Packers GM Brian Gutekunst Worthy of NFL Executive of the Year

Brian Gutekunst Packers Exec Of Year 2019

Getty Brian Gutekunst General Manager of the Green Bay Packers speaks to the media during a press conference introducing Matt LaFleur as head coach at Lambeau Field on January 09, 2019 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

On the last day of 2018, the Green Bay Packers found themselves sitting outside the playoffs for a second straight season with no head coach and many questioning how long it would take for them to climb back to the top.

Not long, as it turns out.

The Packers (13-3) are in a much better place a year later after a resurgent 2019 season saw them reclaim the NFC North title and cruise into the postseason with a first-round bye, guaranteeing a home game at Lambeau Field to play for a bid to the NFC Championship game. Not only is it the first time in franchise history a Packers team has won seven more games than the previous year, but it also marked unprecedented success under a first-year head coach.

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“I know it doesn’t always look pretty, but our guys are resilient and we find a way,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said in Sunday’s postgame. “And I can’t explain it, but I’m thankful for every guy in that locker room. Those guys care about each other and they battle, and you don’t find that on every team you’re on. And it’s just a credit to the character in that locker room.”

It’s also a credit to the wealth of talent assembled in the locker room. Several of the Packers’ biggest contributors, including outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith, are only just finishing up their first year in Green Bay. The Packers have also steadily funneling in new talent throughout the season to offer necessary boosts at crucial times.

The man to thank for that? General manager Brian Gutekunst.


The Case for Brian Gutekunst as NFL Executive of the Year

While names like Brandon Beane in Buffalo and John Lynch in San Francisco have generated some deserved buzz for their respective rebuilds pulling into focus, Gutekunst deserves heaps of credit for taking last year’s tapped-dry Packers roster and renovating it into a contender without undergoing a complete roster overhaul.

Gutekunst further distanced the franchise from the old philosophies of predecessor Ted Thompson when he went out and signed big contracts with a quartet of high-value free agents, which included safety Adrian Amos and right guard Billy Turner along with the pass-rushing Smiths. He also drafted two starters in safety Darnell Savage Jr. and left guard Elgton Jenkins and added some developmental potential with first-rounder Rashan Gary and tight end Jace Sternberger.

His diligence monitoring the waiver wire and evaluating his team’s needs has also helped keep the Packers out of binds at several points since the start of the regular season.

Gutekunst traded to get fourth-year linebacker B.J. Goodson from the New York Giants when the inside group needed help without Oren Burks and regularly tooled with the return game on special teams, eventually finding the perfect fit with Tyler Ervin in early December. His investments in Chandon Sullivan and Ibraheim Campbell as hybrid safeties have also paid off as rotational pieces.

“Brian and his staff have made some splashes obviously with Za’Darius and Preston and Adrian and Billy with big numbers,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, via the Wisconsin State Journal. “But there’s been a lot of really under-the-radar things that we’ve done that have really worked out.”

The biggest testament to that came during the Packers’ regular-season finale at the Detroit Lions when offensive line starters Corey Linsley and Bryan Bulaga came out of the game with injuries. Versatile second-year Lucas Patrick filled in seamlessly at center just one day after inking a two-year contract extension with the team. Meanwhile, veteran Jared Veldheer — who had been signed out of retirement as an insurance piece — kept the pocket clean for Rodgers as he and the offense rallied to a walk-off victory.

Keeping the ranks fresh has allowed the Packers’ stars, old and new, to shine throughout the year. None have benefitted more from the fortified offensive line than third-year running back Aaron Jones, who became a breakout talent this season with his first 1,000-yard rushing season and an NFL-leading 19 total touchdowns. Both he and Jamaal Williams have been dangerously effective as multi-purpose backs this season out of the Packers’ backfield.

On the opposite side of the ball, a stronger pass rush has yielded more takeaway opportunities. Starting cornerbacks Jaire Alexander — who Gutekunst drafted with a first-round pick in 2018 — and Kevin King have as many interceptions (7) between them as the Packers had as a team in all of last season. In total, the Packers finished with a third-most 17 interceptions as well as the third-best turnover differential (+12) behind only the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints.

Gutekunst also recently helped free up a significant amount of cap space for 2020. reworking the terms of Rodgers’ contract in a way that allows more spending flexibility for the upcoming offseason. when it comes to extending current players — such as defensive tackle Kenny Clark or Bulaga — or possibly chasing another star on the free-agent market.

Maybe Gutekunst’s efforts, like the Packers for much of this year, will get overlooked when the awards are announced in February. But if he stays the course, it should only be a matter of time before the league has no choice but to recognize him as one of the best currently in the business.

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