Packers 2018 Draft: Brian Gutekunst will face tough decision at No. 14

As new Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst attempts to fix both the pass rush and secondary, he could be faced with a tough decision in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft.

In the NFL you need to have both talented edge rushers and cornerbacks. If you can tick those boxes, everything else on defense becomes much easier. Unfortunately for the Green Bay Packers, they need both.

Here comes the good news. New general manager Brian Gutekunst has a league-high 12 draft picks to help him out, and he’ll also be selecting 14th overall, the team’s highest choice since 2009.

Selecting this high gives the Packers a fantastic opportunity to land a true difference maker on defense. While it’s possible to find such a talent anywhere in the draft — there are shining examples around the league such as Mike Daniels (picked in the fourth round), Richard Sherman (fifth round) and Josh Norman (fifth round) — regularly picking high increases your odds.

The Packers’ all-important first-round pick will also be Gutekunst’s first as GM. Talk about pressure. Here he has an opportunity to land a potential superstar, likely on defense, to help the Packers become a better football team.

Assuming Gutekunst doesn’t trade down, he will have a tough decision at No. 14. Even if there isn’t a run on quarterbacks early on, and somehow 13 non-QBs are drafted before the Packers, Gutekunst would still have plenty of talent to choose from. But in all likelihood, two, maybe even three quarterbacks will be off the board. That helps Green Bay.

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We can forget about Saquon Barkley and Bradley Chubb and probably Quenton Nelson too. But it’s still possible a big-time talent like Minkah Fitzpatrick or Denzel Ward slips to No. 14, even if unlikely.

There’s also a very good chance a top cornerback prospect and top edge rusher will still be on the board at No. 14. That could mean choosing between a talented edge rusher such as Harold Landry or Marcus Davenport and a highly-rated corner like Josh Jackson.

Ultimately that would come down to a few things. First, and most important, would be who Gutekunst has higher on his overall board. But if his grades are similar, other factors such as depth at each position in the draft class could make the difference.

But Gutekunst also has to consider moving up or down from No. 14. If there is a player he loves, attempting to trade up early on would make a lot of sense. That could mean jumping into the top-10, or trading back into the first round later on.

Peter Bukowski of FanSided has the Packers doing the latter in his latest seven-round mock draft. In his mock, Green Bay stayed at No. 14 to pick Marcus Davenport, but jumped back up into the first round to land Josh Jackson. If Gutekunst pulled that off for real on draft day, he’d have no complaints from me. With 12 picks, the Packers are in a perfect position to be aggressive.

Gutekunst has already shown he’s willing to get creative to try and bring in new players. He’s already signed three big-name free agents (Jimmy Graham, Muhammad Wilkerson and Tramon Williams), traded for another (DeShone Kizer) and attempted to add Kyle Fuller from the Bears by signing him to an offer sheet.

Gutekunst isn’t afraid to make a big move.

But whatever route he takes, it has to work. If Gutekunst takes the gamble by moving up for a player he loves, he’ll accept the risk of it backfiring in a big way.

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The same is true if he stays put at No. 14. There he has a great chance to give the defense a significant upgrade at a position of need.

The Packers will have options in the first round, and that is good. But Gutekunst will be faced with a big decision, and it sure won’t be an easy one.

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