What Positions Are the Packers Most Likely To Double Up On?

The Green Bay Packers will enter the NFL Draft on Thursday with no first-round pick but eight selections in total. General manager Brian Gutekunst has mentioned multiple times this offseason that he'd like to add more. Regardless of the number of picks the Packers end up with, Gutekunst has frequently doubled up at one position throughout the years.

What positions are the Packers likely to double up on in this draft?

There's an obvious position that falls into this category: cornerback. Gutekunst even

Many thought Green Bay would add at cornerback in a significant way last offseason. Instead, Gutekunst signed Nate Hobbs and cut him after one injury-plagued season. In the draft, the Packers used a seventh-round pick on cornerback Micah Robinson. They placed him on the practice squad, and the Tennessee Titans plucked him away last October. In fact, in the last four drafts, the Packers have drafted just three cornerbacks, and all came in the seventh round. Only Carrington Valentine is still on the squad from that group.

It would be stunning if Green Bay only used a seventh-round pick on a cornerback this time around, and Gutekunst has now indicated they will be adding multiple new names to the position group.

It's also worth remembering that in his first draft at the controls as general manager of the Packers, Gutekunst went CB back to back in the first two rounds with his first two picks. The first-round selection of Jaire Alexander turned out to be a big hit, despite the last couple of injury-marred years in Green Bay. The second of those selections, Josh Jackson, never panned out. Still, Gutekunst took two cornerbacks in that same draft with Green Bay's first two picks.

The draft waters will be a bit trickier to navigate with no first-rounder. Still, Gutekunst is aware that Green Bay needs to add some significance to the cornerback room. Merely adding a flier in the sixth or seventh round won't suffice.

Offensive lineman is the other position ripe for doubling up on. Gutekunst is entering his ninth draft as general manager in Green Bay. Of those nine, Gutekunst has selected multiple offensive linemen in the same draft five times. On four of those occasions, he selected three in the same draft class.

Gutekunst has often gone down this road before when it appears the Packers don't need a ton of reinforcements added to the offensive line. He's constantly injecting new faces and fresh prospects into the mix so that the Packers never had glaring problems at the offensive line. It's a savvy strategy that has worked well throughout the years.

Now, after a down year as a group up front by Green Bay's standards, it won't be surprising in the slightest to see Gutekunst run wild by using multiple draft picks on the O-line. The starting five seems set in stone, but there are major depth concerns after that.

If Gutekunst stands firm at No. 52 overall and goes best available on their board, the best available very well could be an offensive lineman. In past years, the Packers have had a lot of young depth already developing. There are still pieces like that with John Williams and Jacob Monk. However, there's a lot more uncertainty about who would be most trusted to fill in for any of the five positions should an injury occur.

The final position that warrants consideration is defensive lineman, especially if you lump together interior linemen and edge rushers.

Micah Parsons won't be ready for the start of the season, and Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare are both gone. Lukas Van Ness has no clarity on his fifth-year option yet and could be playing out the final year of his deal in Green Bay. There are young pieces like Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver on the edge, but neither has really stood out yet. On the interior, they added veteran Javon Hargrave, and the Packers will keep their fingers crossed that Devonte Wyatt can finally stay healthy. With so many unknowns and moving parts, adding multiple puzzle pieces to the defensive line is a possibility.