No team had more selections entering the 2024 NFL Draft than the Green Bay Packers. General manager Brian Gutekunst boasted 11 picks and famously said, "We have 11 right now. I’d love to end up with 13, 14, or more. I’d never shy away from that."
The Packers have eight picks entering this draft, and they're projected to have 11 again next year. Gutekunst is clearly taking the quantity route again.
The Packers signed defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in March, and at the end of the month Gutekunst was asked how the deal went down. Green Bay's general manager
“He's a complete player. We've lost a few guys in the defensive interior there, and we just needed to add something,” Gutekunst said. “Particularly because he was released, it was not part of the compensatory formula, he just fit really well.”
It's the second-to-last part, where Gutekunst slipped in the fact that because Hargrave was released by Minnesota, it didn't count against Green Bay for compensatory picks next year.
The Packers are set to cash in big time next year when it comes to compensatory picks. If the projections hold true, Green Bay will be getting a fourth-round pick for Malik Willis' departure, another fourth for Romeo Doubs, a fifth for Quay Walker, and a sixth for Kingsley Enagbare. Of the primary names Green Bay has added this offseason, only cornerback Benjamin St-Juste counted toward that equation, but it was canceled out by Rasheed Walker's deal to go to the Carolina Panthers.
As a result, the Packers should get four compensatory picks on top of everything else Gutekunst has maneuvered this offseason.
Instead of bringing back Rashan Gary on the edge to maintain some semblance of stability, Gutekunst sent Gary packing to Dallas in a trade that netted the Packers another fourth-round pick in 2027.
Similarly, instead of letting wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks play out the final year of his rookie deal, Gutekunst sent Wicks to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick this year and a sixth-round pick next year.
Gutekunst also pulled the trigger on a massive trade last season that saw draft assets leave. That, of course, came when Green Bay landed Micah Parsons from Dallas by sending out its next two first-round picks and veteran Kenny Clark.
Gutekunst has long made his affection for stockpiling draft picks known and hasn't been shy about discussing his belief in getting as much volume as possible. If there was any one part that was painful in negotiating the Parsons trade from Gutekunst's perspective, it came from the fact that he would be the one sending draft picks out.
Perhaps that got Gutekunst feeling itchy and wanting to add back to the surplus in any way possible. Trading Gary wasn't a surprise, and if he hadn't been traded, he likely would've been a cap casualty given his 2026 salary cap hit. However, it was possible that Gutekunst and the Packers could've brought the veteran back on a restructured deal. Instead, Gutekunst chose to get a draft pick in return.
Wicks was on an expiring rookie deal that didn't even put a slight dent into Green Bay's cap situation for this upcoming season. His trade came as more of a surprise because of that, and because he's still a young player entering the prime of his career. Instead of letting the fourth wideout on the depth chart play it out and cash in next offseason, Gutekunst collected two more picks.
Gutekunst clearly aimed to add some seasoned players with longer résumés heading into 2026. Green Bay has boasted the youngest roster in the NFL each of the last three years. That hasn't proven to be an accelerator towards a championship, so Gutekunst has added some experience to the roster this offseason to balance out the equation.
A few relative veterans aside, what Gutekunst said about comp picks back in March still stands. He has meticulously navigated around the landmines this offseason that would cost Green Bay compensatory picks for 2027. The value from the deals signed by Willis, Doubs, and others is too appealing for Gutekunst to pass up. As a result, next year's draft and the picks he has been able to accumulate have played a key role in how Green Bay has gone about its business this offseason.
Gutekunst will enter the draft this year and next year without a first-round pick because of the Parsons deal, and that's still a trade you make every day of the week and twice on Sunday, despite the ACL injury. Parsons is that kind of blue-chip player. To scratch the itch another way, knowing he'll be without a first-round pick in these next two drafts, Gutekunst has stocked up plenty of quantity. Now, he and the rest of the braintrust need to hit on those selections.
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