Packers: Ranking 10 best and worst moves of Gutekunst’s tenure
By Evan Siegel
No. 7 best: Bringing in Tramon Williams
Brian Gutekunst took over at a time in which the Green Bay defensive backfield was a tire fire. Gutekunst brought Tramon Williams back after a few years between Cleveland and Arizona, and while virtually nothing went well for the Packers that ensuing season, Williams was quite helpful for a defense still unused to a new defense under Mike Pettine and played substantial snaps in both playoffs games in 2019.
Williams came back yet again just before the NFC Championship this season, and while he didn’t play a snap, it was a tremendous move by Gutekunst. Having such an experienced, stabilizing presence in the locker room and on the bench was a great idea.
For whatever reason, however, the Packers didn’t take advantage of this. Kevin King couldn’t cover a parked car and the defense, at least in the first half, looked like it had years of playoff disappointment on that side of the ball inside its head.
No. 7 worst: Drafting Jace Sternberger
The Packers kind of fell into this one more than actually enthusiastically picked Jace Sternberger. Green Bay had picked Rashan Gary, Darnell Savage, and Elgton Jenkins to that point in Gutekunst’s second draft. Getting a young tight end was extremely important after being left with Jimmy Graham and Marcedes Lewis.
Sternberger had already slipped a bit past what his initial draft stock seemed to be, and while it appeared to fit both a need and picking one of the best players left on the board, Sternberger has been very poor since entering the league.
He did slightly show up to the party in the playoffs in 2019, catching balls in both games and a touchdown against San Fransisco. But now that Robert Tonyan is firmly entrenched as the top tight end and Josiah Deguara is on the way back, Sternberger is barely hanging on by a thread.