5 draft mistakes to blame for Packers struggles in 2023

No NFL general manager bats 1.000 when it comes to the NFL Draft, and as well as Green Bay Packers GM Brian Gutekunst has done in recent years, he's not immune from making mistakes, by any means. As a matter of fact, Gutekunst has made some NFL Draft decisions that you could argue are significantly hurting this Packers team in 2023.

It's always torture to look back at the NFL Draft with perfect 20/20 hindsight vision, but it's also interesting to think about what could have been.

Let's take a look at a handful of bad mistakes made by Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur that are hurting the team in 2023.

1. Amari Rodgers over Amon-Ra St. Brown (2021)

Again, take some of these with a grain of salt. It's definitely easy to look back at a draft class, take a look at your worst picks, and find the players who were taken shortly after that at the same position who have done well in the NFL. It's not always purely about scouting, but it's also about fit and situation as well.

The Packers took Amari Rodgers out of Clemson in the 2021 NFL Draft with the 85th overall pick before guys like Nico Collins and Anthony Schwartz there in round three, but it wasn't until the Detroit Lions' pick came around in the fourth round that this one became torturous.

The Lions selected Amon-Ra St. Brown with the 112th overall pick, and he's quickly become one of the best possession receivers in the league. He has 253 catches and counting in his first three NFL seasons, while Amari Rodgers is no longer even on the Packers roster.

Finding a gem like St. Brown could have helped the Packers avoid spending about a million picks on the wide receiver position over the last two draft classes.