Packers lean on Super Bowl front office in calculated partnership aimed at sharpening their draft evaluation process
Green Bay and Seattle are working together.
The NFL is an incredibly competitive environment, and being ahead of the curve is always important. But that doesn’t mean you have to hate everybody else in the process. The Green Bay Packers have a proven scouting process, going back to Ron Wolf’s days, and the top executives from both Super Bowl teams (John Schneider for the Seattle Seahawks and Eliot Wolf from the New England Patriots) come from the Packer Way tree.
Now, the Packers are taking advantage of that circle of influence to maximize their draft process. At the moment, it’s just a small example, but it’s something that could be even more helpful down the road.
Joint interviews
According to journalist Gery Woelfel, the Packers and Seahawks conducted a joint formal interview with Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad during the Senior Bowl week — which is not necessarily unusual, but it’s still notable. Muhammad is perceived as a second-round prospect.
“I thought I had a good interview with them,” Muhammad said. “I got to show my football knowledge and let them get to know me better.”
John Schneider is the Seahawks’ general manager and president of football operations. While he’s been in Seattle since 2010, he worked in Green Bay for a total of 12 years — first as a scout between 1993 and 1996, then returning as a personnel aide to general manager between 2002 and 2007, and director of football operations in 2008 and 2009.
During these final eight years, current Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was already a part of the scouting staff, so they know each other very well.
It makes sense to join forces with a close front office, even though they ultimately are NFC rivals. Both teams have similar scouting processes anyway, they will inevitably target similar players. By doing that, the Packers can split their people and have access to more players, making their decision-making better informed come draft time.
Shared history
Back in 2018, when general manager Ted Thompson moved to an advisory role, the Packers tried to interview John Schneider for the GM job. However, the Seahawks denied the request.
At the time, ESPN reported that “Schneider would be the preferred choice of many in the organization, including some already in the scouting department, and coach Mike McCarthy.” Without a resolution, the Packers promoted then director of player personnel Brian Gutekunst to the GM position. Last week, Gutekunst extended his contract with the Packers — it’s his third deal since becoming the top executive on the team.
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