Brian Gutekunst hasn’t been afraid to take multiple players at the same position if he thinks it’s worth it. The Green Bay Packers general manager has drafted three offensive linemen in the last three drafts. He drafted edge defender Rashan Gary after signing Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith in free agency. Then he took safety Darnell Savage and signed Adrian Amos in the same offseason. But that same logic doesn’t apply to offensive weapons, which he is much more cautious about investing in.
Last season, Gutekunst was asked what it could have been like to pair Davante Adams with Green Bay’s new young receivers. The executive said those might be exclusionary scenarios.
“We probably wouldn’t have had those young guys,” Gutekunst said. “It changes the dynamics of what you think you might need.”
That philosophy is outdated, though. The Packers should learn a lesson by analyzing how much the two teams in the Super Bowl have invested in weapons, which allows their quarterbacks to play at a high level. That’s especially true for the Philadelphia Eagles, where Jalen Hurts has taken advantage of an offense with creators besides the passer.
Philadelphia Eagles
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is the favorite to win the Executive of the Year Award, and his biggest move was a trade that the Packers could have made. The Eagles traded first- and third-round picks for wide receiver A.J. Brown and gave him a four-year extension. Philly had already drafted Jalen Reagor (who didn’t pan out), DeVonta Smith (who did) in the first round, and tight end Dallas Goedert in the second. Goedert also received a top contract. Running back Miles Sanders was a second-round pick.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs are kind of an outlier because they traded Tyreek Hill and have Patrick Mahomes, a highly-paid quarterback. However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t invested in offensive weapons to fit Andy Reid’s system. Travis Kelce is a star and the highest-paid tight end in football. They also used second-round picks on Mecole Hardman and Skyy Moore.
In free agency, the Chiefs signed JuJu Smith-Schuster and former Packer Marquez Valdes-Scantling to mid-level contracts. They also traded third- and sixth-round picks in-season to acquire Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants. Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a first-rounder.
If you consider the two teams that lost in the championship round, the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals also have a great offensive weaponry — George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk; Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Hayden Hurst.
Meanwhile, the Packers haven’t been willing to use high resources on offensive weapons — and when they have, it’s on running backs. Aaron Jones is a high-paid player, and A.J. Dillon is a second-round pick. But it’s well known that running backs have limited impact because of their positional value.
In terms of wide receivers and tight ends, Christian Watson is the only high investment the Packers have made since Gutekunst was promoted to GM. Besides him, the Packers have Romeo Doubs (fourth-rounder), Samori Toure (seventh-rounder), Bo Melton (signed off the Seattle Seahawks’ practice squad), and Jeff Cotton (futures contract after finishing the season on the PS). Josiah Deguara (third-rounder) and two low-spending future contracts with Austin Allen and Nick Guggemos are the tight ends under contract for 2023.
The Packers have prioritized other areas of the roster: The defense in general and the offensive line. It’s time to change that and give the quarterback — be it Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love — better offensive personnel to work with.
