Packers GM Brian Gutekunst’s Drafts: Grades, Hits, Misses and What-Ifs

The Green Bay Packers are set to come into camp looking to wash the stink off a five-game losing streak to finish the 2025 season. One of the ways they are looking to improve was through the additions of their 2026 draft class, which includes Brandon Cisse, Chris McClellan and Dani Dennis-Sutton.

Brian Gutekunst has been the general manager since 2018 and, like any man in charge, his draft classes have been a mixed bag.

What’s his best draft? And his worst?

We put Gutekunst under the microscope by ranking each of his draft classes. They are listed from best to worst.

2022

Hits: This class wins the honor of Gutekunst’s finest after being augmented by the trade of Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for first- and second-round draft choices.

One of those picks helped Gutekunst trade up in the second round to take one of Adams’ replacements, Christian Watson. Watson has become one of the best stories in Green Bay and grown into a leadership role in the locker room. The team rewarded him with a contract extension in hopes that he’ll blossom into a top option at receiver this season.

Beyond the second round, Gutekunst continued his run with four consecutive picks on players who became key contributors with Sean Rhyan, Romeo Doubs, Zach Tom and Kingsley Enagbare.

His second-to-last pick was Rasheed Walker, who had a poor finish in Green Bay but provided solid play at left tackle for multiple seasons, which is nearly impossible to find outside of the first couple rounds.

Misses: While Gutekunst came into this draft armed with two first-round picks, neither has played to expectations.

Quay Walker never blossomed into the linebacker the team hoped he would be when they took him 22nd overall. Devonte Wyatt has been injured and inconsistent during his career. He’s entering a big season for his future in Green Bay.

Walker was allowed to leave in free agency this offseason, signing with the Raiders. Wyatt, who is scheduled to play this season under the fifth-year option, could have a similar fate if he has another injury-plagued season.

What if?: It’s easy to play hindsight after a draft, but it’s a fun exercise. What if Gutekunst used his first pick on edge rusher George Karlaftis, who fits the mold of players the Packers typically value at that position? He still could have taken Wyatt at No. 28 and traded up for Watson and gotten two impact players, with Wyatt being a wildcard.

That could have bled into the 2023 draft, when Gutekunst took edge rusher Lukas Van Ness in the first round, which we’ll get to in a moment.

Grade: B-Plus.

2023

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) catches a touchdown pass against the Texans. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Hits: Gutekunst’s first two picks in this draft were not much to write home about, but the next three picks ranged from incredibly useful to borderline superstardom.

Jayden Reed is an electric playmaker for the Packers when he’s been on the field. Tucker Kraft has gotten better every year since he’s stepped into Green Bay and could be one of the best tight ends in football when he returns from a torn ACL.

Colby Wooden, Dontayvion Wicks, Karl Brooks and Carrington Valentine found key roles as mid-to late-round draft choices.

The biggest reason for this ranking, however, goes to Reed and Kraft. Both are top-flight playmakers at their positions. Reed was given a contract extension in April and Kraft might be next.

Misses: This draft class being ranked as high as it is might be a modern miracle considering how it began.

Lukas Van Ness was the team’s first-round pick but has yet to deliver on being the 13th overall pick. Luke Musgrave began his career with a bang, setting the franchise rookie record for receptions by a tight end, but has been usurped by Kraft and could be playing his final season in Green Bay. Those two picks came inside the top-50 of a draft class that was the first of the post-Aaron Rodgers era.

No general manager is perfect, but the Packers started this draft class by picking two raw prospects with a lot of tools. Neither have developed.

One other glaring miss was the sixth-round selection, kicker Anders Carlson. Carlson was the Packers’ kicker throughout the 2023 season. Their stubbornness of keeping Carlson through his rookie season ultimately cost them in the playoffs. Carlson missed a makeable field goal in the team’s 24-21 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round.

Carlson was ultimately released after training camp in 2024, and the Packers are still searching for a long-term answer at kicker.

What if?: The biggest what if of this draft comes immediately in the first round, and it’s a talking point that has been rehashed continuously.

Gutekunst passed on two players who were impact players in the most recent Super Bowl: Receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba of the Seahawks and cornerback Christian Gonzalez of the Patriots.

Adding either player would have changed the Packers’ roster dramatically, but especially Gonzalez, who is an impact player at what is arguably Green Bay’s weakest position.

Meanwhile, Van Ness has yet to deliver on his lofty draft status and is entering a massive season to prove his mettle as an impact player.

Grade: B.

2024

Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Jordan Morgan will finally get his chance to start at left tackle. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Hits: Jordan Morgan could find his way onto this list if he proves himself as a franchise left tackle, but since he has not done that yet, Gutekunst’s best picks in this draft class came in the middle rounds.

Edgerrin Cooper made a run at Defensive Rookie of the Year and should be a big part of Jonathan Gannon’s new defense. Javon Bullard emerged last year as the team’s nickel defender and is also positioned to be an impact player for Gannon.

Safety Evan Williams led the team in interceptions a season ago, is a smart player and always finds himself in the right position. He helps form one of the top safety tandems in football with Xavier McKinney.

Misses: Gutekunst had two picks in the third round, and neither has panned out. Linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper looked like someone who would traditionally be in line to replace Quay Walker when he left in free agency. Instead, Gutekunst traded a defensive lineman, Colby Wooden, to acquire Zaire Franklin from the Colts.

Hopper now has a role that is incredibly unclear and could find himself on the outside looking in with a poor showing in training camp.

Running back MarShawn Lloyd has been snake-bitten with injuries and yet to establish any sort of role in the NFL. He could be in line for a big season as the presumed backup to Josh Jacobs, who is still uncertain of his future thanks to a legal investigation.

Later in the draft, it’s hard to say a seventh-round pick is a miss, but Michael Pratt was taken to compete with Sean Clifford for the backup role behind Jordan Love. Pratt and Clifford performed poorly in the preseason and were released, and Gutekunst made a late-summer trade for Malik Willis.

What if?: More low-hanging fruit here, but Cooper DeJean was probably the player who was mocked to Green Bay the most throughout the pre-draft process. Instead, the Packers took Morgan with the 25th overall pick, and he has yet to start a game that matters at his preferred position of left tackle.

Meanwhile, DeJean has developed into one of the best slot corners in football for Vic Fangio and the Eagles, which included a pick-six in their Super Bowl win over the Chiefs.

Grade: C-Plus.

2019

Green Bay Packers lineman Elgton Jenkins stretches before a practice at training camp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Hits: Rashan Gary was the first pick in this draft class and was objectively a good player during his time in Green Bay. Quibble with the fact that a team likely wants a great player when taken in the top-15, but good will land you on a list of hits from the draft class.

Safety Darnell Savage had a good start to his career before flaming out. Kingsley Keke looked like he was becoming something in the middle of Green Bay’s defensive line before being released.

The crown jewel of this class was Elgton Jenkins, who the Packers took in the second round at 44th overall. Jenkins played all over Green Bay’s offensive line and was developing into one of the best players in football at his position before tearing his ACL. Who knows what would have happened for Jenkins’ career had he not injured his knee, but he was a solid player after the injury.

Misses: The biggest miss comes in the third round with tight end Jace Sternberger. The Packers had hoped that Sternberger would be a matchup tight end for them, but he never found his way to being a solid contributor. He was injured during his rookie season before catching a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers, which gave him some hope to springboard into a solid sophomore season.

It was not meant to be. Sternberger was outplayed by Robert Tonyan and never found his footing again in Green Bay before getting released.

What if?: Gutekunst essentially had his pick of the pass rushers when he was on the clock at No. 12 overall. Gary was a good player during his time in Green Bay, but he was never a great one. Brian Burns, who was picked by Carolina at No. 16, has been a great player as a three-time Pro Bowler. He is coming off a season of 16.5 sacks.

Burns’ skill-set could have complemented Za’Darius and Preston Smith incredibly well.

Trading up for Savage also proved to be a mistake, and it’s interesting to wonder what could have happened had Green Bay taken someone like DK Metcalf or AJ Brown, two receivers with dominant tools, to add another weapon to Aaron Rodgers’ arsenal.

In the third round, what if Gutekunst had taken Terry McLaurin over Sternberger?

That could have given him more runway to take someone like Jordan Love in the following year’s draft without opening him up for criticism.

Grade: C.

2020

Green Bay Packers Jordan Love is entering Year 4 as the starter. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Hits: This class is a one-trick pony, but it is one heck of a trick.

This draft class is Gutekunst’s most famous, and his most daring. With immediate needs at defensive tackle, receiver and linebacker, Gutekunst used his first-round pick on quarterback Jordan Love.

Love would sit on the bench for three seasons before finally being handed the keys to the franchise in 2023. Love has turned into one of the top quarterbacks in football and gives the Packers a chance to win on a weekly basis. Furthermore, he kept them out of the hell that is quarterback purgatory, which the Packers have not been in for well over 30 years.

Ultimately, if you get the quarterback pick right, it forgives the misses in other spots. Luckily for Gutekunst, who staked his career on Love being good, he was right.

Offensive lineman Jon Runyan Jr. was also a good selection in the sixth round, but ultimately allowed to leave without a second contract.

Misses: Love’s selection can be debated ad nausea for the remainder of eternity, but Gutekunst did not do himself any favors in the rest of the draft.

Running back AJ Dillon and tight end Josiah Deguara were supposed to be key cogs in Matt LaFleur’s run game. Dillon looked good for two seasons before becoming mostly injured and ineffective through the rest of his rookie contract. Deguara never developed into the h-back LaFleur likely hoped to use in his offense similar to that of Kyle Juszczyk in San Francisco.

What if?: This what-if scenario has been discussed over and over again. What if the Packers, who were coming off a trip to the NFC Championship Game, had taken a receiver, linebacker or some other position that could help immediately?

We will never know the answer to that question, but perhaps a cautionary tale could be seen in Pittsburgh or New Orleans.

Both franchises ignored the quarterback position in favor of trying to push toward a championship in the twilight of their franchise quarterback’s career. Both organizations failed, and now both are still searching for a long-term answer at quarterback.

As irony would have it, one of those short-term answers in Pittsburgh is Rodgers.

There is no position that is more valuable in sports, and the Packers – despite pushback from national media and pundits – were right to value it the way they did.

Grade: C.

2018

Hits: The 2018 class was a tale of two cornerbacks, the first of which was Jaire Alexander. Alexander was the prize for Gutekunst after maneuvering down the board, picking up an extra first-round pick for 2019, before moving back up to select Alexander.

Alexander was an All-Pro-caliber player before injuries ruined his career. He ended up starting as a rookie before growing into the best cornerback on the team for the most successful portion of the LaFleur era.

Had the Packers been able to win the NFC Championship Game against the Buccaneers in 2020, Alexander would have been the hero of the game with two interceptions of Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady.

The other success story from this draft class is fifth-round wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling. MVS never became a star and had some battles with inconsistency, but for a late-round pick, he provided good value.

Misses: Josh Jackson is the biggest wart on this list, as he was a player that many thought could be in play for Green Bay’s pick in the first round.

Instead, he tumbled into the second round, and the Packers thought they got a steal. Instead, Jackson struggled with a lack of foot speed and penalties. He was eventually traded for Isaac Yiadom in the final year of his rookie deal and is out of the NFL.

J’Mon Moore was the first of three receivers taken but was cut at the end of his second training camp.

Finally, Gutekunst used two picks on specialists, punter JK Scott and long snapper Hunter Bradley, and neither are with the team. If you’re going to draft a specialist, you better be right. Gutekunst was not in this case.

What if?: What if the Packers had not double-dipped at cornerback and instead looked at tight end? Four picks after the Packers took Jackson, the Eagles took Dallas Goedert, who has been a key cog in their passing game.

Adding Goedert would have given Rodgers a reliable tight end for the end of his career in Green Bay, while also giving Love a safety blanket to begin his first season as a starter. Instead, Goedert is likely ticketed for the Eagles’ hall of fame, while Jackson did not make it through his first contract in Green Bay.

Grade: C-Minus.

2021

Green Bay Packers cornerback Eric Stokes (21) is shown going through drills at minicamp as a rookie. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Hits: The forgettable class of 2021 was headlined by the selection of cornerback Eric Stokes, which was largely lost in the shuffle as news surfaced that day that Rodgers, fresh off his third MVP season, did not want to return to the team.

The rest of the draft class was drowned out by a plethora of poor selections, with two minor exceptions: nose tackle TJ Slaton in the fifth round and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie in the sixth round. Both players carved out niche roles in Green Bay, with McDuffie earning a second contract in Green Bay. He could be the first man off the bench this year.

Slaton is someone the Packers did not try very hard to keep when his contract expired, but they miss him now with no clear-cut nose tackle on the roster.

Misses: Where to begin?

This class was a dud from the very beginning with injuries ruining Stokes’ career in Green Bay. That pick was followed up by the selections of center Josh Myers and receiver Amari Rodgers with the Day 2 picks.

Rodgers never found his footing and was released midway through his second season. Myers never developed into the franchise center the team hoped he would be. Fourth-round guard Royce Newman piled up starts but never developed into an impact player.

This class was as forgettable as any that Gutekunst, or any general manager, has ever had.

What if?: Amari Rodgers and Josh Myers are picks that sting for a variety of reasons, but mostly because there were alternatives that felt obvious in the moment, and it turned out that way as their careers played out.

When Gutekunst selected Josh Myers, Creed Humphrey was the consensus favorite at center that year. Humphrey is arguably the best center in the NFL as a first-team All-Pro each of the last two years while Myers never panned out.

When Gutekunst moved up for Amari Rodgers, Michigan’s Nico Collins was available, and he fit the height/weight/speed profile the Packers usually preferred at receiver. Collins became a star for the Texans and Rodgers is out of the NFL.

Grade: F.

2025

Green Bay Packers receiver Matthew Golden (0) makes a reception against the Bears in the playoffs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Overview: It’s hard to say what player is a hit or miss with just one season under the belt, but the early returns on the 2025 class were pretty underwhelming.

First-round receiver Matthew Golden is stepping into a big role for his second season, but was buried on the depth chart for most of his rookie season. Second-round lineman Anthony Belton was up-and-down as he tried to learn a new position, right guard.

The rest of the draft class was either in and out of the lineup or spent most of the season injured.

This year will be a big year for Golden, Belton and Savion Williams, a receiver picked in the third round who could be in line for a big jump in Year 2.

What if?: It’s hard to play what if at this stage of the game, with one season under each player’s belt, but one question worth asking is what if the Packers took a cornerback sooner in this draft? With the pick of Golden in the first round, the only options at cornerback available when they took Belton was Ole Miss’ Trey Amos.

Perhaps they could have moved up for Michigan’s Will Johnson, but there were questions surrounding his knee coming out of college.

Johnson and Amos were both solid as rookies and could have given a cornerback group that was very maligned by the end of the season a boost.

Grade: Incomplete

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