Brian Gutekunst drops telling hint about Packers draft plans that could define approach across multiple picks
The Packers haven’t drafted a cornerback before the seventh round since 2021, but that reality is about to change. Gutekunst revealed a key part about his plans for later this week.
Cornerback has been a problem for the Green Bay Packers for the past two years, in particular. At the same time, the front office hasn’t drafted a CB before the seventh round since Eric Stokes in the first round back in 2021. The situation may go back to normal this year, though.
Based on what general manager Brian Gutekunst said during his pre-draft press conference, the Packers might be ready to draft not only one, but multiple cornerbacks in this class.
It’s a matter of numbers
The Packers do trust their top three cornerbacks in Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and free agent addition Benjamin St-Juste. However, beyond the depth considerations after them, Nixon and Valentine are both entering a contract year, while St-Juste signed through 2027. The team needs long-term options.
“We are going to have to add numbers there,” Gutekunst confirmed. “Bringing in Benjamin along with Keisean and Carrington, you get three guys who have seen significant snaps in their careers, and I feel good about them going out and playing.
“That’s probably our group, from a numbers perspective, where we’re going to need to add the most. We’ll see how that goes.”
Beyond the top three players on the depth chart, the Packers also have Kamal Hadden, Shemar Bartholomew, and Bo Melton at the position, plus Jaylin Simpson and Johnathan Baldwin who have cornerback/safety versatility. In addition to what the team may do in the draft later this week, Gutekunst is curious about what new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon can extract from these developmental pieces.
“Some of our young guys, I’m interested to see with our new coaching staff how they adapt to what we’re going to be and what we ask them to do,” Gutekunst mentioned. “But we do need to add some numbers there.”
Draft approach
The Packers enter the draft with eight total picks, but without a first-round pick for the first time in four decades. Nonetheless, the Packer Way won’t change to find the best options on the board.
“Our process stays the same,” Gutekunst explained. “I would say there’s probably a little bit different allocation of time to some things. Maybe how we chopped up our 30 visits, what Pro Days I went to was a little different than it would have been in the past, but it hasn’t been a whole lot different.”
The days of prioritizing the cornerback position are back, and Brian Gutekunst isn’t shying away from that reality.