NFL Offseason Draft and Free Agent Capital: Where Do Packers Rank?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At the end of a 37-minute news conference on Thursday, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst put the onus on the players and coaches to take the next steps after this year’s one-and-done playoffs.

“We’ve got a bunch of good guys in that locker room, we’ve got a bunch of talented guys in that locker room, and I think it’s time that we started competing for championships,” he said.

While that may be true, the pressure also is on Gutekunst to take the necessary steps to push a young and talented team toward the finish line.

This will be a different challenge for Gutekunst than he’s faced the past couple offseasons.

In 2022, following the trade of Davante Adams to the Raiders, the Packers had plenty of draft capital but limited financial resources.

In 2023, following the trade of Aaron Rodgers to the Jets, the Packers had plenty of draft capital but extremely limited financial resources.

In 2024, following the previous year’s trade of Rodgers as well as the trade of Rasul Douglas to the Bills, the Packers had picks and money. Gutekunst struck in free agency by signing Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs.

In 2025, Gutekunst will have plenty of cash to spend but limited resources in the draft to add to the roster.

Timo Riske, a mathematician and data scientist for Pro Football Focus, put together a formula that combined a team’s draft capital with its cap space to outline each team’s offseason assets.

The Packers, who own the 23rd pick of the first round and have one pick in each of the first six rounds and two in the seventh round, rank just 25th in draft capital.

Meanwhile, the Packers enter the offseason ranked 12th in effective cap space – the amount of money left over after signing their rookie class. Like all teams, they have the ability to create more cap space via contract restructures.

Riske put together a formula that combines the two figures. The Packers wound up ranking 19th in offseason capital.

Of note, in the NFC North, the Bears are third, the Vikings are 14th and the Lions are 27th. The Eagles, who beat the Packers in the regular season as well as the postseason, are 29th. On the other hand, don’t count out the 49ers yet; they are seventh.

Gutekunst and his right-hand man, Russ Ball, navigated the Packers through the challenge of dumping Rodgers’ colossal contract. Now, with the youngest roster in the NFL but one that is battle-hardened after back-to-back playoff berths, the Packers are in a strong financial position entering this offseason.

“I feel really good,” Gutekunst said on Thursday. “Russ does a fantastic job with our cap, and all the decisions we’ve made over the past few years have put us in the situation where we’re in pretty good shape right now. Again, we’ve got to keep making good decisions.”

This should be a relatively stress-free offseason in terms of keeping the roster together. Of the Packers’ 11 unrestricted free agents, none would be considered absolutely vital to re-sign. Center Josh Myers, defensive tackle T.J. Slaton, linebacker Isaiah McDuffie and kicker Brandon McManus are the four starters.

It will be different next offseason, though, when the talented 2022 draft class will reach free agency. That’s why Gutekunst said it’s “never a one-year thing.” Blowing out the credit card this offseason would have wide-ranging implications for the future.

“You’re looking at two, three years down the road as far as how these things impact things,” he continued. “We have a lot of good players that are under rookie contracts right now, and we’ve got to make sure we’re able to extend those guys when that time comes.

“But I feel really good about our ability to go do what we need to do to field a championship-level team. Again, the opportunities that are going to be out there are unknown right now, we’ll see how that goes. But we’re in a better situation than we have been over the past two or three.”

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