Packers 2021 Draft: Gutekunst keeps plenty of picks for Day 3
After trading up in the first round of each of his first three drafts in charge, Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst let the board come to him this year, choosing to stay put for the first and second rounds.
The Packers entered this week with seven day three picks, of which they still have six after giving up their 135th overall pick in order to move up seven spots for Clemson WR Amari Rodgers.
From a salary cap perspective, it made sense to retain most of their day three picks. There aren’t many rosters in the league that are as top heavy, salary wise, as the Packers. To give you an idea of how top heavy it is, per Over The Cap, 45 percent of the Packers’ 2021 cap is occupied by just four players, and those figures get even worse the year after.
So from that aspect, it’s easy to see why the Packers would want to maximize their amount of day three picks, giving them a plethora of depth players on their roster with low paid four-year contracts.
As it stands right now, the Packers have a compensatory pick at the end of the fourth round, two picks in the fifth round, two picks in the sixth round and one pick in the seventh.
What positions could the Packers target on day three?
The Packers have loved to triple up on positions on day three in the past, with the theory being that if you throw three darts, hopefully one of them sticks to the board.
In 2017, they drafted three running backs, hitting on two, Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. Then in 2018, they drafted three receivers, with Marquez Valdes-Scantling being the only one to provide considerable production for Green Bay.
Last year the Packers tripled up on offensive linemen on day three. While the jury is still out on these guys, Michigan guard/center Jon Runyan Jr. looked pretty impressive in the small sample size we’ve seen of him last year.
So if the Packers are to triple up this year, my best guess is that it would be on the interior defensive line. They returned so many players this offseason that there are no positions truly lacking depth at the minute. Linebacker, offensive tackle and cornerback are also potential options.
As for players, it’s really a guessing game. Day three of the draft makes no sense in a normal year, never mind a year hampered by a pandemic. Some of top remaining interior defensive linemen players are Jay Tufele, Daviyon Nixon and Marlon Wilson.
Other top available players at other positions include LSU linebacker Jabril Cox, Duke edge defender Chris Rumph II, and USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, the younger brother of Packers’ WR Equanimeous St. Brown.