The Good, Bad And Ugly Of Brian Gutekunst’s First Two Drafts With The Green Bay Packers

Brian Gutekunst is ready for his first — and hopefully last — virtual draft.

Gutekunst, the Green Bay Packers’ general manager, has had his home turned into a war room for the NFL Draft, which begins tonight.

With stay-at-home orders in place nationwide and large gatherings prohibited, Gutekunst won’t be surrounded by his most trusted scouts. Instead, he’ll be accompanied by an information technology employee to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Gutekunst will cross his fingers that his four children stay out of harm’s way. And he’ll try keeping a semblance of normalcy in a draft that’s anything but normal.

After a few trial-runs earlier this week, Gutekunst believes hopes ready to roll.

“You’ve got to get to a point where you make it simple, so you know exactly how you want to communicate, you know exactly how you’re going to go about it,” Gutekunst said earlier this week. “I wanted to make sure as we got through (Monday) and the next couple days that I felt very comfortable in how I was going to communicate and go through my process with the guys that I count on. I thought it went pretty well. By the time we get to Thursday, I’ll be over-coached on it, but I’ll feel pretty good about it.”

Gutekunst, who’s conducting his third draft as Green Bay’s G.M., has had mixed results during his first two drafts. But after the Packers went 13-3 in the regular season last year and reached the NFC Championship Game, a big draft could vault them to the top of the conference.

Before the 2020 draft begins, though, here’s a look back at the good, bad and ugly from Gutekunst’s first two drafts.

THE GOOD

JAIRE ALEXANDER: Gutekunst’s first-ever pick has been a good one.

Gutekunst had the 14th pick in the first round in 2018, traded back to No. 27 and picked up an additional first-round pick, then moved back up to No. 18 for Alexander. In two short seasons, Alexander has become one of the better cornerbacks in football.

Alexander earned all-rookie honors in 2018 and was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 2019. Alexander tied for fourth in the league with 17 passes defensed last season and had two interceptions. Alexander is also tough as iron, can shadow No. 1 receivers and has no problem doing the dirty work.

DARNELL SAVAGE: Gutekunst had the 30^th pick in the first round in 2019, but traded up to No. 21 for Savage. So far, that move has paid off in spades.

Savage was named to the all-rookie team by Pro Football Focus after opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 71.1 when targeting him. Savage had two interceptions, two forced fumbles, five pass breakups, and according to PFF, finished with a top-30 coverage grade among NFL safeties.

“He has a chance to be a really good one,” teammate Tramon Williams said of Savage.

ELGTON JENKINS: A rookie second-round pick in 2019, Jenkins stepped right in at left guard and was also named to PFF’s all-rookie team.

In 571 pass blocking snaps, Jenkins didn’t allow a sack. Jenkins also graded out as PFF’s top rookie guard and a top-10 left guard overall.

THE BAD

THE HUNT FOR WIDE RECEIVERS: Gutekunst has had a tough time finding wide receivers for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. His greatest failures came in the 2018 draft, when he took three wideouts that have produced little.

Fourth-round pick J’Mon Moore had two receptions for 15 yards as a rookie, then failed to make the team in 2019. Fifth-rounder Marquez Valdes-Scantling had 21 receptions for 416 yards in the first seven games of 2019. But “MVS” fell out of favor, saw his snap count plummet, and had just five catches for 36 yards in the final nine games.

And sixth-round pick Equanimeous St. Brown spent all of 2019 on injured reserve after doing little as a rookie.

As the 2020 draft arrives, the Packers’ greatest need remains wide receiver.

RASHAN GARY: Gutekunst selected Gary with the 12^th overall pick in the 2019 draft. The Packers then tried converting him from defensive end to outside linebacker.

It didn’t go well. Gary played just 23% of the defensive snaps, had 21 tackles and two sacks.

Miami defensive end Christian Wilkins, who went No. 13, and Carolina outside linebacker Brian Burns, who went 16^th, had far more impactful rookie seasons. Gary has a lot to prove starting in 2020.

THE UGLY

OREN BURKS: The Packers traded up and took Burks in the third round in 2018. To date, they’ve gotten nothing back on that investment.

Burks played just 57 snaps in 2019 (5.48%) and had only six tackles. That gave him a two-year total of 179 snaps and 30 tackles.

Burks (6-3, 233) was a safety at Vanderbilt and was lauded for his coverage abilities. But those haven’t been evident, and he’s been a major liability against the run.

JOSH JACKSON: Jackson, a second-round draft pick in 2018, struggled as a rookie and was benched for a stretch at midseason. In 2019, Jackson simply couldn’t get on the field.

Last year, Jackson played just 103 defensive snaps (9.90%) and finished the year with 11 tackles, no passes defensed and no interceptions. Teams expect far more from second round picks in their second seasons.

COLE MADISON: Madison, an offensive guard, was drafted in the fifth round in 2018. He’s yet to appear in a game.

Madison sat out the 2018 season with mental health issues. Madison made the roster in 2019, but didn’t appear in any games.

Madison then suffered an ACL tear in practice in November and faces an uncertain future.