CHTV co-founders Corey Behnke and Aaron Nagler are joined by Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst to discuss the team’s offseason and outlook for 2025.
Draft day is finally here and the NFL Draft will take place tonight. The Green Bay Packers have four picks in the first two rounds of the draft for the first time since 1967 when Vince Lombardi was both coach and general manager. That’s 55 years ago for those of us keeping score at home.
This is a real opportunity for the Packers to improve the talent level on their roster and to gain some talented players who they can keep under control for four or possibly in the case of first round picks, five years at a relatively low cost.
The question remains how GM Brian Gutekunst will use these resources. The answer will unfold over the course of the draft. Will he trade up to grab one particular player, trade back to gain additional picks or stay put and use all four of these early picks as they stand now on the board. Will he acquire players via trade or sign another free agent? Time will tell.
But one thing Packers fans need to do is trust the process. In his first four years as Packers GM, Gutekunst has done a solid job of acquiring new talent in the early rounds of the draft even when many Packers fans on social media were disappointed with the picks initially.
The Packers have selected five players in the first round since Gutekunst took over as GM in 2018 and he has clearly hit on four of them. Jaire Alexander has already made a Pro Bowl and is considered one of the better cover cornerbacks in the NFL when he’s healthy. If he picks up where he left off pre-shoulder injury, he will once again be a shutdown corner.
Gutekunst picked up an extra first-round pick in 2019 when he traded back before drafting Alexander (he also later traded back up). In his second draft, he added Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage. Gary took time to make the adjustment to playing outside linebacker and adjusting to life in the NFL, but he led the Packers last season with 9.5 sacks and provided consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Meanwhile, Savage became a starter as a rookie and was playing at a Pro Bowl level in the second half of the 2020 season. While Savage still has his moments of inconsistent play, he is an established starter with the potential to get even better. The Packers are likely to pick up the fifth-year option on both Gary and Savage before the start of training camp this year unless they sign either of them to a long-term extension.
