The Green Bay Packers needed to nail it in the 2025 NFL Draft in order to keep themselves well above the rest of their NFC North rivals, and the early returns after hosting the event doesn't seem to be too enticing for Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur.
None of Green Bay's chief rivals really knocked it out of the park. Many believed the Detroit Lions reached to select Tyleik Williams in the first round and Isaac TeSlaa in the third round, while the Minnesota Vikings ignored the secondary to select guard Donovan Jackson with their only Top 100 pick.
However, the Bears may have had the best draft of any NFC North team. ESPN's Matt Miller believes that Chicago made two of his 15 favorite selections in the entire draft, including his favorite pick of them all by taking wide receiver Luther Burden III in the second round.
To make matters even more concerning for Green Bay, they only had one pick in Miller's Top 100, and it was one of the easier picks of the night. First-round wide receiver Matthew Golden ranked 21st in Miller's grades. This comes off as a fairly scathing review of Green Bay's process.
ESPN rips Packers' 2025 NFL Draft class, praises Bears picks
Examining the Packers' next three draft picks after Golden might bring some questions with it. Not only did they fail to address the lack of a quality pass rush until the fourth round, but the value on some of these selections might make some question the philosophy Brian Gutekunst went into the Draft with.
Second-round offensive lineman Anthony Belton was widely regarded as a player Green Bay could have picked up in the third round, or even later. The fourth round may have been just a touch too high for pass rusher Barryn Sorrell as well, even with his positives.
While third-round wide receiver Savion Williams is a very unique talent who could become a high-end player in Matt LaFleur's offense, but the receivers ahead of him could make it very challenging for him to work his way up the depth chart early in his professional career.
Green Bay has historically lapped Chicago in terms of finding good value in the Draft, but Gutekunst has had his fair share of missteps in recent years, and the Bears appear to be building something that could eventually give the Packers some headaches.