GM Brian Gutekunst
The 2021 NFL Draft kicks off in Cleveland on Thursday night (7 p.m. CT) with the opening round. Rounds 2 & 3 are Friday night with rounds 4-7 wrapping up on Saturday.
Armed with 10 selections for the third straight year, the Packers will have some opportunities to do some moving around if they wish.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst enters his 23rd draft with the Packers and fourth as GM. Last year, Gutekunst selected nine players overall with four players seeing action in10-plus regular-season games as rookies (G Jon Runyan, 16 / S Vernon Scott, 15 / RB A.J. Dillon, 11 / LB Kamal Martin, 10).
After not selecting a wide receiver in the 2020 draft, the Packers are expected to select one or more wideouts in 2021. But will they go there with the 29th overall pick on Thursday night? The last time the Packers called the name of a wide receiver in the first round of a draft was back in 2002, selecting Javon Walker with the 20th overall pick out of Florida State.
The Packers have starters returning at 20 of 22 positions from last year, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have needs. Aside from wide receiver, the Packers could be well served if they added to their depth at offensive tackle, defensive back, defensive tackle and inside linebacker.
The last time the Packers selected a player at No. 29 was in 2003 when it selected linebacker Nick Barnett out of Oregon State.
Gutekunst and his staff will be back at Lambeau Field this year, after spending the 2020 draft from their homes because of the pandemic.