Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has come under a lot of fire over the last handful of years for the way he has been building this roster. Of course, the Aaron Rodgers saga has dominated the headlines, but other things have caused outrage not only amongst Packers fans, but NFL pundits and analysts in general.
Gutekunst was put under the microscope for not using first-round draft picks on offensive skill players. The Packers are consistently drawing the ire of many because of their lack of involvement and activity in free agency.
But one of the youngest rosters around the entire NFL has played well in 2023. Well, enough to potentially make the playoffs.
What moves made by Gutekunst in the offseason have him looking like an absolute genius these days?
1. Trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets
Alright, let's get this one out of the way because I think it has to be discussed. Obviously, the trade of Aaron Rodgers came a year too late, but I still think this move has Gutekunst looking like a genius right now. The Packers and Jets agreed to a first-round pick swap in 2023, which was bordering on inconsequential, but the Packers also landed multiple second-round picks in this trade with the Jets.
The first one ended up being tight end Luke Musgrave (42nd overall pick) and the second one is yet to be determined. The Packers will get the Jets' second-round pick in 2024 as Rodgers's injury in the first game of the season has not allowed him to play 65 percent (or more) of the Jets' offensive snaps this year. Still, that pick is shaping up to be relatively high and Luke Musgrave looks like a stud.
Again, the Packers probably traded Rodgers a year too late, but I still think this move was a good one for Gutekunst, especially with Jordan Love playing pretty well in the absence of Rodgers.
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2. Drafting Jayden Reed
Although the Packers and Brian Gutekunst have come under some fire for not investing first-round picks at the receiver position, you certainly can't deny that this team has potentially found a couple of long-term fixtures in round two over the last two draft classes.
Christian Watson has been inconsistent, and injuries have been limiting him, but he looks like a stud when he's out there on the field (most of the time). But I think Jayden Reed is establishing himself as arguably the favorite target of Jordan Love in his rookie season.
Reed, a second-round pick out of Michigan State, has 65 total touches this season and 711 yards from scrimmage as of the time of this writing, as well as eight touchdowns. This pick -- the 50th overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft -- is looking like an absolute home run.
3. Drafting two tight ends early in 2023
One of the strategies I love the most for teams in the NFL Draft is to double up (or more, sometimes) on position groups that are strongest in the class. The Packers have employed that strategy frequently (if not annually) under Brian Gutekunst. They used two picks early in the 2023 NFL Draft on the tight end position, a position group that obviously needed some serious attention in the offseason.
Going with a youth movement at tight end is a bold decision, but it's paid off for the Packers. Luke Musgrave looked like he was on his way to a stellar rookie year before suffering a lacerated kidney, but he'll be a fixture going forward.
Former South Dakota State product Tucker Kraft got off to a slow start, but after the injury to Musgrave, he's stepped in and ever since that Chargers game back in November, it feels like Kraft has started coming into his own.
4. Landing Dontayvion Wicks in Round 5
Late-round picks that hit always make a general manager look like a genius. Late-round picks that hit immediately make your GM look like he should win some kind of award.
And frankly, this year's draft class for the Packers probably should win some type of award. Dontayvion Wicks, a fifth-round pick out of Virginia, was a player the Packers really had to bank on coming back around to his 2021 evaluation. He had a down season in 2022 for Virginia, loaded with dropped passes. But in 2021, he was a tremendous big-play threat, and we've seen that version of Wicks coming around in 2023 for the Packers.
He ranks first on the Packers at 15.8 yards per reception and third on the team with 520 receiving yards at the time of this post being written.
5. Getting a steal in Carrington Valentine
Day three of the 2023 NFL Draft was good to the Green Bay Packers. Although the jury is out as to whether Carrington Valentine can become a fixture in the starting lineup beyond this season, the rookie has been pressed into action and he's come up with some nice plays.
Valentine leads the Packers with eight passes defensed, and has allowed just 57.1 percent of passes thrown in his direction to be caught. Not bad for a seventh-round pick.
Valentine came to the Packers from the Kentucky program, and is another win for those who believe in taking dart throws on guys with high Relative Athletic Scores coming out, especially on day three.