GM Brian Gutekunst
The Green Bay Packers hosted Missouri Tigers quarterback Drew Lock for a formal visit last week at Lambeau Field. The Packers also reportedly wanted to bring in Duke’s Daniel Jones, but a scheduling conflict prevented that from happening.
What are the chances the Packers select a quarterback in the early rounds of the 2019 NFL Draft?
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst was asked bout the possibility during his pre-draft visit with reporters at Lambeau Field on Monday. He explained that the visits are important for medical evaluations as well as follow-ups from the NFL scouting combine. Of course Gutekunst said teams sometimes like to throw out a smoke screen or two.
Aaron Rodgers just signed a four-year contract extension that will carry him to his 40th birthday. What would he think if the Packers selected a quarterback early on? Would he be offended that the Packers could be looking for his successor so early in the game?
“I think the whole succession-plan thing, I think is a little bit overhyped or whatever,” Gutekunst said. “I go back to when I first started and certainly when Ted (Thompson) came back (from Seattle), we value that position extremely highly. And I think every year we spent a lot of time on quarterbacks and try to figure out what kind of players those guys are going to be in the NFL. I think it’s really, really important to us because if you don’t have one it’s really tough to win in this league.
“So, you know, for us it’s just about each and every year trying to decide which of the guys that could potentially be starters in this league and difference maker-type players. And then if you ever have an opportunity to take them sometimes in the draft and it’s the best thing for your team I don’t think you can hesitate with that, you know? Again, we’re lucky to have the best player in the NFL playing that position right now. But at the same time, just like I was talking about before, your needs can change just like that. So, I think it was just doing due diligence. There’s always questions, specifically with those guys, maybe that are a little more thorough and more in-depth that you’ve got to get to the bottom of and so we were trying to do that.”
The Packers currently have two quarterbacks on their roster behind Aaron Rodgers. DeShone Kizer (Notre Dame) and Tim Boyle (Eastern Kentucky) were both with the team last season.
The Packers have the 12th and 30th selections in the opening round of the draft on Thursday.