Say So Long To ‘Draft And Develop’
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Draft and develop was Ted Thompson’s mantra during his long tenure as the Green Bay Packers’ general manager.
Current general manager Brian Gutekunst has deviated from that a bit. In 2019, he went on a shockingly big shopping spree in free agency. He made more modest additions with Christian Kirksey and Rick Wagner in 2020 and De’Vondre Campbell in 2021. More than that, Gutekunst has showed less patience than his predecessor in developing those precious, franchise-building draft picks.
Last week, Gutekunst traded 2018 second-round cornerback Josh Jackson. On Monday, he released 2020 fifth-round linebacker Kamal Martin and traded 2019 sixth-round cornerback Ka’dar Hollman. Hollman’s exit, having been left in the dust at cornerback, wasn’t a surprise. The release of Martin, who started six games as a rookie, was a surprise, even after being buried on the depth chart. In years past, a patient approach would have bought Martin at least another year. Instead, the team saw no reason to hang onto a third-string player and special teams liability with a history of knee problems.
“It’s a constant evaluation and it’s going to be different for each guy,” Gutekunst said last week about how he weighs the evaluation of top draft picks. “I think sometimes when you get to a certain stage where it’s not good for the team to keep them around, then you have to move on. But, certainly, if we invest a draft pick in you and we invest time into you, we’re going to give you an opportunity to see if you can make it.”
Along with the release of tight end, Daniel Crawford, who was added early in training camp, the Packers have 82 players on the roster. They must be at 80 by 3 p.m. Tuesday and 53 by 3 p.m. the following Tuesday.
While there might not be any major moves coming by Tuesday – the roster includes two kickers (JJ Molson being the second), four quarterbacks (Jake Dolegala being the fourth) and two bottom-of-the-depth chart players who barely played against the Jets (linebacker De’Jon Harris and defensive tackle Josh Avery) – there could be some eyebrow-raising releases on the path to 53.
All eight members of the 2019 draft class played last season and were on this year’s training camp roster. Hollman is the first casualty. Third-round tight end Jace Sternberger and sixth-round running back Dexter Williams could be the next, though Sternberger’s two-game suspension to open the season could give him a reprieve.
Seven of the nine members of the 2020 draft class made the team last year and all nine were on the roster to open camp. Guard Simon Stepaniak (retired) and Martin are gone, and sixth-round center Jake Hanson is on the bubble. Seventh-round safety Vernon Scott and seventh-round outside linebacker Jonathan Garvin could be on thin ice, too. Scott has failed to separate himself at a position group that’s dripping with young depth and is out with an injured hamstring, and Garvin hasn’t distinguished himself at all despite ample opportunities at a position that lacks depth.
Of the nine-member Class of 2021, fifth-round cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles, sixth-round lineman Cole Van Lanen and sixth-round linebacker Isaiah McDuffie are on the bubble, too. Jean-Charles and Van Lanen haven’t stood out in deep position groups and McDuffie hasn’t gotten going after missing the start of training camp. Those three remain quality developmental players but the Packers are a high-quality depth with depth at most positions.
More than anything, with Aaron Rodgers in what could be his last season with the team and major cap problems on the horizon, the Packers are in win-now mode.
“Moving on from players is tough,” Gutekunst said on Sunday. “You’d like to keep them all, and I think we have the resources here to develop them. You’d love to be able to do that if you had that opportunity. And this will be no different. I think we have a very good squad and this is a tough squad to make. But with 16 practice-squad spots, if we’re able to keep all our own guys, we’ll have 69 players in-house plus probably a couple injured guys. So, you actually end up keeping more guys around than you really ever have, which is nice. But it’s always hard this time of year to walk away from players you’ve seen give so much to you.”