point. Once the drafting begins, they’ll heat up and Gutekunst has the inventory to conduct serious discussions including having the first pick in rounds four and five on Saturday as part of the Damarious Randall for DeShon Kizer trade with the Cleveland Browns.
With the draft board in place, Gutekunst said he’ll hold a couple of scenario review meetings this week and wait out a long day on Thursday. In years past, he’d stop by the office early in the morning but then escape Lambeau to spend time with his family or even release some tension on the golf range before rolling up his sleeves and start getting involved in the picking
Only now, the picking is all on him.
________________________________
Mark Daniels reporting from Lambeau Field