For much of the past three decades, the Green Bay Packers have remained an elite franchise in the NFL by doing things their own way.
Running a team “The Packer Way” has meant solely relying on drafting, developing, and then extending or re-signing the players that rise to the top. It also has included targeted strikes in free agency with the occasional big swing (Reggie White, Charles Woodson, and Za’Darius Smith come to mind as big ones). Fans might bemoan the fact Green Bay has only won two Super Bowls despite 30 years of hall of fame quarterback play between Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, but the franchise has fared much better in that span than any other franchise not named the New England Patriots and perhaps a few others (Pittsburgh, Denver, and maybe the New York Giants).