Draft and develop the key to Packers' present and future success
The principles of draft and develop have put the Packers in position to succeed in 2021 and beyond.
By markoldacres
The prevailing feature of the 2021 Green Bay Packers has been their incredible ability to roll with the punches.
They have been hit by an almost unprecedented number of injuries to star players, and yet boast a comfortable lead in the NFC North and are just one game back of the NFC’s top seed, while also holding the tiebreaker over the first-place Arizona Cardinals.
Much has been made of the savvy pickups of De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas as factors in Green Bay’s success, and rightly so, but the organization’s long-held trust in a draft and develop strategy has set the table for this season’s championship charge, and will keep the Packers competitive in years to come.
The second word in that mantra, ‘develop’, is the most crucial one. This is too often forgotten by pundits around draft time, as analysis tends to focus on the idea of plugging holes in a present-day roster.
Brian Gutekunst rarely drafts for immediate need, and the Packers are routinely ridiculed when they dare to operate outside of group-think-driven ‘draft boards’ assembled by every analyst and their mother each Spring.
Draft picks are investments, and Green Bay’s GM simply selects prospects he believes have the potential to be the best players for his team in the long run. The Packers are usually the ones laughing in the end.
Another feature of this method is that rookies are not usually asked to contribute much for the Packers, instead learning the ropes from established veterans. As a result, when young players are eventually asked to step in and produce, they usually deliver.
Two perfect examples are AJ Dillon and Rashan Gary.
Dillon’s selection in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft raised eyebrows, and not just from Pro Football Focus. The Quadfather spent his rookie year as the Packers’ third-string running back behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, playing just 14 percent of Green Bay’s offensive snaps.
A year on, Dillon has established himself as a vital part of Green Bay’s attack, and is arguably outperforming Jones.
Back in 2019, Brian Gutekunst restocked the cupboard with pass rushers, signing Za’Darius and Preston Smith to lucrative deals in free agency. He then tripled down by drafting the raw but talented Rashan Gary with the 12th overall pick, the team’s highest selection in the previous 11 years.
Gary was used sparingly in his first two years, but has become indispensable as Green Bay’s best edge rusher this season with Za’Darius out injured. Having only turned 24 years old this week, Gary is becoming one of the most effective pass rushers in the NFL.
There are plenty of other examples, too. Darnell Savage was also drafted in 2019 and paired with the free agent acquisition of Adrian Amos. The duo has played a huge part in Green Bay’s defensive resurgence in 2021.
Eric Stokes has been thrown into the fire earlier than the Packers probably planned, but learning from the superstar Jaire Alexander and an established veteran like Kevin King can only have helped his relatively quick acclimation to the pro level.
And yes, the selection of Jordan Love is a continuation of this strategy, as Brian Gutekunst attempts to put a succession plan in place for life after Aaron Rodgers.
Even Yosh Nijman, an undrafted free agent signing from 2019, has stepped up big when called upon this season.
Yosh served as an enigma during his first two years in Green Bay, taking the field for just 14 offensive snaps in total. Many were left to wonder why the Packers were so determined to hold onto a guy who had done essentially nothing of note.
But when injuries struck and Nijman got his chance, he showed exactly why Gute and his staff were keen to keep him around. Nijman’s ability to hold up at left tackle has been a life-saver for the Packers, who have won every game Nijman has started.
Gutekunst’s adherence to the principles of draft and develop laid down by his predecessors and mentors means that even in down years, the Packers are set up to never be a truly poor team.
The Packers are staring at a truly horrific salary cap picture for 2022, but even in a worst-case scenario where they lose the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Marcedes Lewis, Billy Turner, Davante Adams, the Smiths, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, De’Vondre Campbell and Dean Lowry, they will still be left with a strong core to build around.
Of course, Jordan Love will have to prove he is ‘the guy’ to allow the Packers to continue contending for titles, but a roster containing Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage is still a strong one.
Crucially for Green Bay, even though they find themselves in a ‘Last Dance’ year, they have not surrendered a bevy of future premium draft picks to get there, unlike a certain team from Los Angeles whom the Packers just beat.
There is no guarantee Green Bay will hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February, and there is no doubt next year will look very different, but Packers fans should be thankful their organization is run the right way and has the chance to compete for championships, both now and in the future.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (63)
Packer_Fan
December 04, 2021 at 03:22 pm
I think the success is first highly dependent on Rodgers. Without him, this team could barely be a .500 team. Sure there are successes with drafting. The last few years of TT were pretty bad to hit on quite a few draft picks. Bak, Jones, Clark, Adams, and Rodgers are the few left. But TT left the cupboard bare for the defense and depth. Gute picked good up and comers and some very shrewd free agents picks. And the team has depth. Where I think the team has done really well is to develop depth. And that depth is driving the success the Packl is experiencing today. Good dependable backup players.
Coldworld
December 04, 2021 at 04:49 pm
Without him and his cap hit this team would have evolved completely differently. The roster would be mostly unrecognizable.
Draft snd develop is indeed part of this, but that’s too narrow. Key FAs like the Smiths and Amos, people from other PS’s like Douglas and even undrafted and develop like Nijman. Essentially, it’s no stone unturned. Aquire and develop as opposed to draft and develop alone and grab talent that is ready when we think they represent a value upgrade too.
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 07:36 am
I certainly will not argue against the idea that a team needs to explore every avenue of player acquisition. Absolutely correct.
That said, however, if we say "all avenues of player acquisition are equally important" ... no, that is wrong. Hitting in the draft is MORE important than hitting in free agency, because the draft will almost always bring you players at a cheaper price against the cap.
I myself have lauded Gutey for making some shrewd FA acquisitions - Za'darius Smith, for example. But to be fair I also need to say this: Green Bay is in cap hell next year, and when is the last time that this has happened in Green Bay? And why is it happening now all of a sudden? It's happening now precisely because Gutey went out and signed guys like Za'darius Smith. If it means we win the SB this year, awesome. If not, there's a pretty good chance we're screwed.
And what is Gutey's escape route to get out of cap hell? Dump Za'darius and his $28M cap hit next year, and roll with the guy that Gutey drafted, Rashan Gary. Let's hope that Gutey and Smith can find a way to renegotiate, but there's no way the Packers can stomach a $28M cap hit, IMO.
All avenues of player acquisition are important. But the draft is most important.
Thegreatreynoldo
December 05, 2021 at 05:02 am
In my opinion, GB is in cap hell for 2022 for one reason: Covid. There's no question in my mind that the Cap would have been $210M or so for 2021 - about $28M more than it turned out to be. There's no way Gute could have foreseen that in March of 2019. Moreover, the cap for 2022 probably would have been $218M or more, so another $10M extra in cap space.
If GB had $38M more in cap space available, there just would not have been much trouble with the cap. All the significant FAs Gute signed save Kirksey worked out well.
Now, I do agree that signing four FAs in 2019 was a stretch, and the contracts were back-loaded. Still, the only risk was that the salary cap limit would decrease - something that happened only once in NFL history (since 1994), and that was a 2.4% decrease in 2011 with the new CBA (and that decrease surprised the NFL and the Union). The NFL had 7 straight years with an increase of at least $10M, so a $16M decrease was hard to foresee.
I don't think I'd want Russ Ball to be so conservative that an unprecedented decrease in the cap could be navigated easily. But that's just me.
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 05:36 am
I don't think anyone can argue against the point that covid was unforeseeable. But if covid was unforeseeable for Gutekunst, then it was unforeseeable for every other NFL team as well. Compared to other NFL teams, Green Bay ranks #31 in 2022 cap space, and only New Orleans (with an atrociously bad minus $60 million) is in worse shape. And Green Bay is something like $20 million worse than the nearest competitor at #30, which is Dallas. Covid or no covid, it seems pretty clear that Gutey was cutting awfully close to the bone.
murf7777
December 05, 2021 at 07:11 am
Marpag1….I agree with your assessment. When they brought on the big 4 FA’s I declared this will hurt them down the road, especially if 2 of them don’t work out. Regardless of Covid we would still be in a negative SC. Your example of comparing to other teams dealing with Covid is right on.
I agree with “draft and develop” with an eye out for cheap acquisitions thru FA and trades. The SC is the great equalizer and the teams who manage it best prove to be the winningest franchises. LA Rams are the perfect example and the Eagles Dream Team of how bringing in Big name FA doesn’t provide a road to the SB. There are a situations where it has worked but its few and far between.
Congrats to Gute for hitting on all 4 FA acquisition in 2019.
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 03:14 am
"I think the success is first highly dependent on Rodgers."
OK. But Rodgers is pretty much the epitome of "draft and develop," right? I don't think Rodgers fell out of heaven from God and landed on the Packers' roster.
Crankbait
December 05, 2021 at 07:53 pm
He kind of did.
Lphill
December 04, 2021 at 04:58 pm
If only TT mixed in more free agents with the developing players .
Crankbait
December 04, 2021 at 09:35 pm
God bless TT he was a good man. However he was a terrible general manager with the defense after we won the Super Bowl with Rogers.
Wasted many years of Aaron Rodgers in his prime.
Coldworld
December 05, 2021 at 08:20 am
TT was a very good GM initially. We forget the mess we were in when he came. Unfortunately, he declined in effectiveness dramatically later on, quite probably due to health in retrospect. The shame is that the organization allowed that to continue so long at the cost of the roster and TT’s legacy.
Gee
December 05, 2021 at 12:37 pm
Thanks Coldworld as much as I complain about TT last five to seven years, what you wrote is bang on. Yep I still admire TT for the first couple of seasons, he made the tough decisions, to get the cap under control, cutting players with bad contracts and on the decline. After that I hated how it seemed, he just went through motions, never wavering from his philosophy, even if the game was passing him by. As much as I give Gute all the credit in the world for his finds, still he really was just doing everything in his control to improve the roster, as any good GM should.
murf7777
December 05, 2021 at 07:13 am
I agree if they were bargain acquisitions and he could’ve done more. But, many wanted him to go after the big name FA’s and that was a mistake more than not for the teams that did so.
barutanseijin
December 05, 2021 at 10:27 am
Really? Randy Moss and Marshawn Lynch were possible free agent acquisitions in the TT era & both worked out well for the teams where they landed. I get that you guys don't like Moss, but the guy is a HoFer.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 02:06 pm
I think Marshawn Lynch wins us at least one Super Bowl had TT pulled the trigger on that trade. :(
Bitternotsour
December 05, 2021 at 09:19 pm
Marshawn Lynch was a trade target, never a free agent. Seattle had better trade capital. Get over it. Randy Moss. In Green Bay? C'mon man.
Also, the Packers were right there year after year. Don't knock TT. You're out of your league.
TT didn't make Brandon Bostik destroy our dreams.
HarryHodag
December 04, 2021 at 05:00 pm
The draft will either make or break a team.
Green Bay has adopted what New England has done for years, namely draft players to fit the system. Gute's drafts are interesting because they often reflect the needs of one season past the present. A.J. Dillon is a prime example of that. I think the idea was to draft Stokes to work his way in this year behind King. But King's inability to stay on the field strikes again so Stokes has been learning by fire. Amari Rodgers is a huge question mark. Why hasn't he been able to get into the offense? Newman broke the mold by playing this much but has a future. Runyan might be difficult to keep out of the lineup. Slaton looks like a keeper.
I praise the Packers for using the develop approach to players. Many of the bad teams draft high then put the rookies on the field with not-so-good veterans and it all turns to mush again. Detroit is a fine example. The Packers have drafted low but were in no hurry to get rookies into the fray unless absolutely necessary.
2022 will likely be a down year as all of the players mentioned in the article are likely to be gone. But the offensive line will be good. If Turner leaves Nijman, now experienced, can take over. Love will have some game action to build on. He only needs to be good enough in Matt LF's offense. If Rodgers is traded, the Packers could pick up a starting wide receiver in the trade to take Adams' place.
Within the top three picks the Packers will need (in no particular order) another edge rusher, defensive lineman, and wide receiver.
If the Packers work out a deal with Rodgers they can afford, I would put Love on the market and draft another QB with the idea he would be Rodgers successor and that made clear to Rodgers.
Crankbait
December 04, 2021 at 09:37 pm
Gute needs to eat his humble pie and get rid of Kevin King. He is a liability in the backfield.
dblbogey
December 05, 2021 at 12:56 am
King is basically a decent NFL CB. He screwed up at the worst time last year, but has played some good ball too. He just doesn't stay healthy. Time to move on.
murf7777
December 05, 2021 at 07:17 am
I won’t give King a pass on that play, but I think it was more fault on the DC not having a safety back on that play. With only seconds left you should have two safeties deep. Scottie Miller is one of the fastest WR’s in the NFL and most if not all CB’s would have a hard time staying with him on a go route.
jannesbjornson
December 05, 2021 at 08:04 am
The head coach has a couple of key responsibilities and one of them is to keep a pulse on the moment and know when to call a timeout. Stokes was drafted to start over King. He has superior ability in man coverage. King has demonstrated why you do not pay for guys with bad shoulders.
Johnblood27
December 05, 2021 at 09:08 am
Eric Stokes has been thrown into the fire earlier than the Packers probably planned, but learning from the superstar Jaire Alexander and an established veteran like Kevin King can only have helped his relatively quick acclimation to the pro level.
To expand on the "learning" theme, Stokes can learn WHAT TO DO from Jaire (coverage) and Rasul (physicality-competitiveness), but he should learn WHAT NOT TO DO from KK (play to your strengths, not weaknesses). What not to do is usually taught by experience and not making the same mistake twice or continually. In this case, Stokes has an example to learn from.
jannesbjornson
December 05, 2021 at 10:46 am
He shut down the 'Bama WRs for two years in a row at Georgia. He is clearly outperforming the Five-year Veteran who didn't know how to secure the end zone in a championship game in his Fourth season. Not my idea of a mentor. One picks at the CB position are expected to start and he is the guy I want in that spot. Who knows if Jaire will suit up in '21.
HarryHodag
December 05, 2021 at 01:58 pm
King was drafted by Ted Thompson. Instead of picking T.J. Watt he picked King and the rest is history.
Another TT bust was drafting Nick Perry first, letting Harrison Smith go the Vikings where he became on All-Pro.
I could go on and on, but I won't.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 09:35 am
"I would put Love on the market and draft another QB with the idea he would be Rodgers successor..."
This is shaping up to be an horrendous draft year for QBs. Gutekunst's "one year out" viewpoint when drafting is why we have Love already on the roster to replace AR. WIthout Love, we'd be looking at what for our starting QB next year? Blake Bortles? Benkert? Some raw rookie QB? An out-of-favor QB like Kaepernick? Out current aging QB putting us even further in cap hell? Gutekunst has our next starting QB already on the roster; he won't waste a top draft pick on one this year.
stockholder
December 05, 2021 at 10:12 am
He should have never drafted Love.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 02:08 pm
You just validated my position. Thanks!
jannesbjornson
December 05, 2021 at 10:48 am
You will be looking at Rodgers.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 02:08 pm
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
$40+ million cap hit. Yeah, right.
HarryHodag
December 05, 2021 at 01:57 pm
I put that into the context if the Packers find a way to keep Rodgers next year then move Love. Just a wild possibility.
packer132
December 04, 2021 at 08:15 pm
Packers have the 2nd best record since 2010 behind the Patriots and 2nd in playoff appearances. It usually takes 2-3 years to grade a draft, though you have to like what Green Bay has done. 2019- Gary, Savage, Jenkins, Keke. 2020-Dillon, Deguara, Runyan, Garvin. 2021- Stokes, Myers, Amari Rodgers, Newman, Slaton, Hill. Going back: Alexander, MVS, EQ, Jones, Clark, Lowry. Packers draft at the bottom every year, and still have developed a strong core. A top QB is still the key, as look at the bottom teams without one; Houston, Chicago, Giants, Jets,Panthers, Washington, Lions. Add a few free agents/trades: Amos, Smith, Campbell, Douglas, Barnes, Bojo, Tonyan, Lazard, Turner, Nijman, Patrick. There are 32 teams trying to build the best team, and this might be the year the Packers win it all.
Crankbait
December 05, 2021 at 08:00 pm
Doesn't matter to me how good the Packers have been in the regular season for past 20 years..... the fact of the matter is overall they have sucked in the playoffs.
Am I negative? Sure.
Packers should have the Patriots super bowl record. we had two of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
Starrbrite
December 04, 2021 at 05:52 pm
Good article.
I’m not certain what what Stokes has learned from King? Maybe not to play 15 yards off the los and/or how to remain healthy.
splitpea1
December 04, 2021 at 05:54 pm
The approach should be flexible depending on the circumstances.
I would classify Alexander, Savage, and Stokes as "need" picks.
"Draft and develop" works best when supplemented by the RIGHT free agents.
Although Gary is an exception, very high draft picks should be able to step in and contribute relatively quickly. Take advantage of the rookie contract and save the project types for at least the mid-rounds.
Minniman
December 04, 2021 at 06:08 pm
"the Packers are routinely ridiculed when they dare to operate outside of group-think-driven ‘draft boards’ assembled by every analyst and their mother each Spring"
Does anyone else, when looking at draft boards, do any research into just who's putting them together - more often than not I'm left questioning or asking what credibility the content provider has in actually making these calls......... maybe next year I should invest in the CHTV Draft Guide, right Al?
I remember in the last draft, after the Stokes pick. The B\R draft analyst "hated" the pick.....and Aqib Talib loved it (said that he's a ball-player). Fast-forward to now and sure he's taking his proverbial lumps, but he's also showing equal solid\stud plays........... and he hasn't been lined up against the lower echelon of receivers this year either, these guys are the cream of the crop.
One thing that the current Packers seem to do - and to reasonable success - is mid round position loading in the draft. They did it with WR's, RB's, OL and DB's and bolstered all of these groups with "keepers" (MVS, Jones, Runyan, Sullivan [somewhat]).
murf7777
December 05, 2021 at 07:20 am
And Stokes is doing all of this as a Rookie and taking on the CB1 duties.
jont
December 04, 2021 at 06:44 pm
Off topic post here.
Apologies, but this is good news.
Aaron Donald has been fined $10,300 for grabbing Lucas Patrick‘s throat in the Ram’s humiliating loss to the Packers.
(Still no word on whether the ref standing right there when it happened has found his glasses yet.)
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 03:50 am
Meanwhile, CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys has been fined $5,150 and $15,450 for having his shirt untucked.
God forbid that his shirt should become untucked again, or else the fine will be $46,350.
True story.
jont
December 05, 2021 at 07:50 am
Odd. Half the players in the game, it seems, have their shirts untucked lately.
And every time a guy gets pulled down or slowed by a defender grabbing it, I remember Jerry Rice whose perfect uniform was a point of emphasis for him. He talked about it at youth football camps: prepare everything and get everything exactly right.
Packerlifer
December 04, 2021 at 06:52 pm
I'll wait until this season is accomplished before focusing too much on what's ahead. But I'm not too impressed with what little I've seen of Love so far. Because it worked with Favre to Rodgers doesn't mean that's always the way to go. It's in fact an historically rare feat and one that in fact happened because most of the rest of the league let A Rod fall into Ted Thompson's lap.
If Rodgers leaves Green Bay this off season and the Packers intend to stay in contention they may want to think about trading for Russell Wilson to keep the quarterback succession line going.
packer132
December 04, 2021 at 08:03 pm
I don't think anyone is expecting Love to be a great QB yet, at least not after one NFL game. Rodgers played 7 games in his first 3 years, and did not look good. He only picked it up in year #4 after starting full time. Who knows what Rodgers will do after the season? Lets enjoy this year with a good roster and Packers playing well. Who cares about Russell Wilson right now.
murf7777
December 05, 2021 at 07:24 am
I think trying to assess Love’s future is premature based on one game and some preseason work. He shows good and bad, but you can say that about most any new QB, ala, Favre, Rodgers, Peyton to name a few.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 09:53 am
Troy Aikman, too, although his first Dallas teams were at today's-Jets level, so there wasn't much to work with.
PhantomII
December 04, 2021 at 07:53 pm
There is another side to this draft and develop. Why did Dillon barely play last season and especially after he was let loose on the Titans.
Why does it take half the year and Jenkins hurt to get Nijman on the field. I'm sure he would have helped in the run game more than the rooks, the guy is huge. Why is Cobb forgotten about for long parts of the season? Why don't we pick up a return guy with good hands and speed. Why do we have a #1 WR and a #3 in Cobb and an excess of #4 WR's that drop the ball 50% of the time. We have a first ballot HOF QB. We should have been drafting future replacements of starting players...not waiting 3-4 years for a player to produce more than the UDFA he is replacing. We have a solid team this year and the year before. We need to do everything we can to keep Campbell and Douglas and move up as high as possible for a WR like Jefferson who will start day one, not wait 2-3 years to give our HOF QB a WR from XMAS past.
Packerlifer
December 04, 2021 at 08:44 pm
Dillon was slowed up in his development last year by covid so that, besides inexperience and the presence of Jamaal Williams in the stable had something to do with that.
PhantomII
December 04, 2021 at 11:49 pm
After the Titan game Dillon was legit #2 RB. ML has played him conservative to this very day. I believe if we used him more in the NFCC game, it would have made a difference in it. ML needs to run more for us to slow the pass rush so our play action will work better. Needs more backfield movement like Rams game. I liked Williams but he's not quite the thumper Dillon is.
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 04:51 am
"ML needs to run more ... so our play action will work better."
This theory sounds logical, but it is false. Or at least there is no evidence that supports it. A ton of people have studied this (notably Football Outsiders). It's even been right here at Cheesehead.
https://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/setting-up-play-action-with-the-run-is-false
The results are consistently the same: Play action works well, even if you rarely run, and even if you don't gain many yards by rushing. Running more often, or running more effectively, does NOT increase the effectiveness of play action.
Google it. It's all over the web.
Coldworld
December 05, 2021 at 08:29 am
It all depends how one defines it. However, If you ignore the definitions and boil it right down to the nub, most teams without a credible running threat or will to call running plays are defended differently and have more issues moving the chains consistently through a season. Slice it and dice it however you will semantically, the ability to run does help a passing offense.
marpag1
December 05, 2021 at 11:21 am
LOL. OK, sure. If you're going to "ignore the definitions" and disregard the actual meaning of words, then yeah, you might arrive at a totally different answer.
As for me, I'm speaking to the issue that was actually raised, based upon... you know... the definition of words and stuff.
PhantomII
December 05, 2021 at 11:29 am
Okay, never run the ball again. It never works or helps our team from getting our QB steam rolled or changes another teams formations on 1-2 down or 3rd and short with a 250 lb running back. We don't run the rock enough as is and don't have the elite WR's other teams do to go to the air on any given down. Your single point may be true, but overall we are a better team running more and or passing for first downs and picking our places to hurt them down field.
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 09:57 am
How do you know that MLF didn't call more run plays in that game? You forget (or choose to now remember), that AR can and does change plays at the line, and that a lot of plays are RPO anyway. Not saying that AR screwed the pooch with his play call changes, but changes like these do happen. You may also remember that Starr's QB sneak at the end of the Ice Bowl was a play that he himself changed from a handoff to Chuck Mercein.
Crankbait
December 04, 2021 at 09:41 pm
Finally, someone who sees the truth. Right there with you.
jannesbjornson
December 05, 2021 at 08:21 am
The collective brain trust has drafted THREE WRs with one picks since 1978. James Lofton is in the HOF, Sterling Sharpe should be inducted and the sherman outlier Javon Walker. Ted did move Walker for a two pick which was used on Jennings. No one thought Jefferson would fall to the shipwrecked sailors on the prairie and Aiyuk was definitely a target before Lynch moved ahead with a trade.
PhantomII
December 05, 2021 at 08:13 pm
Yes, a good GM needs to be decisive and anticipate where he needs to take a player. I laid out perimeters for top 5 or so WR's with Claypool being our #1 pick if we stayed put and Jefferson would have to move up to #20 to get him since Queens had an extra pick after Diggs went to Bills. I would have been happy with either one of those 2 before and after the draft.
Johnblood27
December 05, 2021 at 09:13 am
Leatherhead, you want to take this one?
I will defer to the second half...
stockholder
December 05, 2021 at 10:02 am
It seems Logical. But is it ??? Did Wolf think so? After all... Look how he brought back the Packers. He traded for Favre. He got Reggie White. And Look how he built the DL after that. I get the TT draft and development. He did surrounded Favre with some missing pieces. But he just couldn't get it figured out after 2010. So now your telling me Gute has. I disagree. The Wrs have been Rodgers complaint. The OL is living on TTs formula. And the secondary still still seems to be lacking someone. Until this year; the ILBs were a joke. And while you think Gute's right. Wolf wanted a DL, where Gute prefers a whim and a prayer. Has he drafted a difference maker for it.? No- TT did per Clark. And look at Wolfs compare to Gute's. ---- Sorry but this team can only win with Free Agents. I almost wish he just follow the cheesehead draft guide. He's had better opportunities. But still takes the formula over the fix. I guess the cap is just to complicated, for complete success. Wolf didn't believe in the Next man up theory. He believed in winning it all. And made those moves first.
Johnblood27
December 05, 2021 at 09:24 am
Earth to Stockholder... come in please...
Please, please no more Wolf - TT - Gute comparisons that do NOT take into account the vastly changing landscape of the NFL player acquisition, contract structure and salary cap.
All GBP GM's faced the same on-field challenge in building a Championship roster, however the means available to them and the rules they had to follow were vastly different. I will give you that Wolf (following Braatz) and TT (following Sherman-GM) had steeper climbs than Gute, even though TT left a bit of a bare cupboard the overall state of the franchise was better off than in the RW and TT beginnings.
It is impossible to have a meaningful conversation or make even a sentient point without those acknowledgements. I will not attempt to edu-ma-cate you in this space, please look it up and memorize the information.
stockholder
December 05, 2021 at 10:08 am
I had to show the comparison. You must acquire players other then the draft.
Johnblood27
December 05, 2021 at 10:42 am
certainly agree on that point
jurp
December 05, 2021 at 09:59 am
Please, stop trying to be an analyst... it's getting embarrassing.
Johnblood27
December 05, 2021 at 10:53 am
every team drafts. only some develop. impatience is an affliction and instant gratification is endemic in our society today.
each team gets to draft players each year. some teams choose to trade that opportunity for more immediate possibilities, at their peril.
even though each team drafts, the individual team perceived need or player value differs dramatically. teams that draft for immediate need take a greater chance than those that draft with the knowledge that their draft selection will take time to train to get optimal results. coach and gm contracts can push teams to look for immediate rewards, once again, at their peril.
some coaching staffs are heavy on nfl game planning strategizers and lighter on actual teaching coaches. this can make a big difference in how a teams long term success is approached and achieved.
each team has the chance to attract free agent players, some are more generous, some have better cultures, some have magnetic personalities pimping for them. some succeed, some do not, just the facts. for every adrian amos there seems to be two joe johnsons. free agency is also the number one ruination of salary caps followed closely by over-valuation of ones own players. the cap giveth and the cap taketh away.
think about the topics i have touched upon above. think about how the gbp approach these topics.
that is why i am a gbp fan for life.
ps - sorry for the lack of any capitalization, my shift key is broken.
HarryHodag
December 05, 2021 at 01:58 pm
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Brockrice99
December 06, 2021 at 09:28 am
I can see next year very much being like 2008. First year starting QB (most likely) we have like 0 cap space so probably no big free agent signings, and just draft guys to help for the future, and attempt to survive the season. Probably getting us to maybe 6 or 7 wins. But then in 2023 I could see us getting back to the normal Packers. Full year under Love's belt, more money to go spend on guys in much needed position, have our drafted guys stepping up big time, and hopefully continue to run the North again.