Process is the most important thing in football roster-building. But luck can help sometimes, and the Green Bay Packers heavily benefited from that twice in the same year.

In 2022, general manager Brian Gutekunst tried to execute two trades involving wide receivers, and both would have gone bad. Gladfully for the Packers, both deals didn't happen, and the results ended up being much better.

Darren Waller

In 2022, when Davante Adams informed the Packers he wanted to play for the Las Vegas Raiders, Brian Gutekunst and then Raiders GM Dave Ziegler started talks about a deal. Reportedly, the Packers would have closed the deal for a first-round pick and tight end Darren Waller.

However, Adams was under the franchise tag. And for tag-and-trade type of deals, other players can't be involved. So the Raiders kept Waller and ended up sending the Packers first- and second-round picks.

The Packers used that extra second-round pick to move up in the draft and select wide receiver Christian Watson. Since that, Watson has suffered with injuries, but he is still more productive and cheaper. He's had 69 receptions for 1,033 receiving yards and 14 scrimmage touchdowns.

Waller played a year for the Raiders with 388 yards and three touchdowns before being finally traded for a third-round pick. In a season for the New York Giants, he had 52 receptions for 552 yards and a touchdown — and now he's expected to retire from the NFL.

Darren Waller is expected to make a decision by next week’s minicamp on his playing future and people in and around the team expect he’s going to retire, multiple sources told @AdamSchefter and me. Would be a pleasant surprise if he decided otherwise. https://t.co/KiH645hDJe

— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) June 3, 2024

The Packers even considered Waller in the middle of the 2022 season, but they weren't able to find a new deal with the Raiders.

Chase Claypool

The second attempt to find a veteran player in 2022 was Chase Claypool, who at the time was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Packers offered a second-round pick, but the Steelers preferred to deal him to the Chicago Bears, correctly presuming that would end up as the higher selection.

The Bears paid the 32nd overall pick in the draft. With the second-rounder they would have sent to the Steelers, the Packers traded down (twice). The final package was a combination of Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Karl Brooks.

At the end of everything, the Packers would have had Chase Claypool and Darren Waller. Instead, they have Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Karl Brooks.

That's luck, because the process wasn't great. But Brian Gutekunst took the most out of his second chance — and for the future, it's an important lesson to not be desperate trying to acquire veterans with a short-term perspective.

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