Packers GM looks like a genius after signing another former first-round pick

Brian Gutekunst has got himself a little bit of a heater going right now.

The Green Bay Packers GM made what *looks* like an at-least-somewhat interesting move on Tuesday, signing former Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis to the practice squad.

The move was first reported by ESPN's senior NFL writer Jeremy Fowler:

Davis was the 19th overall pick back in the 2021 NFL Draft, but obviously hasn't played up to expectations yet. In three years with the Commanders, Davis played in 50 games, started 36 of them, and 174 solo tackles, seven sacks, 21 tackles for less, and 10 QB hits.

RELATED: Packers' perfect Eric Stokes replacement just fell into Matt LaFleur's lap

Interestingly enough, some stats – and 'some' mostly meaning the ones at Pro Football Focus – indicate that Davis was actually playing well this year: PFF had his overall defense, run defense, and tackling grades all above 70, which are all pretty impressive scores, especially for a practice squad guy. The 86-snap sample size probably has something to do with it, but there's plenty to be excited about, and you don't even need to squint *that* hard.

Packers may have just made another sneaky-great midseason signing

Maybe it's just recency bias, but on paper, this move looks like another gem of a signing by Gutekunst. There's plenty of precedence to think he may have pulled off another great one: the Malik Willis, De'Vondre Campbell, and Rasul Douglas moves all come to mind as recent examples of times when Gutekunst found value where others didn't.

One of these days he'll take a big swing and miss, but right now it's hard to argue with the decision-making of the Packers' front office.

And maybe Davis' recent position change will make it all the easier for him to find – and contribute to – meaningful snaps with the Packers. Originally drafted as an off-ball linebacker, Davis played all but one of his snaps in 2024 as a defensive end.

The Packers certainly aren't struggling with defensive end depth, which gives them the luxury of time to be able to figure out how Davis – who's still only 25 and has a bunch of above-average traits – fits into the defense long-term. It's entirely possible that nothing comes of the signing, but like Fowler notes, there are worse problems than having young, former first-round picks on your practice squad.

More Packers news and analysis