Coming into the 2018 NFL draft, the Green Bay Packers had recently undergone a change in their franchise hierarchy not commonly experienced, the changing of the guard at general manager.
Franchise leader Ted Thompson, who many fans had called for his removal for many years, finally moved on and pushed into a senior front office scouting role, still integrating him in the football process but not as a general manager. Stepping into his role was a relatively unknown in Brian Gutekunst, who caught many fans off-guard by his hire.
Thinking the job was for Russ Ball or Elliot Wolf, Gutekunst’s name was thrown into the ring after being a part of the braintrust that helped Thompson.