Former Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson famously grasped onto draft picks like Gollum and the ring. By rarely using free agency, Thompson’s mindset of viewing draft capital as precious made sense, but even he understood there were times when trading up was required. When Brian Gutekunst took over in 2018, the first major draft decision he made was to trade down, adding a first-round pick from the New Orleans Saints in a move that will end up coming to define his legacy in Green Bay, good or bad.
That decision and the resulting trade to come back up and get Jaire Alexander, a potential future star, sets the table for a draft where the Packers have three top-50 picks and five in the top 120.