Packer Central

Gutekunst’s Five Worst NFL Draft Picks as Packers GM

Not every draft pick can be as good as Jordan Love or Zach Tom. Here are some of Brian Gutekunst's mistakes.

Bill Huber

Former Packers TE Jace Sternberger
Former Packers TE Jace Sternberger / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The 2024 NFL Draft will be a big one for the Green Bay Packers because, well, every draft is big.

“The draft is the lifeblood of this organization. It always has been, so that’s why we put so much time into it,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said on Monday. “That’s why it’s so important to us. It’s a funny thing. You can’t predict it and some classes turn out better than others for a variety of reasons, but this is extremely important to this organization, this football team.”

Gutekunst has built a Super Bowl contender because he had the foresight to draft Jordan Love and delivered back-to-back powerhouse draft classes in 2022 and 2023.

Can he do it again starting with Thursday’s first round?

No general manager has all the answers. The Hall of Famer Ron Wolf’s first draft pick was Terrell Buckley. The back-to-back Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs mostly whiffed with their 2019 and 2020 drafts.

Gutekunst has had some duds, too. Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary, Elgton Jenkins, Jordan Love and AJ Dillon are the only players remaining from his first three drafts, and his 2021 draft has fizzled, as well.

Here are Gutekunst’s five worst draft picks.

No. 5 – 2018 CB Josh Jackson

In 2017, Jackson intercepted an astounding eight passes and broke up 18 others at Iowa. He entered the 2018 draft considered a first-round prospect but fell into the second round following a disappointing Scouting Combine. In three seasons with the Packers that included 10 starts as a rookie and five more in 2020, Jackson had zero interceptions and 12 passes defensed.

Gutekunst traded him to the Giants during training camp in 2021 for Isaac Yiadom, but he never played in a game for New York. His career ended with seven touchdowns allowed and more defensive penalties (14) than pass breakups (12).

No. 4 – 2020: TE Josiah Deguara

It wasn’t just that the Packers had visions of 49ers star Kyle Juszczyk when they used a third-round pick on Deguara. During the 2019 season, coach Matt LaFleur showed his team video of how Deguara, a tight end at Cincinnati at the time, ran about 100 yards to prevent an interception-return touchdown. “I think it really epitomizes who he is as a football player,” LaFleur said.

Unfortunately, Deguara tore his ACL during the second game of his rookie season. He caught 25 passes in 2021, 13 in 2022 and eight in 2023, when he became a total afterthought. He signed with the Jaguars in free agency this offseason.

No. 3 – 2018: P JK Scott

A fifth-round pick on a punter? At that price, he better be Ray Guy 2.0. That definitely was not Scott, who ranked 26th in net average as a rookie, 24th in 2019 and 28th in 2020. The Packers released him during training camp in 2021. With the Chargers, he ranked 12th in net average each of the last two years and won two AFC Player of the Week awards.

No. 2 – 2021: WR Amari Rodgers

The Packers don’t draft short players at any position. But they broke their own rules when Gutekunst traded up to select the 5-foot-9 Rodgers with a third-round pick. Short but not small, Gutekunst correctly said at the time of the sturdy 212-pounder, who he believed could fill Randall Cobb’s shoes in the slot.

Instead, Aaron Rodgers arrived in time for training camp and persuaded the Packers to acquire Cobb to man the slot. Amari Rodgers didn’t make it through three seasons in Green Bay. He has 20 career receptions and eight fumbles and is hoping to resurrect his career in the UFL. Meanwhile Nico Collins (taken four picks later) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (taken one round later) are stars.

No. 1 – 2019: TE Jace Sternberger

The Jimmy Graham Experience never took flight, so Gutekunst used a third-round pick on Sternberger. He had a dismal rookie training camp, and the Packers stashed him on injured reserve for the first half of the season. He didn’t catch a pass in six games, though he did score a touchdown in the NFC Championship loss at San Francisco. In Year 2, he caught 12 passes for 114 yards.

In June 2021, Sternberger was suspended for two games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy. When the suspension was over, the Packers released him. He’s gotten a few more opportunities but hasn’t played in a game since 2020. Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin was taken one spot later.

NFL Draft banners in Detroit
NFL Draft banners in Detroit / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.