Amari Rodgers' release represents failure of Packers to stick to their draft strategy in 2021

Brian Gutekunst doesn’t care about draft grades. Not because he doesn’t care what idiots in the media think, though surely he doesn’t lose sleep if the folks at the worldwide leader think his picks are bad. No, Gutekunst doesn’t care because the Packers prize future value not the here and now. They love size-speed athletes who can become elite players rather than worrying about NFL readiness or team need (though the latter is a bit overstated). But in 2021, the team went old, went need, and went “right now.” So far, that hasn’t paid off and in an ironic twist, underscores how smart their traditional plan is when it comes to the draft. Amari Rodgers’ release personifies this mistake.

While we can’t be sure about the motivations to draft certain players, we can use the evidence at our disposal to make educated guesses. Ted Thompson wasn’t afraid to draft for need, as evidenced by his infamous all-defense draft in 2012 when the Packers posted an all-time embarrassing unit in 2011, a team that went down in flames at home in the playoffs. Sound familiar?

Still, going back to the Ron Wolf days, this front office prizes upside and athleticism above all else. They tend to prefer big-school, major-conference players early, and premium positions. Gutekunst continues that tradition, though he’s strayed from Thompson in some key areas like drafting offensive linemen who didn’t play tackle in college for example.

There’s nothing particularly unusual about the Eric Stokes selection from the 2021 draft. Stokes perfectly blended the superlative athletic tools the Packers prize with positional value and need. While many, myself included, felt Stokes was a reach, he turned out to be a terrific pick, played extremely well for a rookie in 2021, and while he didn’t take that leap we tend to see in Year 2 for good players, there’s still plenty of room for upside.

As it has for Gutekunst over the years, Day 2 is where the wheels come off and it’s straying from his philosophy that gets Gutekunst into trouble. This is also a theme for Gutekunst, as it was for Thompson. When they did the thing many fans ask, try to draft good football players and not worry about these proven athletic models, the Packers’ drafting suffers.