As part of the Aaron Rodgers/Jets trade, the Packers managed to move up two spots in the first round. Green Bay’s front office is hoping that jump will help them secure one of the draft’s top wide receivers. According to Tony Pauline of ProFootballNetwork.com (via Twitter), the Packers are hoping their leap from No. 15 to No. 13 will make it “easier to secure” Ohio State wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
[RELATED: Packers, Cowboys Eyeing TE Michael Mayer?]
Following a 10-reception season as a freshman, Smith-Njigba broke onto the scene in 2021. Despite playing alongside 2022 first-round picks Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, the sophomore managed to haul in 95 receptions for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns. Smith-Njigba was expected to take another step in 2022 as the top receiver on the depth chart, but he was limited to only three games and five catches while dealing with a lingering hamstring injury.
Smith-Njigba ended up declaring for the draft before Ohio State’s CFP semifinal against Georgia, citing the fact that he wouldn’t be healthy enough to contribute in the postseason. While that decision could have hurt his draft stock, precedent suggests that teams will look past his injury-marred junior campaign. It was just last year that the Lions selected Jameson Williams despite his torn ACL.
Indeed, ESPN’s Scouts Inc. rated Smith-Njigba as one of four wide receivers with a first-round grade (alongside TCU’s Quentin Johnston, Boston College’s Zay Flowers, and USC’s Jordan Addison). Now sitting at No. 13, the Packers could be in prime position to select their preferred receiver, especially if one of Johnson/Flowers/Addison is selected within the top-12. The Giants, who are currently armed with the No. 25 pick, were previously mentioned as a potential landing spot for Smith-Njigba.
Despite moving on from their franchise QB, the Packers are still looking for offensive weapons to surround Jordan Love. We heard earlier today that the team was eyeing Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer, and the team also previously hosted Utah tight end Dalton Kincaid on a visit.
The irony here…
Yep, it’s hilarious. Had one of the top QB’s of all time and in the almost 2 decades never ONCE drafted a WR or TE in the 1st rd. Now, for Jordan F’n Love? A totally unproven dude already at the end of his rookie deal. Congrats to Rodgers for escaping GB finally. They wasted his immense talent.
True story – Aaron Rodgers won as many NFC championships as Rex F’n Grossman. Let that sink in.
It was the defense that was crap not the offense. You don’t put up MVP numbers like he did in GB with a bad offense. Rex never won an MVP, either. Or a ring for that matter. He is currently the night shift manager at the 7-11. Who plays football for conference championships? What do you get for that? A shirt?
I don’t see the irony, since the Packers have drafted Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Devante Adams, AJ Dillon, Eddie Lacy, Jermichael Finley, James Jones, Greg Jennings and Christian Watson all on day 2 of the draft. Are you going to discredit these picks just because Green Bay didn’t take them in the 1st Rd? It’s not like Green Bay has been passing up all pro WRs with their late 1st round picks. If you look at the WRs and TEs the Packers passed on who were rated as 1st round talents it’s not overly impressive.
Dustin Keller, Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Brandon Pettigrew, Percy Harvin, Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt, Titus Young, AJ Jenkins, Coby Fleener, Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Smith, Devin Funchess, Hunter Henry, Sterling Shepard, Zay Jones, Gerald Everett, DJ Moore, Hayden Hurst, Calvin Ridley, Noah Fant, Marquise Brown, N’Keal Henry, Tee Higgins, Cole Kmet, Elijah Moore and Rondale Moore were all available when the Packers were on the clock in the 1st rd going back to the year he took over for Farve.
Percy Harvin, Hunter Henry Gerald Everett, and Tee Higgins are the only players I would’ve drafted instead of the Packers actual pick.
Full disclaimer, the Packers didn’t draft either Dez Bryant (2010), or DeAndre Hopkins (2013) but they already had Nelson, Cobb, Jones and Finley in 2013 and won the Super Bowl with Jennings, Driver, Nelson, Jones and Finley in 2010.
You said it better than I could.
The need was not the same. The issue is not the round in which the player was taken necessarily, but that the Packers CLEARLY needed help at that area and refused to address it. Other than Davante Adams, the Packers had a four or so year period where no receiver caught 40 or more passes. Rodgers still managed to win two MVPs, which should indicate that he was not the issue. As soon as Adams leaves, the Packers crash back to Earth.
The issue here is not even Rodgers’ personal legacy, or the idiotic talking head-esque focus on him as a quarterback. The team needed help, and the G.M. refused to address that area. There were other positions too-tight end, middle/inside linebacker, offensive line (the Packers’ solution for the last few years has just been to move Jenkins around constantly instead of having him in one spot). Gutekunst did finally attempt to address a few of those positions too late, but getting over his stubbornness initially and simply drafting a contributor from the outset (such as Tee Higgins, who was available) could have helped his chances immensely. After all, the Packers lost close games to San Francisco and Tampa. A single extra touchdown could have made a big difference.
It’s the G.M.’s job to see where his team is deficient and improve it. The need was obvious-painfully so. The Packers haven’t addressed it. So, good on them for drafting Watson and Doubs, but those guys are still a ways away from being consistent and reliable threats. The Packers probably could have used those types of players better when they could play behind Adams and/or other threats to allow them the necessary time to develop. Like Rodgers or hate him, refusing to give your quarterback more weapons just because he should be good enough to just carry the team is stubborn and stupid.
And if the Packers did honestly just want to focus on defense, they could have plugged the hole at ILB that’s been there since A.J. Hawk left for Cincy. Campbell has been good for the last two years, but how long he’ll be effective remains to be seen, and his presence is still fairly recent. There are other areas of course, but with obvious upgrades available, Gutekunst often chooses to draft depth. It’s wasteful and stubborn.
Would you have said the same thing in 2008? That was the year Rodgers took over after 3 years and 35 pass attempts sitting behind Favre. That was the draft that they drafted Nelson and Finely. Love has 83 pass attempts in his first 3 seasons, same amount of time as Rodgers and both were entering their 4th season of their 5 year rookie contracts when the both took over. You might want to let that sink in.
The difference between the Rodgers and Love scenarios is GB didn’t panic, trade up and reach for Rodgers like they did with Love.
Rodgers was a potential top 2 overall pick, Love may very well not have been taken in the first 2 rounds.
Yes, there was anxiety about how Rodgers would develop as a starter, but the flipside is some now just expect Love to be the 3rd consecutive HOF QB, and great expectations make for great disappointment.
I think you’re mistaking a calculated decision with a making a move out of desperation. The Packers identified a QB who they determined could be Rodgers replacement of given a few years to develop. This is different than a team reaching on a QB because they have an immediate need. Love was considered a 1st round talent. The Packers moved up because based on the internal valuation they placed on him was greater than the draft capital they traded away to move up a few spots.
Furthermore, I don’t don’t know of any Packer fans who are expecting Love to be a HOF QB. The hope is for him to be at least a quality starting QB (i.e. Cousins, Stafford, Carr) and maintain their long-standing playoff window. It’s not like the Packers don’t have a solid roster to support Love. I mean Dillon, Jones, Watson, Doubs, Jenkins, Bakthiari, Alexander, Clark, Campbell, Stokes, Douglas, Walker, Wyatt provide a solid supporting cast.
It very well may have been calculated, but I seem to recall a number of so called experts saying Love was a “project” and expected him to go mid-to-late 2nd rounder. There also wasn’t really a solid basis for projecting a need at QB 3-4 years down the road..other than Gute’s apparent desire to simply move on from Rodgers for whatever reason (which makes the enormous extension that much more mind boggling).
As for the HOF thing, Ok, so that was a bit of an overstatement on my part. I’d hope for better than the 3 guys you named though. 1 SB between them, and that was with a roster of mercenaries. I noticed you said hope too, not expect. And the excuses already started for Love. I read a week or so ago all the things that went wrong in his start against KC a couple years back (missed FG, fumbled punt I think, and I believe something about a defensive lapse). Which is hilarious, because if that same scenario happened with Rodgers, he’d have been blamed 110% for the loss (kinda like the SF playoff game 2 years ago).
Love was touted as a boom or bust prospect who had a parlay over/under bet set at pick 16.5 for the 2020 draft. Comparisons were made to him being very similar to a former boom/bust QB prospect named Patrick Mahomes. Other players mentioned in the same realm were Josh Allen, Drew Lovk, Jake Locker and Paxton Lynch showing there was some level of risk in drafting him. Now I’m not going to say Love will be as good as either Mahomes or Allen but most experts agreed the potential is clearly there.
Only time will tell if this pick was a blatant mistake, brilliant move or somewhere in between.
link to theringer.com
As for me “hoping” he ends up being a quality starting QB like the three I mentioned earlier. If you consider how few top flight or even quality starting QBs there are in the league and the fact those three have all been considered top 10-15 QBs at one time or another, it’s not realistic to hope for more from a late 1st round pick who was known to be a boom/bust prospect.
Finally, in the Chiefs he made some mistakes (INT and fumble) which is to be expected with young QBs but still completed 19/34 passes for 190 and a TD while looking uncomfortable running the offense.
Now if you fast forward to last season when he took over after Rodgers got injured, he looked poised and in control and went 6/9 for 113 yards and a TD versus a really good Eagles defense. This was a telling sign to most Packers fans that Love’s development had taken a major step forward (coaches, players and the GM have all since stated the same). Btw if you watched the loss to SF or even the playoff loss to TB in 2021 it was obvious Rodgers was struggling to make his throws. Hell, Brady multiple INTs in the 4th quarter and we couldn’t score to save our lives.
So your entire argument is that if the Packers had drafted Tee Higgins or Patrick Queen they would’ve won one or more Super Bowls in the last 4 years?
One of them was the missing piece needed to push Green Bay over the top? I think both are good players but neither move the needle enough to be the difference maker people are making them out to be.
Well run organizations don’t reach in the draft to fill a need. They draft best player available. When they do draft for need they will either trade up, if possible, to draft someone they really like (i.e. Jaire, Love, Watson, Savage, Spriggs). Sometimes the player doesn’t pan out but this is how you know your team is proactively trying to make move behind the scenes on draft night. Gutey has even said in the 2021 draft they were wanting to move up to select a WR but couldn’t find a trade partner. This was stacked WR
Also you criticize Gutey for not being proactive at addressing team needs yet when you question how long Campbell can fill the hole at ILB you leave out the fact they also drafted Walker to play alongside him.
So your entire argument is that if the Packers had drafted Tee Higgins or Patrick Queen they would’ve won one or more Super Bowls in the last 4 years?
One of them was the missing piece needed to push Green Bay over the top? I think both are good players but neither move the needle enough to be the difference maker people are making them out to be.
Well run organizations don’t reach in the draft to fill a need. They draft best player available. When they do draft for need they will either trade up, if possible, to draft someone they really like (i.e. Jaire, Love, Watson, Savage, Spriggs). Sometimes the player doesn’t pan out but this is how you know your team is proactively trying to make move behind the scenes on draft night.
Gutey has even said in the 2020 draft they were wanting to move up to select a WR but couldn’t find a trade partner. This was “stacked” WR draft class which included Riggs, Jeudy, Lamb, Aiyuk, Jefferson, Reagor, Aiyuk, Mims, Higgins, Pittman Jr, etc. There were definitely a couple All Pro players in this group but also consider how many of these guys were busts. Again, if “your guy” isn’t there there’s no need to reach because its a need.
Finally, you criticize Gutey for not being proactive at addressing team needs yet when you question how long Campbell can fill the hole at ILB you leave out the fact they also drafted Walker to play alongside him. Wouldn’t drafting Love also constitute a progressive move to help sustain their window of success?
I didn’t mention any names of who they should, could or would have drafted in his place. But seriously, ANYONE who may have actually seen the field for meaningful snaps that didn’t involve Rodgers being unable to play, would have been more helpful over the past 3 years. Nothing guarantees a championship, but a guy who’s not going to see the field unless your star QB is on the shelf certainly doesn’t increase your chances.
And since you have all the info, and my memory isn’t what it used to be, what all did they give up to be able to draft Love? Couple picks if I’m not mistaken, and maybe those would have helped a little also.
And yet GB constantly churned out top WRs. The narrative is ignorant at best.
Yup. In the last 7 or 8 years it’s been..
Adams and….
Adams and…
Adams and…
Um, Lazard..?
Surely you can’t be counting Watson and Doubs. At least not yet. Not exactly a ton of game changing talent.
Won’t matter, he’s not gonna be there at 13.
who’s gonna throw him the ball?
Kurt Benkert
Ray Finkle.
Don Majkowski is still available.
If they had an established qb they wouldn’t be considering a wr. And I’ll still be shocked if JSN is there and Gute takes him.
Hoping this is satire, but in case it’s not… Packers have Jordan Love who was a first round pick that looked decent when he played a few times last year.
Deleted. Sorry, wrong team.
No WR or TE drafted in the 1st rd during Rodgers entire tenure in GB… but now, for some unproven dude already at the end of rookie deal, they’re gonna draft a 1st rd weapon? Hahaha, Rodgers has been trying to escape from GB for years. Good for him for finally getting away. The Jets are getting a very happy and VERY motivated stud QB.
GB completely wasted his talent. Rex Grossman won as many NFC titles as Rodgers. REX GROSSMAN hahaha
Agreed Bryzzo. Going after a first round weapon now makes no sense if that was their ‘philosophy’ all these years prior. I think A Rod will be extra motivated this year.
There’s no way to slice it. GB has had practically 3 decades of HOF qb play and 2 super bowls to show for it. That’s gotta be disappointing especially considering Brady, Peyton Manning & Mahomes were in the opposite conference for most it.
They haven’t drafted any this year yet either. This type of pre-draft prediction is an annual thing. Every year they’re FINALLY going to take a wr or te in round 1, and every year they go another direction. I’d say the odds of drafting Love’s replacement are as good as taking a wr. As for TE, I can see them taking one…the one whose skills don’t translate to the NFL, or whose body won’t hold up to it.
@ Bryzzo. They drafted Nelson and Finley in 2008,Rodgers 1st year as a starter. Eerily the same situation that Love finds himself in now. Everyone thought Rodgers was a dud after sitting 3 years behind Favre, just like you do about Love.
Putting out a smokescreen
Exactly, why after months would u reveal who Ur hot on a day b4 the draft, esp since it’s a deep WR class, there is a lot of misinformation floated out pre-draft 2muddy up the water, like a trap play w/lil misdirection n u get the desired result cause they fall 4it, Ravens R Ft Knox when it comes 2there draft board n who they like. If u did hear scuttlebutt bout who they’re high on, ud have to suspect it as heresy or lil nugget put out by team to mislead other GMs, don’t want anybody knowing who u value n why, it’s gamesmanship lil subterfuge, n this is best n cheapest way 2rebuild Ur organization, it’s a war n very cutthroat, all that matters is winning, prob like Addison or Flowers or whoever … why would u expose Ur intentions to rest of league, like sharing Ur playbook
Why would u make Ur preferred choice known publicly on heels of draft. There is a lot more showmanship n misinformation floated out there than ppl know or believe. Gota take it w/grain of salt, prob 50/50 they really like another guy n just like trap block a lil misdirection n u get desired effect. Ravens 4example R Ft Knox when it comes2 there draft board n there intentions. If there was scuttlebutt out there bout who they liked ud have2 believe it was ploy 2throw u off scent of player they really like. Just saying, not hard 2manipulate sports writer looking 4a scoop, an angle to run with, “unnamed team source” said they’re hot on so n so, n now the teams in front of u wonder why Ur so hot on em n possibly snatch em up cause u pumped em up. This is really important n they’re really trying, whatever it takes to win.
If the Titans had any brains at all (which they probably don’t & I’m a Titans fan), they would draft Smith-Njigba at 11. He’s better than their entire receiver corps combined
The latest JSN goes is 12 to the Texans. He won’t be around at 13 but that doesn’t mean GB won’t try and trade up for him if they really want him.
There are about four or five good GMs in this league – everyone else is a wanna-be, including Brian Gutekunst.
Packers are dumb AS . they essentially tanked the back part of Rodgers career by refusing to draft wrs or TEs high in in the draft. had they given him top tier wrs or drafted so e high they might have won more but no they just got low rd wrs when they drafted one . and they just relied on Rodgers Accuracy . I mean I get y it was mad I mean I don’t help ur QB at all I’d be made to
This isn’t true at all. The Packers drafted a significant number of offensive weapons in the early rounds over the last decade.
2022 – Christian Watson (2nd)
2021 – Amari Rodgers (3rd)
2020 – AJ Dillon (2nd); Josiah Deguara (3rd)
2019 – Jace Sternberger (3rd)
2015 – Ty Montgomery (3rd)
2014 – Devante Adams (2nd), Richard Rodgers (3rd)
Unfortunately, most didn’t pan out but they did use a significant number of early round picks on offensive playmakers.
I think that was pretty clear that most of those guys were the type who’s have to work their up a depth chart. The list looks any average team’s later round depth choices. Dillon is the only one who looked like he could have been a starter at the time, and he isn’t even a pass catcher. Adams sat behind Nelson and Driver, and he looked better than any of the others. Watson was an intriguing if athletic prospect who came with much uncertainty due to the lack of passing offense at a smaller school where he didn’t play all that many games. None of those guys got picked and the NFL world said, “Yes, this guy will solve that starting receiver problem.”
The real issue has been since Gutekunst took over, though. The Packers were always “in” on things and never got any done, and the receiving element of the team was relying more and more on Rogers s d Adams to compensate. Instead of making a move for a slam dunk, Gutekunst picked a few gambles. Doubs and Watson may work out, but what little that was spent on them was more important to Gutekunst than spending more to get a proven number one or two.
I don’t think Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be there at 13.
Picking JSN and making him play with Jordan Love is like buying high end rims and putting them on a Ford Pinto.
All the people complaining rhat they are possibly gonna draft a receiver now after “wasting rodgers” obviously dont remember that Favre also complained about not getting weapons, and then the team promptly added Jordy and Finley in the first draft w/ him as starter. They obviously felt as though Rodgers was good enough to carry them with inferior weapons, whether Love will get there or not time will tell, but you have to give him the tools to succeed or you will never know for sure.