Don't expect Brian Gutekunst to change the way he drafts for Jonathan Gannon's new defensive staff

Ted Thompson seemed to bend the rules for Dom Capers when he wanted certain types of players, but Thompson's successor in Green Bay has held fast to his methodology.

The further in time we get from the Ted Thompson era, the less Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst resembles his predecessor. Outside of a handful of exceptions, Thompson rarely dipped into the free agent pool, even to raise would-be contenders in Aaron Rodgers’ prime. For as much as Thompson prized athletic traits, Gutekunst appears to prioritize them to an even greater degree. And unlike Thompson seemed to do at times for Dom Capers, Gutekunst hasn’t shown a proclivity to change what he looks for in defensive players to fit a scheme.

When the Packers were running Mike Pettine’s blitz-heavy, 3-4 defensive scheme with stand-up outside linebackers, Gutekunst signed the Smith Brothers, two massive, hulking edge defenders who would have been comfortable in more traditional 4-3 schemes of the 1990s and 2000s.

He drafted Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness to play outside linebacker, despite each playing more defensive tackle than stand-up edge in college. A player with Micah Parsons’ body type fits the modern profile of a outside linebacker edge much more than Gary or LVN. The college game bears this out.

Gutekunst likes what he likes, whether you like it or not.

I’ve written and spoken extensively about how the Packers are actually better when they stick with their preferences than when they chase outliers. This is true of the league as a whole. Preferring elite athletes with good/great size works far more often than below-average athletes or smaller players. More than 80% of starters in the NFL are above average in Reletive Athletic Score.