After two straight seasons losing in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, there may be some more changes within the depth chart of the Green Bay Packers.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has made a number of splashes in recent years, bringing in Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney and Micah Parsons. Add into the fact that Jordan Love and Christian Watson were recently extended, and it has become clear that the nucleus of Green Bay is set.
With a large sum of money tied up in that nucleus, it is likely that Green Bay is not going to be very active when it comes to signing the big name free agents who are going to warrant bigger contracts. That doesn’t mean that Green Bay is going to sit on its hands, though.
It is going to be difficult for Green Bay to bring back all of its unrestricted free agents, so to refill the team, Gutekunst and his staff are going to have to penny pinch and find those diamonds in the rough.
“Any opportunity you have to help your football team, you have to look at it and discuss it as a group,” said Gutekunst.
Historically, Gutekunst has opted to fill out the roster throughout the draft. This season though, Green Bay will be without a first round pick, as it was traded to Dallas for Parsons. Gutekunst may be active to pick up additional picks in the draft, but as it stands, Green Bay’s first selection will be pick 52.
Given that Green Bay is probably going to need to fill its offensive line, if it can’t re-sign Rasheed Walker, Sean Rhyan or both, that pick seems likely to be a piece there. Northwestern’s Caleb Tiernan looks like a piece that Green Bay can slot in at the tackle position.
If Green Bay elects to go to the defensive side of the ball, Indiana defensive back D’angelo Ponds or Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter are certainly in the cards to be selected.
With the Packers lack of premium draft capital, finding a piece or two in free agency has to be at the top of Gutekunst’s priority list.
Defensive back Martin Emerson, who has spent his first four years in Cleveland, looks like he can be a relatively cheap player who has the tools to start immediately on the outside for Jonathan Gannon’s defense. If Green Bay is looking to bolster its offensive line through free agency, D.J. Humphries, who spent this past season with the Los Angeles Rams, would be a budget-friendly veteran who could immediately produce.
One other interesting spot that Green Bay will likely need to fill this offseason is the backup quarterback position.
Malik Willis is likely to be a starting quarterback for a different team next season, leaving a void on the Packers depth chart. Green Bay has historically looked toward the late rounds of the draft to bring on a quarterback.
If that trend continues this season, players like Illinois’ Luke Altmyer or Kansas’ Jalon Daniels could be the solution. If the team were to look toward veterans, players like Gardner Minshew, who backed up Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, or Trey Lance, who backed up Justin Herbert with the Los Angeles Chargers, could conceivably be wearing green and gold next season.
