T.J. Watt Over Kevin King Not Only NFL Draft Blunder by Packers

Steelers star T.J. Watt will be facing off against the Packers this weekend. The Packers could have drafted him but chose not to. That's not the only big mistake during recent drafts.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Perhaps you've heard the story that the Green Bay Packers could have selected T.J. Watt with their first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Watt was right in their backyard, a Wisconsin native who played at the University of Wisconsin, just like his older brother, J.J.

The Packers needed a pass rusher. When they were on the clock at No. 29 overall, Watt was available. It was a potential match made in heaven.

Instead, then-general manager Ted Thompson traded out of the first round and moved back four spots to No. 33. With the 30th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Watt.

With Watt off the board, the Packers took former Washington cornerback Kevin King.

The Packers did need a pass rusher, but they had a gaping hole at cornerback.

The last game the Packers had played was the 2016 NFC Championship, when undrafted cornerback LaDarius Gunter was tasked with covering Atlanta's Julio Jones.

The results were what you'd expect. Jones was dominant, and the Packers were blown out.

King struggled with injuries throughout his career in Green Bay. His career is over after five seasons and seven career interceptions.

In a results-based business, selecting King over Watt, who is one of the most decorated defensive players in the sport, was arguably Thompson's biggest misstep as general manager. Making matters worse: With the fourth-round pick gained in the trade, the Packers selected Watt’s Badgers sidekick, Vince Biegel. He lasted just one season in Green Bay and had 2.5 sacks in four seasons.

Every GM will make mistakes. Some will be bigger than others.

With Thompson's biggest mistake set to face off against Green Bay on Sunday, here are some of the coulda-woulda-shoulda's under Brian Gutekunst, who replaced Thompson in 2018.

Jordan Love/Tee Higgins

Let's start with the one that is brought up most often, shall we?

The 2019 Packers reached the NFC Championship Game after a surprising 13-3 season under first-year coach Matt LaFleur.

The thought at the time was that Green Bay was a weapon or two short on offense, with Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams and Aaron Jones doing most of the heavy lifting.

The receiver class was strong, including Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Brandon Aiyuk.

None of those players were available when the Packers were on the clock.

Jordan Love drops back to pass :: Photo by Wm. Glasheen/USA Today Sports Images

Instead of taking someone who could help push that team into the Super Bowl, the Packers traded up for Jordan Love, a player they certainly did not want to play for them as a rookie.

Gutekunst traded away a fourth-round pick to move from No. 30 to No. 26 to select Love. They could have held their ground and given Rodgers another weapon by selecting receiver Tee Higgins.

The jury is still out on Love, but Higgins is one of the better receivers in football, even if he didn't fit the Packers' typical athletic preferences.

Who knows what could have happened had the Packers had Higgins to complement Adams in the passing game.

If Love turns out to be the next franchise quarterback, this is a moot point. If he doesn't, this will likely go right next to Watt/King as one of the greatest draft mistakes in franchise history.

Jordan Love/Jalen Hurts

Let's assume the Packers were all-in on taking a quarterback to groom behind Rodgers, regardless of what happened in the 2020 draft.

If Love wasn't available, or they were able to get the receiver they wanted in that class, they could have taken the fourth-round pick used to move up to grab Love in the first round to jump up and select Jalen Hurts in the second round.

The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Hurts with the 53rd overall selection to push Carson Wentz.

Ironically enough, Hurts became the Eagles' starting quarterback in Green Bay when Wentz was benched in a 2020 contest between the teams.

While the jury is out on Love, no jury is required to render a verdict on Hurts. He's one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL and may have won league MVP honors last year had he not gotten injured.

Hurts was brilliant in last year's Super Bowl and is the face of a Philadelphia franchise that is one of the best in the NFL.

Darnell Savage/A.J. Brown

The Packers were loaded with ammo for the 2019 NFL Draft, thanks to a shrewd trade from Gutekunst in 2018 that netted them an extra first-round pick.

Their first pick, the 12th selection that year, turned into Rashan Gary.

He's the face of their defense.

They traded up for Darnell Savage later that night, vaulting from 30th to 21st in hopes of solidifying the safety position after signing veteran Adrian Amos in free agency earlier that offseason.

Savage has been up-and-down during his Packers career, and never became the player the team hoped he would become.

What if the team had decided to address its offense?

A.J. Brown and DK Metcalf were receivers who fit Green Bay's preferences in that class. Metcalf is a good player; Brown, taken at No. 51, has blossomed to one of the best receivers in the NFL.

AJ Brown has been unreal this season!

9 gms
67 Rec
1005 yds
6 TD #FlyEaglesFly | @1kalwaysopen_ pic.twitter.com/wevpsrUZyP

— All About The Birds (@AATBirds) November 7, 2023

It's easy to imagine how prolific a pairing of Davante Adams and Brown would have been catching passes from Rodgers.

Even if everything else had played out the same from that day forward, Brown – who has almost 5,500 receiving yards in 4 1/2 seasons – would have been someone who could have helped raise Love's game early in his career, as well.

Instead, Brown is in Philadelphia, where he has 1,005 receiving yards in nine games this season, while Savage is on injured reserve with an uncertain future.

Josh Myers/Creed Humphrey

Creed Humphrey might be the best center in the NFL. It's either him or Philadelphia's Jason Kelce.

Josh Myers has not gotten to that level, but according to the coaching staff is a player on the rise.

Even with his improved play, it's hard to envision him ever becoming as good as Humphrey.

In the second round of the 2021 draft, the Packers had their pick of the entire center class. They selected Myers. With the next pick, the Chiefs grabbed Humphrey.

Josh Myers leads the way for Aaron Jones :: Photo by Jamie Sabau/USA Today Sports Images

Myers has struggled with injuries and inconsistent play while Humphrey was All-Rookie in 2021 and second-team All-Pro in 2022.

Asked the night of the selection why he chose Myers over Humphrey, Gutekunst said, “Josh is a guy, (with) his size, his athleticism, his power, how smart he is, what they asked him to do at Ohio State and understanding he could handle some of that here, I think was intriguing to us, and I think he fit what we’re all about.”

The goal of building a big, intimidating offensive line has not come to fruition. Humphrey would have been a plug-and-play replacement for Corey Linsley. Instead, the future at center is uncertain.

Jace Sternberger/Terry McLaurin

Gutekunst's 2019 draft saw him take Rashan Gary, Darnell Savage and Elgton Jenkins with his first three picks.

In the third round, Gutekunst gave some attention to the skill positions and selected Texas A&M's Jace Sternberger in hopes of acquiring a matchup-problem tight end for LaFleur.

Sternberger missed most of his first training camp and the start of his rookie season after being clotheslined by Houston's Lonnie Johnson Jr. in a joint practice.

He finished the season strong, including scoring a touchdown in the NFC Championship Game against the 49ers.

Instead of building on that momentum, Sternberger struggled in 2020 and was suspended to start the 2021 season. He was released after he returned from his suspension and played last season in the USFL with current Packers practice squad quarterback Alex McGough.

Meanwhile, taken by Washington with the next pick in the third round, McLaurin is one of the more underrated receivers in football. He's been stuck in Washington with bad quarterback play for the entirety of his career. Nonetheless, he has three 1,000-yard seasons and is on pace for another.

Amari Rodgers/Amon-Ra St. Brown

Following the Packers' loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 NFC Championship Game, Aaron Rodgers said he thought the team could have used a true slot receiver to open up their offense.

As it turns out, he was talking about Randall Cobb but, prior to acquiring him, the Packers drafted Amari Rodgers.

After selecting cornerback Eric Stokes in the first round and Myers in the second round, the Packers traded their picks in the third and fourth rounds, Nos. 92 and 135 overall, to move up to No. 85 of the third round to select Rodgers.

Amari Rodgers stiff-arms a 49ers defender / Benny Sieu USA Today

Rodgers would become part of a list that Amon-Ra St. Brown keeps for receivers drafted in front of him.

Taken 112th overall, St. Brown has become the division-rival Lions’ best receiver. He has 253 career receptions: 90 as a rookie in 2021, 106 in 2022 and on pace for 121 this season.

Meanwhile, Rodgers never found his way in the offense. He struggled catching the ball as a receiver and holding onto the ball as a punt returner.

After his fifth fumble in 2022, Gutekunst admitted a mistake and released him. He has 20 catches in his career, including zero this season.

Josiah Deguara/Alex Highsmith

While Watt-King is a focal point this week, don’t forget this draft decision that also could factor on Sunday.

In fact, the 2020 draft could go down as an all-time blunder for the franchise if Love does not pan out as a long-term starter.

The Packers traded up for Love in the first round, then added running back AJ Dillon in the second round and tight end Josiah Deguara in the third round.

The Day 2 picks, Dillon and Deguara, are playing under expiring deals and have not earned a second contract.

Deguara was the most head-scratching pick. The team called him a tight end for the first three years of his career, but he was always a fullback.

Alex Highsmith takes 2 steps before Andre Dillard even moves 😵‍💫#Titans pic.twitter.com/fJlGCz0znQ

— Wes Wisley (@TitansStats) November 6, 2023

Using a third-round pick on a fullback in a passing league is an odd use of resources. He has eight receptions this year while averaging 17.6 snaps per game.

Meanwhile, they could have selected someone they're set to face off against this weekend.

Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith was taken just eight selections after the Packers picked Deguara. He had a breakout season in 2022 with 12.5 sacks and has proven to be an excellent running-mate for T.J. Watt.

Of all the head-scratchers that Gutekunst has had, the Deguara pick might be the biggest of them all.

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