Green Bay Packers flexed all over the NFL Draft this year
By Josh Hill
In his first offseason as the Packers general manager, Brian Gutekunst has hit an absolute grand slam.
Aaron Rodgers might be throwing a bit of a fit over his inclusion in the Packers decision-making process, but he has to be pleased with how draft night went. In his first year as general manager in Green Bay, Brian Gutekunst pulled off a heist and established himself in a big way.
To start the night, Gutekunst traded away the No. 14 pick for a pair of first rounders. In fleecing the New Orleans Saints, the Packers picked up a first-round pick next season and didn’t have to give one up when the decision was made to move back to No. 19.
Basically, the Packers ended the night with one of the best cornerbacks in the draft — Jaire Alexander — and picked up a future first-rounder in the process. Gutekunst moved twice in the first round, proving that he’s not someone who is simply going to sit around and wait for things to fill in around him.
The most important thing about this is that it comes in the wake of criticisms from Aaron Rodgers, who was giving off the impression that he wasn’t impressed with how things were being run. Having the franchise quarterback come at you is never a good thing, but it’s hard to see Gutekunst as anything other than a genius after the draft he put together.
It’s going to be a while before we find out if all the wheeling-and-dealing pays off, but the return tonight was better than any Packers fan could have hoped for. That’s all Gutekunst, who flexed on the NFL in ways we didn’t expect.