The Packers Should Keep Drafting Developmental Quarterbacks

Ron Wolf was one of the best football executives in the modern NFL.

Wolf traded for Brett Favre, and fans credit him with revitalizing the Green Bay Packers in the early 1990s. Wolf’s most notable contribution has always been his view on quarterbacks and how a team acquires them.

“While there’s only room for one starter, you can never acquire too many,” he famously said. 

In the Ron Wolf school of general management, it's worthwhile to draft a quarterback every year, no matter the current roster situation.

Wolf's philosophy has been etched in how Green Bay’s front office operates long since he stopped working at 1265 Lombardi Ave. Ted Thompson was his understudy, and now Brian Gutekunst comes from that same tree after learning under Thompson.

Wolf drafted a quarterback in seven of nine drafts he conducted as the Packers’ general manager. Oddly enough, his most successful acquisition (outside of Reggie White) was trading for a quarterback. Still, even once Favre, ever the Ironman, proved he was the answer under center, Wolf knew he needed to keep the pipeline stocked with talent at the game's most important position.

Wolf is arguably one of the most successful quarterback drafters of all time. He drafted Mark Brunell, Matt Hasselbeck, Aaron Brooks, and Ty Detmer. Each one of them went on to start for other franchises after spending their first few seasons in Green Bay. After those quarterbacks played well in preseason contests and in limited relief of Favre, he shipped them out of town for draft capital and got a return on his investment.

While his successor, Ted Thompson, didn’t draft quarterbacks at a 70% clip like Wolf, he still drafted six in his 13-year reign as GM. Similar to his predecessor, his most notable acquisition was a quarterback. He struck gold with Aaron Rodgers.

Even after attaching his legacy to Rodgers, Thompson drafted two quarterbacks the offseason before No. 12 took the starting job. He understood the importance of ensuring he was constantly developing someone at the quarterback position, even if he wasn’t the best at identifying it.

Outside of Rodgers, Thompson was not nearly as successful as Wolf in drafting quarterback talent. Brian Brohm was selected in the second round during Rodgers’ first year as a starter, and he busted.

However, Thompson drafted Matt Flynn in the seventh round that year and got some good years as a backup out of him. The Brett Hundley experiment fizzled in 2017, and the B.J. Colemans of the world never saw the field. Fortunately for Thompson, he got his first pick right.

Following in Wolf and Thompson's footsteps, Gutekunst attached his legacy to his first-round quarterback, Jordan Love. Like Thompson, he has not shown a great history of successfully drafting quarterbacks other than Love.

He has drafted three quarterbacks in seven drafts. Love was the most prominent and successful of the three. His other two? Sean Clifford in the fifth round in 2023, and Michael Pratt in the seventh round last year.

Clifford regressed last preseason, so the Packers placed him on the practice squad for the 2024 season. After camp, they cut Pratt, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.

It was clear entering 2024 that neither Clifford nor Pratt would be a viable backup option. In response, Gutekunst traded a seventh-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for former third-round pick Malik Willis, who flamed out (get it? He’s a former Liberty Flame) and handed the backup job to him.

That trade paid off in spades. Willis led the Packers to three wins as Love battled injury and saved their season. If Clifford or Pratt were under center for those games, it's highly doubtful Green Bay wins and likely they miss the playoffs altogether.

However, the Packers need to get back to drafting a developmental quarterback because Willis likely will only be in town for one more season. His contract expires after the 2025 season. While some call for the Packers to trade him and recoup the draft capital spent on him, I disagree. Gutekunst should draft a quarterback and be third on the depth chart behind Love and Willis, similar to how Love was third behind Rodgers and Tim Boyle in 2020.

There would be no pressure on that quarterback draft pick if Love gets hurt, as Willis would step in. We have repeatedly seen that playing too soon can ruin young quarterbacks, especially ones drafted in later rounds. After 2025, the Packers can let Willis walk, claim their compensatory pick, and roll with the 2025 draft pick. Then they should rinse and repeat this process so the Packers always have a stockpile of young arms.

With a roster full of holes at defensive tackle, corner, linebacker, and wide receiver, as well as a backup QB fresh off a three-win season, it would be easy for Gutekunst to draft a quarterback. He isn’t going into this draft with double-digit selections like the last two years.

It would also be easy to see that those quarterbacks busted and be scared off at the possibility of investing more capital into a backup. Some picks will bust; that’s the nature of the NFL draft. But if there is one position worth taking a stab at every year, it’s quarterback. It’s just too important to risk the idea of there being a Malik Willis on the market in late August. Gutekunst needs to channel his inner Ron Wolf.

Last season highlights the importance of getting back to the Ron Wolf school of quarterback drafting, even if you have to go through a Brett Hundley or Michael Pratt to find your Matt Hasselbeck.