The Green Bay Packers went a respectable 11-6 in 2024, reaching the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six years. However, the team fell in the Wild Card round to the Philadelphia Eagles, continuing a trend of disappointing postseason play. The Packers are 3-5 in the postseason since Matt LaFleur was named head coach in 2019. In an effort to change the playoff narrative, the Packers could break with tradition and make a splash move in free agency this offseason.
Green Bay also isn’t ruling out a trade. General manager Brian Gutekunst was asked if he might trade the team’s first-round draft pick in 2025 for an edge rusher. “Depends who that edge rusher would be,” Gutekunst answered, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
In a follow up to the cryptic response, a reporter hoped to toss out names of potential rushers for the Packers’ GM to comment on. But Gutekunst quickly shut the exercise down, saying “If they’re on other teams, no.”
While the Packers boasted a quality defense last season, ranking sixth overall in terms of yards allowed and sixth-best as a scoring defense, giving up just 19.9 points per game, it’s clear Green Bay needs to improve its pass rush. Pressuring the quarterback is a big key to postseason success, as the Packers learned from the Eagles’ dominant Super Bowl performance.
The Packers’ pass rush was lacking in 2024
DE Rashan Gary led the team with 7.5 sacks last season, with DT Devonte Wyatt finishing second with five. Clearly the Packers could use an upgrade. While Myles Garrett has requested a trade from the Browns and veteran edge rushers Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson could become available, it’s probably going to take more than the Packers’ first-round pick to land any of those star defenders. Green Bay holds the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 draft and the team currently has seven total picks – one in each round.
The Packers have also uncharacteristically been rumored to have an interest in landing a WR1 in free agency. The team could also pull the trigger on a wideout in the draft. Although the organization has avoided spending first-round picks on receivers in the past.
Still, Gutekunst denies that avoiding wideouts in the first round is a team philosophy. The Packers have just been very good at finding talent at the position in the later rounds.
“I don’t think we’d ever hesitate to take a receiver in the first round if the right one was there. We certainly talked about it at different times in the last seven years since I’ve been in this spot,” Gutekunst told reporters at the NFL combine, per The Athletic.
