Draft and develop the key to Packers' present and future success

The prevailing feature of the 2021 Green Bay Packers has been their incredible ability to roll with the punches.

They have been hit by an almost unprecedented number of injuries to star players, and yet boast a comfortable lead in the NFC North and are just one game back of the NFC’s top seed, while also holding the tiebreaker over the first-place Arizona Cardinals.

Much has been made of the savvy pickups of De’Vondre Campbell and Rasul Douglas as factors in Green Bay’s success, and rightly so, but the organization’s long-held trust in a draft and develop strategy has set the table for this season’s championship charge, and will keep the Packers competitive in years to come.

The second word in that mantra, ‘develop’, is the most crucial one. This is too often forgotten by pundits around draft time, as analysis tends to focus on the idea of plugging holes in a present-day roster.

Brian Gutekunst rarely drafts for immediate need, and the Packers are routinely ridiculed when they dare to operate outside of group-think-driven ‘draft boards’ assembled by every analyst and their mother each Spring.

Draft picks are investments, and Green Bay’s GM simply selects prospects he believes have the potential to be the best players for his team in the long run. The Packers are usually the ones laughing in the end.

Another feature of this method is that rookies are not usually asked to contribute much for the Packers, instead learning the ropes from established veterans. As a result, when young players are eventually asked to step in and produce, they usually deliver.

Two perfect examples are AJ Dillon and Rashan Gary.

Dillon’s selection in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft raised eyebrows, and not just from Pro Football Focus. The Quadfather spent his rookie year as the Packers’ third-string running back behind Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams, playing just 14 percent of Green Bay’s offensive snaps.

A year on, Dillon has established himself as a vital part of Green Bay’s attack, and is arguably outperforming Jones.

Back in 2019, Brian Gutekunst restocked the cupboard with pass rushers, signing Za’Darius and Preston Smith to lucrative deals in free agency. He then tripled down by drafting the raw but talented Rashan Gary with the 12^th overall pick, the team’s highest selection in the previous 11 years.

Gary was used sparingly in his first two years, but has become indispensable as Green Bay’s best edge rusher this season with Za’Darius out injured. Having only turned 24 years old this week, Gary is becoming one of the most effective pass rushers in the NFL.

There are plenty of other examples, too. Darnell Savage was also drafted in 2019 and paired with the free agent acquisition of Adrian Amos. The duo has played a huge part in Green Bay’s defensive resurgence in 2021.

Eric Stokes has been thrown into the fire earlier than the Packers probably planned, but learning from the superstar Jaire Alexander and an established veteran like Kevin King can only have helped his relatively quick acclimation to the pro level.

And yes, the selection of Jordan Love is a continuation of this strategy, as Brian Gutekunst attempts to put a succession plan in place for life after Aaron Rodgers.

Even Yosh Nijman, an undrafted free agent signing from 2019, has stepped up big when called upon this season.

Yosh served as an enigma during his first two years in Green Bay, taking the field for just 14 offensive snaps in total. Many were left to wonder why the Packers were so determined to hold onto a guy who had done essentially nothing of note.

But when injuries struck and Nijman got his chance, he showed exactly why Gute and his staff were keen to keep him around. Nijman’s ability to hold up at left tackle has been a life-saver for the Packers, who have won every game Nijman has started.

Gutekunst’s adherence to the principles of draft and develop laid down by his predecessors and mentors means that even in down years, the Packers are set up to never be a truly poor team.

The Packers are staring at a truly horrific salary cap picture for 2022, but even in a worst-case scenario where they lose the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Marcedes Lewis, Billy Turner, Davante Adams, the Smiths, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, De’Vondre Campbell and Dean Lowry, they will still be left with a strong core to build around.

Of course, Jordan Love will have to prove he is ‘the guy’ to allow the Packers to continue contending for titles, but a roster containing Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary, Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage is still a strong one.

Crucially for Green Bay, even though they find themselves in a ‘Last Dance’ year, they have not surrendered a bevy of future premium draft picks to get there, unlike a certain team from Los Angeles whom the Packers just beat.

There is no guarantee Green Bay will hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February, and there is no doubt next year will look very different, but Packers fans should be thankful their organization is run the right way and has the chance to compete for championships, both now and in the future.