{"id":21082,"date":"2025-04-21T22:42:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21082"},"modified":"2025-04-21T22:42:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T22:42:39","slug":"breaking-packers-gm-brian-gutekunst-gearing-up-for-different-kind-of-draft-with-green-bay-serving-as-host","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21082","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Packers GM Brian Gutekunst gearing up for different kind of draft with Green Bay serving as host"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"Green<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) \u2014 The Green Bay Packers hold the 23rd overall pick in this year\u2019s NFL draft, but general manager Brian Gutekunst has more to think about than just the player he wants to take.<\/p>\n

Including, with the city of Green Bay hosting the event, how he\u2019s going to get to his Lambeau Field office each day.<\/p>\n

Although he didn\u2019t have any issues on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI rode my bike,\u201d Gutekunst joked as he kicked off his annual pre-draft press conference.<\/p>\n

Gutekunst downplayed any logistical challenges he and the rest of the Packers staff might be facing amid the carnival-like atmosphere in the area surrounding the iconic stadium, with the league expecting 250,000 fans to attend the three-day draft.<\/p>\n

He also insisted that whomever the Packers pick in the first round won\u2019t necessarily have to contribute immediately to a team that has made the playoffs the past two years with limited contributions from defensive end Lukas Van Ness and offensive lineman Jordan Morgan. The Packers took Van Ness with the 13th overall pick in 2023 and acquired Morgan with the 25th overall selection last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great when they do (contribute), but that\u2019s not always the case,\u201d said Gutekunst, who enters the draft with eight total selections \u2014 one in each of the first six rounds, plus two seventh-round choices. \u201cThe transition to the National Football League is tough. It\u2019s not always easy. \u2026 Most of the time, a guy\u2019s impact in his rookie year comes down to the opportunities that he had, more than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

With needs at wide receiver, on the defensive line and at cornerback, there could be opportunities at those spots sooner rather than later. That said, Gutekunst also expressed confidence in the team he\u2019s already assembled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really good about our roster right now. That doesn\u2019t happen every year (heading into the draft),\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cBut if we had to go play next week, I feel really good about our roster. I feel like we could win and go compete \u2014 really, across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Eight<\/p>\n

Gutekunst does have a few roster situations to deal with, however.<\/p>\n

For starters, there\u2019s two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander\u2019s unresolved situation. Gutekunst acknowledged last month that he is actively seeking to trade Alexander.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe invested a lot in Jaire and want to make sure \u2014 if he\u2019s not going to be on our football team helping us win games \u2014 that we get something back for that investment,\u201d Gutekunst said at the NFL owners meetings.<\/p>\n

Alexander, who has two years remaining on his existing contract, has played in just seven regular-season games each of the last two years. During that stretch, he has missed 19 total regular-season games because of injury and one for a 2023 suspension because of conduct detrimental to the team.<\/p>\n

A knee injury forced him to miss 10 of the Packers\u2019 final 11 games last season, including their 22-10 playoff loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.<\/p>\n

Asked if he would simply keep Alexander this season if he can\u2019t trade him before or during the draft, Gutekunst replied, \u201cWe\u2019ll work through that. I don\u2019t really have any updates on Jaire. He\u2019s obviously on our roster right now. We\u2019ll see how the draft goes and then see where we are at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gutekunst wouldn\u2019t say whether he would extend the fifth-year options to the team\u2019s two 2022 first-round draft picks \u2014 linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt \u2014 before the league\u2019s May 1 deadline.<\/p>\n

But, he emphasized that he wants both on the team long-term.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for both those guys, whatever mechanism we use, we\u2019d like to keep those guys around for \u201926 and beyond,\u201d Gutekunst said. \u201cSo whether that\u2019s through doing the fifth-year option on these guys or extending them one way or the other, we\u2019re planning to do that. We\u2019d like to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Green Bay Packers hold the 23rd overall pick in this year\u2019s NFL draft. But general manager Brian Gutekunst has more to think about than just the player he wants to take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1260,98,1259,1202,48,99,1257,513,18,370,373,1237,138,1258],"class_list":["post-21082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-green-bay-packers","tag-athlete-injuries","tag-brian-gutekunst","tag-devonte-wyatt","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-jaire-alexander","tag-jordan-morgan","tag-lukas-van-ness","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-draft","tag-nfl-football","tag-quay-walker","tag-sports","tag-wi-state-wire"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING : Packers GM Brian Gutekunst gearing up for different kind of draft with Green Bay serving as host - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=21082\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Packers GM Brian Gutekunst gearing up for different kind of draft with Green Bay serving as host - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Green Bay Packers hold the 23rd overall pick in this year\u2019s NFL draft. 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