With the 2025 Green Bay Packers draft class officially registered and in the process of being signed, we now wait to see which players will have successful careers in Green Bay.
It generally takes about three years to gauge whether a prospect will live up to their draft status, but that’s not a hard and fast rule. Some players are late bloomers, and others peak early. Some don’t really get a chance to break out until they find another team.
For all the work that goes into draft analysis, no one can accurately project every player’s NFL career. Mel Kiper is the face of the modern NFL draft, and once said he’d retire if Jimmy Clausen wasn’t a successful NFL quarterback. Obviously, Kiper didn’t follow through on that.
Still, many will stick to their pre-draft biases long after the draft. Even Brian Gutekunst will take a swing on a player because of their draft pedigree (look at the signings of Andre Dillard and Isaiah Simmons).
For fun, I’ll take a look at my favorite draft picks of the Brian Gutekunst era, round by round, and look at how their career panned out compared to their pre-draft analysis.
Round 1: Matthew Golden, WR, Texas (2025)
This one probably isn’t fair because it just happened, and Golden has yet to play a single down for the Packers. There’s no way to judge his career fairly because it hasn’t happened yet.
But, by Odin’s beard, who couldn’t be excited by the Packers finally taking a first-round wide receiver, and such a fun one? Green Bay’s first-rounders are typically surprising in the moment. Often, the GM passes on fan favorites to take a less-celebrated player who actually makes quite a bit of sense on paper. In the moment, cautious optimism was more in play than true excitement.
So maybe I suffer from New Toy Syndrome, but Golden is the first pick of this regime that got me hooting and, I’ll admit it, hollering. The Packers needed a wide receiver, especially one with speed. Golden’s career will be under a microscope as the first first-round wide receiver taken since 2002, especially considering the Packers could have gotten a luxury package had they traded out of the spot.
Round 2: Christian Watson, WR, North Dakota State (2022)
Any charitable soul who has read my work over the past few years knows I’m a Christian Watson truther. Had the Packers successfully traded back into the first round to get him, he’d take the Round 1 crown. Thankfully, Gutekunst got him in the second round, saving me from writing about my woefully wrong excitement toward 2018’s Josh Jackson.
Watson’s top-flight athleticism, dynamic speed, and experience as a run blocker made him a tantalizing fit for Matt LaFleur’s offense despite his raw route-running abilities. An unfortunate injury history has kept him from becoming a true star, but he’s been a key component of this offense’s best form. Watson’s field presence alone causes pressure, and he has the most reliable hands on the team and is the best man-beater the Packers have.
Round 3: Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&M (2019)
One could say I was dead wrong about this one. At the time, the Packers were still chasing a true weapon at tight end they hadn’t had since Jermichael Finley, and this was a deep class. I really wanted one of the Iowa tight ends (T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant). Still, I was thrilled to get Sternberger, a touchdown machine, in the third round.
Sternberger had 10 touchdowns in his final collegiate season but lacked run-after-catch and blocking ability. Still, it seemed like he could catch on early as a red-zone threat and eventually develop his other skills.
It was a short road thanks to missing time and not picking up the offense, and the Packers released him in 2021. After bouncing around a few other NFL teams, Sternberger has built a successful career with the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL/UFL.
Round 4: Zach Tom, OL, Wake Forest (2022)
No team turns Day 3 offensive talent into stars like the Packers, but it had been a few years since it happened. Royce Newman had a promising rookie season before falling from grace, while Jon Runyan Jr. didn’t earn a second contract.
Tom’s two first names and history at both tackle and center made him an intriguing player to develop. Despite his experience at left tackle, Scouts believed that Tom was destined to become a successful interior lineman. Perhaps that’s still true, with Tom’s best position a popular topic of discussion. But Tom surprised most people by getting his first shot at tackle and excelling. Entering the final year of his rookie deal, Tom should see an extension soon and is another late-round OL success story.
Round 5: Jacob Monk, OL, Duke (2024)
My 2024 first-round draft crush was Graham Barton, Monk’s teammate. Still, I was pleased with Monk, an experienced and versatile player with the quintessential “vibes” of an offensive lineman. I thought Monk could be ready to step in immediately and even push Josh Myers for time at center.
Not only did that not happen, but Monk was a healthy scratch for much of the 2024 season, even with interior offensive line depth almost nonexistent. By the time Elgton Jenkins exited the Wild Card loss, LaFleur was throwing in tackles to shore up the gap. Monk’s NFL career has only begun. Hopefully, he can get in the coaching staff’s good graces, but it wasn’t a promising rookie season.
Round 6: Karl Brooks, DT, THE Bowling Green State University (2023)
Not many Bowling Green players get drafted, so any time one does, it’s cause for celebration. Brooks wasn’t the typical Packers pick, with a lower RAS and playing for a non-Power Five school. But in his time at Bowling Green, Brooks dominated the MAC, the nation’s best conference, and was ready to contribute as a rookie.
Am I just a biased alumnus? You bet! But it’s hard to deny Brooks has become a fun rotational player on the defensive line, and who could forget his finger saving the Packers from a loss to the Chicago Bears last season?
Round 7: Hunter Bradley, LS, Mississippi State (2018)
What kind of person gets excited about drafting a long snapper? This guy!
By the time you get to the seventh round, you’re gambling on upside and special teams performance. I hadn’t been burned enough at the time to not want to draft specialists, and pre-draft scouting had Hunter as a snapper worth taking.
Consider how historically bad Green Bay’s special teams were (are?). Risking a mere seventh-round pick for a chance at a key component to the kicking operation seemed great to me.
Hunter proved unreliable, and his NFL career ended in 2022. Hunter’s draftmate, J.K. Scott, at least found success later in his career, but Hunter became evidence for the “don’t draft specialists” movement.
The moral? I get it right about as often as the NFL does. We truly know nothing until the player gets their chance.
