Unpacking the Green Bay Packers' Draft Strategy

"His early drafts were pretty rough," Nagler said of Gutekunst. "There's no sugarcoating that. One of the complaints from Packers fans, especially early in his tenure, was how a lot of the draft picks hadn't worked out. We'll say, 'Oh, you've gotta draft better.' I think Brian has. Over the past three years, I think he's had some really good draft classes."

When tracking the patterns of what Gutekunst and his staff are looking for in college prospects, Nagler says there are clearly some preferred traits and data points.

"The team captain thing is certainly noticeable over the last four years or so," Nagler said. "Last year, I think every guy they took was a team captain."

"The other thing you know for sure: If you go to the Senior Bowl, and you produce, and you have a really good week of practice, you're probably gonna be on the Packers' board," Nagler continued, referencing the annual all-star game held in Mobile, Alabama. "They love guys who, wherever they've come from...if you go to that event, and you compete against the best, and show that you belong...they're definitely gonna be intrigued."

When it comes to physical traits, Nagler acknowledges that while the Packers had clearly developed unwavering thresholds at certain positions under previous management, the current decision-makers have been more malleable when it comes to the players they target in the draft.

"Especially over the last couple of years, Brian has surprised us way more," Nagler said. "When Ted Thompson was in charge, you could set your watch by the type of player. With Brian, he's been a little bit more willing to break that mold, maybe go outside some expected stuff."

Nagler uses the example of how Green Bay has historically targeted wide receivers who have to check certain boxes with regards to size, and the ability to handle the physicality of playing in the middle of the field.

"For the longest time in Green Bay, the M.O. was...and this goes back to, I'm talking Ron Wolf back in the early '90s, and they've legit operated this way for 30 years...'We want receivers that are over 6-1, they're around 220 (pounds), that can take a hit over the middle, and work on some of these stick/slant routes against linebackers who come screaming, safeties across the middle, and take that pounding and get some yards after contact," Nagler said. "That has been their M.O. forever. During the draft process, inevitably, there would be some big wide receiver who's at the Senior Bowl, and you're like, "Oh well, he's on the Packers' board. There's zero doubt.'"

But in recent drafts, Gutekunst has clearly been willing to target smaller pass-catchers who bring a wide range of differing skills to the table, making up for their lack of imposing size with explosiveness, route-running prowess, and the ability to create explosive plays down the field.

"You look at the last couple of drafts, two years ago with Jayden Reed, and now this year with Matthew Golden...they certainly don't fit the traditional kind of thresholds that the Packers have looked for at the position," Nagler said. "So, to a point, I think Brian has gotten to a spot where he says, 'I care way more about the guy as a football player than I do as a prospect or as an athletic threshold. So, it seems like he's willing to maybe not bend those things, but at least think outside of those kinds of rigid thresholds at least a little bit more as of late."

The Packers have been one of the most consistently competitive and successful teams in the NFL for more than three decades, but Gutekunst is clearly unsatisfied with that being the ceiling of the franchise under his watch. His willingness to change their team-building approach in certain ways makes it clear he wants to take the team to another level, and lead them to another championship.

To check out the entire conversation, watch the full episode of BPA here: