Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has not made a huge trade during his tenure in Green Bay. However, it apparently has not been for a lack of trying. Gutekunst confirmed on Tuesday that he has tried to pull off trades in the past involving Green Bay’s first-round pick.
“Yeah, a couple times,” Gutekunst said on the subject, per Packers insider Bill Huber. “Didn’t happen, obviously.”
When asked why these trades fell through, Gutekunst simply replied “somebody offered more.”
Naturally, that leads to the question: which players did Gutekunst try and fail to acquire via trade?
Huber had a few ideas.
Which players could Packers GM Brian Gutekunst have tried to trade for?
Huber connected the dots on three players the Packers may have tried to trade for under Brian Gutekunst.
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First, Huber pointed to the Khalil Mack trade from 2018. Clay Matthews and Nick Perry were Green Bay’s primary pass rushers at the time and combined for only five sacks during the 2018 season. During the 2019 offseason, the Packers were big spenders on pass rushers. They signed both Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency and drafted Rashan Gary in the first round.
It is reasonable to assume Green Bay was interested in Mack, but unwilling to pay the price Chicago did for him.
The second player is WR Stefon Diggs. Huber suggested that the Packers wanted to add Diggs, upgrading the weapons around Aaron Rodgers. He was ultimately traded to the Bills and the Packers traded up in the draft for Jordan Love.
Finally, Huber pointed to DT DeForest Buckner. The Colts acquired him from the 49ers on the same day as the Stefon Diggs trade. At the time, Green Bay had Dean Lowry and Tyler Lancaster as their starting interior defenders. Huber speculates that the Packers could have used a disruptive force like Buckner, who ended up being a first-team All-Pro with almost 10 sacks.
The Packers hold the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. That likely won’t be enough by itself to acquire a star player in a trade this offseason.
Ultimately, Packers fans can remain content building through the draft.
