Packers Winning Big NFL Draft Trade: Extra Point

The Green Bay Packers sent two second-round picks to the Minnesota Vikings so they could select Christian Watson. What if they had just picked him in the first round?

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Dec 10, 2022 11:19 AM EST

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – It appears Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst gambled and won when he sent two second-round picks to the rival Minnesota Vikings so he could draft Christian Watson.

“I always have a sigh of relief when our players do well,” he said this week of Watson, who’s on a record-setting stretch of eight touchdowns in the last four games. “But, no, we kind of move forward. I’m not really looking back on all that. I’m just really happy for the player and for Christian. He’s done a heck of a job on his own, fighting through some of these things and just being prepared for his opportunities.”

The offseason trade of Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders gave the Packers additional choices in the first and second rounds. With the first-round pick from the Raiders, Gutekunst selected linebacker Quay Walker. With their own pick at No. 28, he went with defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.

While Walker was a Day 1 starter who leads the entire rookie class in tackles, Wyatt has only played here and there. He is tied for 86th in the rookie class with 10 tackles while averaging about 10 snaps per game. He has no sacks, quarterback hits or tackles for losses. Simply put, whether it was training camp, preseason or the first 13 games of his NFL career, Wyatt hasn’t played to his scouting report.

“I think he’s such a disruptor on the line of scrimmage,” Gutekunst said after the first round. “He can play the 1, he can play the 3. He’s a dynamic pass rusher. His ability to scrape and get to the ball in the run game is almost linebacker-like. We didn’t expect him to be there sitting at 28. We thought at 22 when we picked Quay we probably lost our opportunity to take him so, when he was sitting there, we were certainly encouraged.”

So, what if Gutekunst had simply drafted Watson with the 28th selection and kept the two second-round picks, No. 53 from the Raiders and his own choice at No. 59? Defensive tackle (with Wyatt), offensive line (the Packers took Sean Rhyan in the third round and Zach Tom in the fourth) and outside linebacker (Kingsley Enagbare in the fifth round) were primary needs.

Three edge defenders went in those neck of the woods: Sam Williams to Dallas at No. 56, Drake Jackson to San Francisco at No. 61 and Nick Bonitto to Denver at No. 64. Enagbare is sixth in the draft class with 17 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s more than Williams (14), Jackson (14) and Bonitto (10). With three sacks, Jackson and Williams trail only Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson in the rookie class.

On the offensive line, Northeast Wisconsin native Luke Goedeke went to Tampa Bay at No. 57, Ed Ingram went to Minnesota at No. 59, Luke Fortner went to Jacksonville at No. 65, Joshua Ezeudu went to the Giants at No. 67, Nicholas Petit-Frere went to Tennessee at No. 69 and Abraham Lucas went to Seattle at No. 72.

Goedeke started the first seven games at guard before going on injured reserve, Ingram has started every game at guard, Fortner has started every game at center and Ezeudu has two starts at guard. Petit-Frere and Lucas have started every game at right tackle. Of the six, the athletic Lucas – who seemed a good fit for Green Bay’s system – has been the best player but none have outplayed Green Bay’s versatile fourth-rounder, Tom.

On the defensive line, only Travis Jones at No. 76 to Baltimore went anywhere close to Green Bay’s range. The 336-pounder has two starts and one sack.

With 20/20 hindsight in a live-for-today world, Gutekunst would have been better off taking Watson in the first round and using the second-round picks on Williams and Lucas.

With all that said, the NFL Draft isn’t only about today. Veterans Dean Lowry and Jarran Reed will be free agents at the end of the season, so the door is open for Wyatt to earn a much larger role in the future. With a year of seasoning, Wyatt could join Walker and Watson as game-changers.

Or, maybe he won’t, and Gutekunst will lament a couple missed opportunities to have turned a really good draft class into one that's great.