Packers: Ranking the top five offseason moves in 2019

3. Trading up for Darnell Savage Jr.

Another exciting part of the new Green Bay Packers is that they are more than willing to be aggressive to bring in the players they want. The aggressiveness shown by general manager Brian Gutekunst is a positive as it shows he is fully aware this team needs to win now. Gutekunst recognizes where the team needs to improve, and which players available can help at those key positions. And he’s then willing to either spend big in free agency, or trade up to get them in the draft.

That was the case in the first round of the draft last month. Having already picked once in the round to select edge rusher Rashan Gary, Gutekunst could have quite easily waited until the 30th pick and selected the player at the top of the board. Instead, he believed Darnell Savage Jr. could have an instant impact in Mike Pettine’s defense, so he didn’t risk losing out on him and gave away two fourth-rounders to move up.

And Savage has already earned high praise from teammate Tramon Williams:

“Even before we stepped on the field, I recognized how smart the kid was,” Williams said, according to Wes Hodkiewicz of Packers.com.

Savage will likely be a starter on defense right away this season, which was the case at the start of OTAs, making the pick potentially a very good one for the Packers.