Gutekunst Makes ‘Long-Term Decision’ with Love

Until Thursday, when they drafted his successor, the Packers hadn't used a first-round pick on an offensive skill player during Aaron Rodgers' tenure as quarterback.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Not once in Aaron Rodgers’ tenure had the Green Bay Packers used their first-round pick on an offensive skill player.

That 14-year streak ended on Thursday night in stunning fashion, with general manager Brian Gutekunst picking Rodgers’ successor.

“Playing quarterback in the National Football League is probably the hardest position in all of sports,” Gutekunst said after trading up four picks to select Utah State’s Jordan Love. “I think whenever you have the ability to take a player, whether it’s in the first round, second round, third round, that you think has a chance to play, you have to consider it. It really wasn’t about this year. This was not something we set out to do. It just happened that a guy that we liked fell to us, and we thought it was the best decision.”

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Having been drafted in 2005 to replace the legendary Brett Favre, Rodgers no doubt knew this day would eventually come. He probably didn’t expect it to come in 2020, with the team falling one game short of the Super Bowl and in need of a better supporting cast to keep pace in the loaded NFC.

Ted Thompson’s decision to draft Rodgers in 2005 didn’t sit well with Brett Favre. At the time, Favre was in a similar position as Rodgers is today – an aging but talented quarterback on a top team and hungry for another Super Bowl win. Favre started the next three seasons and failed to win the elusive second championship, but Rodgers’ emergence kept the Packers on the short list of perennial championship contenders. Clearly, Gutekunst is hoping Love can do the same when it’s his turn. If so, the Packers would have an unprecedented run of three great quarterbacks in a row. That, in turn, would mean some four decades of Super Bowl chances.

That's Gutekunst's desire for the future, no matter what his current quarterback thinks of the present. 

“I haven’t connected with Aaron yet but he’s obviously been through this and he’s a pro,” Gutekunst said. “I think it’s certainly this is something that is a long-term decision. I think when you go through the way things went tonight, you run the short term and the long term. The way the board fell, this was the best decision for the Packers. I think obviously Aaron’s been around for a long time and he knows what we’re playing for right now and that’s what’s most important right now.”

The problem is the addition of Love does nothing to help the Packers close what appears to be a sizable gap between themselves and the San Francisco 49ers, who crushed them in the NFC Championship Game. In Gutekunst’s opinion, the potential value Love can provide down the road was greater than the instant value of a linebacker (LSU’s Patrick Queen was available) or one of the remaining receivers or linemen.

“I’m not a big believer that you’re ever one player away. I don’t believe in that,” Gutekunst said. “And, two, it was just really how the board fell. Obviously, if there was a game-changer-type player at another position, we would have seriously considered that. We didn’t feel that there was, so we picked Jordan and were really happy to do it. I think you can make mistakes thinking you’re one player away from anything.”