Faith Restored?

[lupedafiasco]

Probably not... But...

This is the first offseason where I feel Gutey has had a plan and isnt just making random or bad personnel decisions. The trade of Adams was a good move. First of all Adams wanted out. If he wasnt going to sign a $28M/season deal he wasnt coming back. To get a 1st and 2nd for a 29 year old players is terrific value. Getting Campbell, Preston, and Douglas on all what is essentially year to year deals I thought was also very masterful. Kicking Turner to the curb was the best thing hes done in a while. I have been preaching how bad he is for a while and how he wasnt worth that absurd contract we signed him to. Its very vindicating to see him get just a 1 year, $2.5M deal. I think Gutey did the best he could with the cap situation but to be fair he is the one who got it this bad.

One thing I think worth noting is the fans really bashing away at Rodgers for being paid what he is worth. As a back to back MVP he deserves to be the highest paid player in the league. 4 players have won back to back MVPs in NFL history. It isnt his fault the Packers fielded the worst STs unit in NFL history and they were bounced from the playoffs.

FA:
I really liked the signings we made. I think Sammy Watkins is going to explode in this offense. His career hes only played as the #3 option in KC or some really bad passers at QB. I can really see him having like a 70/1100/7 season or something along those lines. I think he offers more big play potential the Adams with more speed but a little less consistency in his ability to get open. Im also a fan of the Reed signing. I wouldnt say hes going to have a huge year with the amount of DL we have but I think there is potential to be a good reserve player and on a cheap deal I like the upside. We may see Lowry cut in the coming months with Reed and Wyatt being added to the mix and Slayton going into year 2.

Draft:
This has the potential to be Guteys best draft. If not it will for sure be his 2nd best draft considering he has 2 just downright awful drafts and 1 unknown. I felt in my time paying attention to the draft this was the worst class Ive ever seen. I have no problem with the way Gutey went with this one. The WRs were gone. On top of that there were only 3 I felt were worth a 1st round pick in London, Williams, and Pickett and with Pickett I get why he didnt go with his ego. Ive never understood why the Packers continue to build these dominant pass defenses, stack up on pass rushers, and proceed to have a garbage run defense that constantly sets the pass defense up with 3rd and medium to short. That should no longer be a problem.

Walker: B+
There is potential here. I dont know for sure but if I was a betting man I would bet Georgia asked Dean to attack and Quay to stay as the sideline to sideline LB. I hear the criticism and understand it. Quay didnt make plays. I think it was 1 TFL and 2 PDs. The one thing I used to argue with DK Metcalf is you cant confuse what a players doesnt do in college with what he cant do. I believe Quay has the potential to be a dominant LB. Great size, speed, and most importantly he is an excellent tackler. You just dont find great tacklers on defense anymore. I have been obsessed with having 2 dominant LBs since seeing the 2010s 49ers defense with P Willy and Bowman. I remember hearing an interview with Fangio about how having 2 ILBs that can do everything allows you to play the run well in nickel but also play the pass well and it takes away from an offense being able to find a weakness in either phase of their offense.

Wyatt: B
My only problem with Walker is his age. If he was 21 or so I would give this an A+ but I also this he might be gone too. I dont care about his off field crap. In my opinion it was minor. The issue with age is that by the time it comes to resigning him he would be 29 and at that point you are probably expecting his play to decline. Again though this only improves the defense. With Clark and Quay/Campbell you can just let Wyatt get off the ball and attack. Across the board this team has speed at every position.

Watson: B+
The only reason this grade isnt an A is because the trade value sucked and it went to a rival. That said this pick could potentially be at the level of Calvin Johnson. It is very rare to get a players this big, fast, and has a wonderlic this high. I think doing my research leading up to this for WRs that were successful Watson is 6th best. Realistically is Watson going to be Calvin? Probably not but I think he fits the offense as a vertical threat, good with the ball in his hands for underneath stuff, and a terrific blocker. Remember Calvin played for a garbage passing Georgia Tech team and developed into a phenom. I really do love the potential here.

Rhyan: A
Great pick here. In most of my mocks I did I took him with our 2nd...uhhh... 2nd round pick. I actually compared him to TJ Lang. The classic college LT who lacks the length so you play him at OG. I actually think he wins out the LG job as a rookie. I think thats his best spot with fantastic athleticism and great strength.

Doubs: A
Just another great pick here with huge upside. Many compared Pierce to Jordy Nelson but when I watched Doubs I felt he more closely resembled Nelson than anyone in this draft. Very productive college player. Returns punts. Good size/speed combination. He really has all the tools except his ability at the catch point. I think he loses concentration when a DBs are fighting with him for position. Its something that can improve. That said he should be a good gunner and a much better punt returner than Rodgers.

Tom: A
Tom actually reminded me of Tretter. I think his best position is going to be C. He really needs to bulk up if hes going to play OT. If he stays at OT I could see him busting like Spriggs where he just cant handle NFL edge level pass rushers. As a C though I think hes got great length and athleticism combination to even push Myers for his position. Could play OT in a pinch though much like Tretter. This was a steal pick IMO. I wasnt so high on him as some who I seen even p[laced him in the 1st. I thought he should have been long gone in the 3rd. This was the top player on my board and great positional versatility. He was the top player on my board.

Enagbare: C
This pick is meh to me. I just really cant get past how slow he ran and to me if youre taking a backup edge they need to be able to offer something on STs. With how slowly he ran I dont think he helps you there. Still as a pass rusher he gets it done. I dont know how because a lot of his rushes to me it just looks like the OTs are blowing the rep but production at some point cant be ignored. Run defense is awful. He needs discipline as a run defender because he plays running downs like a pass rusher IMO. Very CM3/Zadarius-esque as a run defender.

Carpenter: D
Another pick I wasnt a fan of. If you want a S get a S. If you want a LB get an LB. I dont understand getting a S and moving him to LB where you now have Campbell, Quay, Barnes, and Summers. He did have a really good pro day and has a lot of STs expereince so he could be a core player there but I would prefer getting a player with a real positional upside to develop. Jarrett Bush was an awful CB for years but a STs standout and eventually developed into a serviceable #4 CB.

Ford: D
Not sure where he fits. You have Kenny, Wyatt, Lowry, Reed, Slayton, and Heflin. At NT alone you can go Kenny or Slayton. This is probably a practice squad pick. He does have STs upside which the team needs but like Carpenter I would have liked some positional upside. All this pick does is gives another team a chance to steal him from the PS.

Walker: A
Walker shouldnt have gone this low. I wasnt high on him as the 4th round I saw him going in some mocks but He should have gone sooner than the 7th. Great size and strength and a ton of experience with PSU. I think he did fall for the hump move he did. To me thats hilarious but I could see how todays soft mindset some might even consider that sexual assault. I think there is potential to be a developmental starter but ultimately hes a backup RT. With the experience he has he is what he is I would think. He doesnt have the foot speed to as things stand and his technique with his hands isnt good enough to make up for that. I could see him being maybe a Billy Turner type where he should be a backup (subtle shots fired or too forward?) He was the top player on my board at the time.

Toure: A
I actually got stationed in NE last year (not by choice) and I got to go to quite a few Cornhusker games and watched pretty much all there games. For as bad as that garbage team was Toure did stand out on offense. He could have been better with a better QB. Not much here to be a #1 or #2 but maybe a good #3 or #4 you can rely on to do his job and be a good gunner. Odd to be in a place where College football is valued more than the pros. Never experienced this before but the tailgating has been incredible.

The concern would be Gutenkunst has swung at OL consistently throughout his tenure and outside of Jenkins he has consistently missed. Meyers may be a win but even then he missed on Creed Humphrey who I said during that draft should have been the pick. Runyan or Newman may develop or one of these guys may hit and we really need them to. We have 2 guard spots wide open assuming we play Jenkins at the position he is going to get paid to play. The other concern is Gutey hasnt really done well at WR. The last time he took 3 WRs we ended up retaining none of them. He should have gotten players at the position before last season to have someone ready to step in but we are where we are. Even last year Amari Rodgers looked slow to me. Maybe he develops but I was not impressed. Not calling for him to be cut though. Punter is another concern. Gutey has been plugging players here for a while and hasnt found a single Punter worth a damn. Will O'Donnell be that guy? Guteys track record says either no or we are due for one.

In terms of depth Im concerned at S. I already dont like Savage. If he or Amos goes down we have no depth. TE also really concerns me. I think this whole position group is bad if Tonyan doesnt return to 2020 form. We really need a jump from Deguara. Everywhere else this team has terrific depth. Even WR where there isnt a ton of experience I think we did the best we could with what we had and there is a lot of cheap upside here.

[NCF]

We may see Lowry cut in the coming months with Reed and Wyatt being added to the mix and Slayton going into year 2.

I don't think this will happen but I have to admit, I have been wondering this a lot myself lately, too.

[salmar80]

This off-season moves make a ton of sense, even if Gutey hasn't done it in the exact way pundits thought. Talking heads only wanted weapons for AR, Gutey wants a great team.

I think people tend to forget the offensive line is almost half of starting positions on the O. 5 out of 22 starters on the team. Gotta keep spending picks there.

[salmar80]

Also, I agree Quay looked on tape as of he'd been asked to be a security blanket in the middle, not a free-reign hero who gets to guess and just attack.

Campbell developed from a "safety ILB" to a hero when given the chance at the right time. I could envision a similar path for Walker.

[TB4]

[TB4]

..

[APB]

I do agree this has been another good off-season for Gute. Seems to be growing into his own. Didn’t panic in the the 1st rd and let the talent come to him. You could argue he did panic day two with the trade up but if he felt that strongly about Watson, I won’t condemn it. Day three early picks were gold.

[Realist]

We may see Lowry cut in the coming months with Reed and Wyatt being added to the mix and Slayton going into year 2.

I don't think this will happen but I have to admit, I have been wondering this a lot myself lately, too.

The Lowry thing is baffling to me. He was always just a guy. Somehow he got paid. Good for him and his family He is inconsequential going forward.

[Drj820]

I actually like Lancaster more than I like Lowry when wages are considered.

[Realist]

I actually like Lancaster more than I like Lowry when wages are considered.

I cringe a little at that but I see ur point. Both players are simply not relavant. We know them because they played for us. Otherwise not so much.

[Pckfn23]

Dawn Lowry was the 54th highest paid per year average Defensive lineman when he signed his contract in 2019. Over the last 5 seasons he is the 32nd ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/nbnwi Since he signed that contract, he is the 21st ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/BWE91

While he is not a star or even particularly good, he is a useful role player for the money.

[Drj820]

Dawn Lowry was the 54th highest paid per year average Defensive lineman when he signed his contract in 2019. Over the last 5 seasons he is the 32nd ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/nbnwi Since he signed that contract, he is the 21st ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/BWE91

While he is not a star or even particularly good, he is a useful role player for the money.

Nah

[Pckfn23]

[Realist]

Dawn Lowry was the 54th highest paid per year average Defensive lineman when he signed his contract in 2019. Over the last 5 seasons he is the 32nd ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/nbnwi Since he signed that contract, he is the 21st ranked DT/DE/DL in total AV: https://stathead.com/tiny/BWE91

While he is not a star or even particularly good, he is a useful role player for the money.

I had no idea he was the 21st ranked dt/de/dl in total AV. And over the last 5 seasons he is the 32nd ranked dt/de/dl in total AV? Money well spent IMO. Gotta love stathead.com.

[BF004]

I am in the minority I’m sure. But I love Big Dean.

He shouldn’t be a 2nd best defensive lineman on any D. But he has a very solid role and worth his contract. I think last year was probably he best, he started slow, but though my finished really really strong.


He is durable, very underrated athlete, at 27 (only 3 years older than Wyatt) just entering his prime.


I hope we bring him back next year.

[Realist]

I am in the minority I’m sure. But I love Big Dean.

He shouldn’t be a 2nd best defensive lineman on any D. But he has a very solid role and worth his contract. I think last year was probably he best, he started slow, but though my finished really really strong.


He is durable, very underrated athlete, at 27 (only 3 years older than Wyatt) just entering his prime.


I hope we bring him back next year.

Guessing Big Dean would say yes to another 3yr 21 mil extension.

[TheSkeptic]

In general I agree with Lupe. An exception is that I think Runyan will stay at LG baring injury. He is a lot better than some apparently think.

[BF004]

Dean with a career high 42 pressures last year.

Just because someone isn’t an all star doesn’t mean they aren’t worth a fair value contract. He is far from ‘irrelevant’.

[go pak go]

I honestly think Gute's work as a GM has been absolutely exceptional since 2019. The Packers as a team has been the most successful in a 3 year time frame as a result.

Even when he f'ed with Rodgers...he swallowed his pride and made amends.

You don't see that often at this level. I have a lot of respect for Brian Gutekunst.

[Yoop]

doesn't seem to register with some fans that Lowery is a decent DT, I've been saying it for several years, I'd happily keep him as the first rotator to except we now have sorta rebuilt the position at a cheaper cost, that makes Dean expendable, I hope we can trade him for some compensation, but it's doubtful because teams know we'll probably cut him and they can sign him for less, we'll save 6 mil. by dumping him.

just look at the toon changers once some of Lowery's stats are known