Pointing Out Obvious, Packers Winning Big NFL Draft Trade

The Green Bay Packers sent their two second-round picks to the rival Minnesota Vikings so they could select Christian Watson.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers didn’t draft a receiver in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft because they don’t draft receivers in the first round of any draft.

It’s all going to work out, it appears, because general manager Brian Gutekunst made a bold move at the start of the second round.

Gutekunst shipped his two second-round picks, Nos. 53 and 59, to the Minnesota Vikings to move up to No. 34. With that pick, he took a shot on Christian Watson, a small-school standout with a big-time skill-set.

“We did feel we had to go there to get him,” Gutekunst said that night. “We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think that, because the board held up pretty well. But we did feel we had to go get him if we wanted a chance at him. We thought he would come off pretty quick.

“You don’t trade two premium picks to go get ‘a guy.’ But there were a bunch of guys that we liked throughout this draft. If we would have stayed at 53 and 59, we would have picked players we liked. But, yeah, we felt I think right after we took (Devonte) Wyatt last night, we kind of felt like if we wanted to have a shot at him, we were going to have to do something.”

The Packers did something – and not just with anybody but with a top division opponent. Any trade comes with some risk but, just like the outcome of division games means a two-game swing in the standings, trading with a division foe could mean hurting your team while strengthening your rival.

“We never shy away from calling,” Gutekunst said, “but, at the same time, you never really want to deal with them if you don’t have to.”

Good thing Gutekunst had the guts to “deal with them” because Watson has the potential to be a real field-tilter because of his game-breaking speed. With eight touchdowns the last four games, Watson has taken the league by storm with his rare combination of height and speed.

How about Minnesota’s side of the trade?

The Vikings wound up sending the 53rd selection to the Indianapolis Colts to move up to No. 42, where they grabbed cornerback Andrew Booth. Staying put at No. 59, the Vikings selected guard Ed Ingram.

Booth, who spent four early-season games on injured reserve and is back on IR, got his first defensive snaps in the upset win at Buffalo in Week 10 and made his first NFL start the following week in the blowout loss to Dallas. According to Pro Football Focus and its judgment of coverage responsibilities, he allowed 13-of-15 passing for 152 yards and was penalized twice in those two games. He has zero passes defensed.

Ingram has started all 12 games and played all 812 offensive snaps. According to PFF, he’s allowed eight sacks and 45 total pressures. Both are worst among all NFL guards. He’s allowed nine more pressures than any other guard and five more pressures than the Packers’ guards combined.

It’s too soon to render a verdict on any of the players, but the early signs are the Packers won that trade – and potentially by a lot. In the long run, that trade could loom heavily in the NFC North standings, especially if Watson vs. Booth is going to be a twice-a-year battle.

That doesn’t mean Gutekunst has let out a sigh of relief.

“I always have a sigh of relief when our players do well,” he said. “But, no, we kind of move forward. I’m not really looking back on all that. I’m just really happy for the player and for Christian. He’s done a heck of a job on his own, fighting through some of these things and just being prepared for his opportunities.”

Interestingly, with the 53rd selection that went to Indianapolis from Minnesota via Green Bay, the Colts took receiver Alec Pierce. In 12 games, Pierce has 32 receptions for 510 yards and two touchdowns. He’s fifth in the draft class in yards and tied for second with seven receptions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield.

Watson has 25 receptions for 401 yards and seven touchdowns. Most of that production has come over a record-setting last four weeks. Among the rookies, Watson is tied for second in receptions (15) and is first in yards (313), average (20.9) and touchdowns (seven; nobody else has more than two).

With nine total touchdowns, Watson is tied with Seattle running back Kenneth Walker for the rookie lead.

“It’s not easy making it in this league, especially as a young player and coming in with a quarterback who has a standard that is so high,” Gutekunst said. “Those guys have been fighting really hard to get to that standard, and to see it come to the other side of it is really nice to see.”

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Christian Watson officially is fast. Here's the scoop from @NextGenStats and @ZebraSports.https://t.co/i2ZEbZLKKj

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