Packers trusting in GM Gutekunst’s plan to compete for a SB

Brian Gutekunst is a planner. Always has been.

Just ask anyone who has worked with him since he joined the Green Bay Packers as a scouting intern in 1997, or since he became the team’s general manager in 2018.

“Some guys just throw s— on the board and think it’s a plan,” said an NFL personnel analyst who worked for the Packers in multiple capacities during Gutekunst’s tenure. “This is a clear plan. He has a three-year plan and a five-year plan. You can see that by the way he’s shaped the roster.”

This was merely Year 2 of that plan. So far, it has resulted in back-to-back postseason appearances with no signs that this is the end, but rather another step on the way to getting the Packers back to the Super Bowl.

“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 we started competing for championships, right?” Gutekunst said following the Packers’ NFC wild-card playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. “I think they’re ready.”

The next step, according to coach Matt LaFleur, is to shed the wild-card label and get back to winning the NFC North like they did in each of his first three seasons. Then it would mean they wouldn’t have to open the playoffs on the road against a team like the Eagles.

“I think it just goes back to show you the importance of getting these home-field games, in my opinion,” LaFleur said.

While much of the credit has gone to LaFleur, who has five playoff appearances in six seasons as head coach, and quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love — who backed up Rodgers for three years before turning in two seasons worthy of the franchise quarterback label — Gutekunst has worked in the background without many accolades.

But those around the league have noticed.

“The way he’s building the team is good,” an assistant GM with another team said. “You won’t hit on every player, but he has managed the team well — maybe need one more impact player, but those are hard to just go find.”

GUTEKUNST, WHO WAS hired as GM in 2018 to replace Ted Thompson, is in Phase 2 of his tenure. The first included maximizing the remaining years of Rodgers’ career in Green Bay. To that end, the Packers reached the playoffs every season from 2019 to 2021 and twice reached the NFC Championship Game before he traded Rodgers to the New York Jets in April 2023.

The second part is built around Love, who Gutekunst picked at No. 26 after trading up in the first round of the 2020 draft.

And it meant going young, especially on offense, once it was clear Love would take over in 2023.

A year after Gutekunst drafted receivers Christian Watson (second round) and Romeo Doubs (fourth), he went heavy on skill positions in the 2023 draft with receivers Jayden Reed (second) and Dontayvion Wicks (fifth), plus tight ends Luke Musgrave (second) and Tucker Kraft (third). The Musgrave pick was one he had acquired from the Jets in the Rodgers trade.

Reed has been the Packers’ leading receiver each of the past two years, while Kraft, Doubs and Wicks ranked Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively, this season.

Gutekunst’s plan was in place: Give Love young teammates he could grow up with.

“That’s a little bit of the idea, right?” Gutekunst said after the 2023 draft. “That’s important for those guys to grow together. And we took some guys last year that I think have really done a nice job in their first year. We’re excited for their growth.

“We have a good nucleus of guys, pass catchers to be able to grow with the quarterback.”

Green Bay Packers