Brian Gutekunst's actions mean more than his words, but his comments about Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and the Green Bay Packers' cornerback room understandably raised eyebrows.
Sure, Gutekunst isn't going to throw a player under the bus or outright call out a position group, but there are often clues hidden inside his messaging. And, oftentimes, even beneath the coachspeak packaging, what he says is what he means.
That's the concern at cornerback.
"We had some injuries there. (Nate) Hobbs was missed for most of the season. Never really got going," Gutekunst told reporters on Wednesday. "I thought Carrington stepped in and did a great job. He's a young player and is still getting better. Keisean, obviously, had a very, very good year. He was in the top three in PBUs and did some really good things. Do we need wholesale changes? No."
History tells us to believe what Brian Gutekunst says about the Packers' cornerback room
Gutekunst isn't going to reveal everything to reporters, and for the most part, he was guarded in his comments. However, history tells us that when he makes comments like that, we should probably listen.
Rewind two years, and he had a similar take about the cornerback room.
It was a month before the 2024 NFL Draft, and Gutekunst said that if the group could stay healthy, he liked "the way the competition in that room is shaping up" and expressed confidence in the players they already had. And he meant it.
Green Bay didn't attempt an affordable trade-up for Quinyon Mitchell or Terrion Arnold, then outright passed on Cooper DeJean. Instead, the Packers waited until the seventh round before selecting Kalen King.
Gutekunst relied on the cornerbacks staying healthy, but Jaire Alexander went on to miss 10 games that season. That left them relying on Nixon, Valentine, and Eric Stokes.
Last offseason, Gutekunst showed a similar level of overconfidence in the edge-rushers, saying that the pass rush could "do everything we need to do from the players we have on our roster right now." He waited until Day 3 to draft Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver, which was a gamble, given how badly the pass rush had struggled in 2024.
Had it not been for Jerry Jones bailing the Packers out by making Micah Parsons available a week before the season, imagine how bad things might have gotten on defense. Green Bay's defense fell apart following Parsons' season-ending injury.
Are there examples of Gutekunst not backing up what he says to the media? Of course.
In 2024, he called Aaron Jones the "heartbeat of our team," only to release him a month later. However, the Packers wanted Jones back but couldn't agree on terms for a revised deal. Gutekunst wasn't necessarily lying and would've kept him if they had aligned financially.
More often than not, Gutekunst, at the very least, leaves clues about where the Packers stand. When asked about Jaire Alexander's future last February, he said, "We'll see. We're working through that." It was a not-so-subtle hint at their stance. Alexander was under contract, so Gutekunst could've just said he expected him back, but that's not how he worded it.
On Wednesday, the Packers GM could've given a more general answer about the cornerbacks. Instead, he went out of his way to say Valentine did a "great job" and that Nixon had a "very, very good year."
Let's talk about that.
Valentine's "great job" doesn't translate to great numbers. According to Pro Football Reference, quarterbacks completed 59.7 percent of their passes for 472 yards and seven touchdowns in his coverage, good for a passer rating of 121.2. He had four pass defenses and no interceptions. Outside of a solid completion percentage, they are rough numbers.
Nixon had big moments, like his game-sealing pick against the Chicago Bears in Week 14. But two weeks later, he surrendered the game-tying and game-losing touchdown passes to the same Bears. Then, in the playoff loss, he made an error on a crushing 4th-and-8 conversion that could've iced the game, and also appeared to avoid contact on D'Andre Swift's touchdown run.
Per Pro Football Reference, this season, quarterbacks completed 64.4 percent of passes in his coverage for 651 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception, for a 105.1 rating. Is that really "very, very good?"
Interestingly, Gutekunst was less complimentary of Hobbs, saying that he "never really got going" due to injuries. That's particularly notable, as multiple beat reporters, including ESPN's Rob Demovsky, believe Hobbs won't be back in 2026.
Gutekunst did say they need more depth at cornerback, but the key line was that they don't require "wholesale changes."
Hopefully, there's some coachspeak masking his true thoughts on the cornerback room, but history tells us one thing: When Gutekunst makes comments like this, we should listen.
Only time will tell, but it sure sounds like the Packers have far more faith in their cornerbacks than the fans do. Again.