GREEN BAY — Each NFL general manager is required to hold a press conference ahead of the draft, an event before which they are incentivized to disguise their hand as best they can.
That makes all these podium sessions more of a riddle than anything, with everyone outside the building and sometimes even those inside it left guessing what certain answers mean pertaining to a team’s draft plans. Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke for more than half an hour on Monday ahead of his seventh draft in charge, touching on topics from his flexibility in this draft with five picks in the first 91, his affinity for a certain prospect often mocked to the Packers, cornerback Jaire Alexander’s attendance at voluntary offseason work and more.
Here are the most notable takeaways from his media availability, a handful unrelated to an event that’s largely kept a secret until Thursday night’s first round.
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Lying season
Gutekunst learned under the late former Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who taught the art of subterfuge. Teams are allowed to host 30 prospects on in-person visits before the draft and yes, the Packers will conduct some of them intending to deceive other teams into thinking they’re interested in a certain prospect. Visits are commonly used to answer questions about football, character or medicals, but some have no intention other than to keep the other 31 teams guessing.
“Oh yeah, absolutely,” Gutekunst said when asked if the Packers do that. “Make sure you get that out there … I don’t think you want anybody to get a bead on what you’re doing, particularly this time of year. So that was always a fun conversation with Ted when he was around.”
Draft flexibility
The Packers are tied for the most picks in this year’s draft with 11, including five between selections No. 25 and 91 thanks to the Aaron Rodgers and Rasul Douglas trades made in the last year. Coming off a Divisional Round appearance and with seemingly only a hole or two in the starting lineup, perhaps the Packers can afford to package picks to trade up for a prospect or two that can get them over the playoff hump.
Gutekunst acknowledged the possibility of trading up, while also saying he’d love to add at least two more picks. That would increase the likelihood the Packers add to their hits list of the past two years that includes offensive tackle Zach Tom, wide receiver Jayden Reed, wide receiver Romeo Doubs and others.
“I don’t ever subscribe to the thought process, ‘Hey, we’ve got a pretty good team. These guys might not have a chance to make the team,’” Gutekunst said. “I think I’ve talked a lot about competition in every room and how much it accelerates the growth of your football team. I think that’s the best way for your team to move forward, so to me, there’s never enough.
“We’re never afraid to move around. Where we sit right now with five picks in the first 91, 11 total, I think we’re in a pretty good space to move or just sit and pick.”
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New guy up front
The Packers recently signed offensive tackle Andre Dillard, a 2019 first-round pick of the Eagles who played last season for the Titans. Dillard missed the entire 2020 season with a biceps injury and since entering the league, has only started 19 games, including 10 for Tennessee. The Packers had a vacancy at swing tackle after Yosh Nijman signed with the Panthers in free agency and Dillard gives them an option for that role. They likely will draft multiple offensive linemen this week to add a starter and/or much-needed depth both on the edge and inside.
“Nice ability to get him kind of involved in the beginning of our offseason program,” Gutekunst said of Dillard. “Obviously a first-round pick coming out, very talented, spent some time starting last year in Tennessee, so he’s got some starts under his belt. Certainly, we lost some offensive line depth over the past few months. I think it was just an opportunity to bring in another guy we feel is going to be very competitive in that room.”
Andre Dillard started 10 games for the Titans in 2023. (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today)
Kicking competition
After carrying only one kicker on the active roster and practice squad for all of last year’s preseason and regular season, the Packers now have three on the 90-man roster. In addition to 2023 sixth-round pick Anders Carlson, who struggled over the final two-thirds of last season on field-goal attempts and extra points, the Packers signed 24-year-old former Georgia kicker Jack Podlesny and recently added veteran Greg Joseph, who kicked for the Vikings for the last three seasons.
Joseph went 24-of-30 last season on field goals, including a 4-for-7 mark from 50-plus yards and a 3-for-6 clip from 40-49. He’s a career 82.6-percent kicker on field goals.
“I think Anders had a promising rookie start, but we wanted to bring in competition,” Gutekunst said. “That position is obviously critical to us attaining our goals moving forward and I think we’ll continue to make sure that there’s competition throughout training camp on that one.”
Too good to be true?
The most commonly mocked player to the Packers seems to be Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean. The Packers have drafted safety Micah Hyde, defensive tackle Mike Daniels, cornerback Josh Jackson and edge rusher Lukas Van Ness from the Hawkeyes’ defense and have a need this year for a starting safety and perhaps a starting cornerback, too. DeJean, projected as a mid-late first-round pick, can fill either role.
“I think he can do both,” Gutekunst said. “I think he’s very versatile that way. I think he’s obviously a very good athlete. His ability to take the ball away is very impressive. Obviously, he’s got some (special) teams ability as well. He’s a very well-rounded player. I think he can do either. I think it’s really going to come down to where you may need him.”
The fun (or not so fun) thing about draft time is deciphering what such public praise for a prospect means. Would Gutekunst talk about a player like that if he’s actually trying to draft him instead of being more coy? Is he going for reverse psychology and trying to make teams think his praise is too effusive, but in reality, he’ll trade up for DeJean? Stay tuned on Thursday to find out!
Gutekunst on Cooper DeJean playing corner and safety: “I think he can do both. I think he’s very versatile that way. I think he’s obviously a very good athlete. His ability to take the ball away is very impressive. Obviously he’s got some teams ability as well, so he’s a very… pic.twitter.com/8Fw9BBT4Kl
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) April 22, 2024
Showing up for work
After not attending the voluntary first part of Green Bay’s offseason program last year, Alexander showed up this year to collect the $700,000 workout bonus (according to ESPN) that he bypassed in 2023. After the Packers suspended Alexander for a game late last season for a string of events that culminated in appointing himself captain in Week 16 against the Panthers, he appears to have fallen in line after conversations with Gutekunst and head coach Matt LaFleur.
“Obviously last year there were a bunch of conversations with Ja and what we were going through and I think he’s really excited to get back at it,” Gutekunst said. “We’ve got a long way to go, but he seems to be in a great space right now.”
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Playing in Brazil
If Gutekunst isn’t thrilled the Packers have to fly from Wisconsin to Brazil in Week 1 to play the Eagles, he did a great job hiding it. LaFleur was visibly frustrated the Packers had to change their schedule so drastically for a London game against the Giants in 2022 — football guys are creatures of habit, after all — but perhaps a flight to a time zone that’s only two hours ahead won’t be as much of a hassle.
“Excited for it,” Gutekunst said. “I’ll say there’s going to be some challenges along the way. It’s going to be new. Obviously, it’s an away game on a neutral field and I’m excited about that. I think our players are very excited for it, so it’s certainly going to be interesting Friday night. Think they’ll give us a little bit more recovery before the next game and hopefully that next game is a home game for our fans. So yeah, we’re working through the scheduling and trying to figure out what the obstacles and the challenges are with it. But I know our players are excited and to me, it’s another opportunity.”
(Top photo: Matt Schneidman / The Athletic)
