Paul Bretl | 3/17/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The first wave of NFL free agency has passed, with the free agent market mostly picked apart at this point. The Packers would sign cornerback Nate Hobbs and guard Aaron Banks, but what about the wide receiver and defensive line positions?
Along with cornerback, from the outside perspective anyway, wide receiver and the defensive line were the two other biggest perceived needs that the Packers had. Although, by GM Brian Gutekunst’s actions, internally, the offensive line was on that list as well.
But here we sit, one week after the NFL’s legal tampering period opened and with many of the top available players now signed, the receiver and defensive line positions are still unaddressed for the Packers. So what’s next at those position groups?
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Right, wrong, or indifferent, the wide receiver market never truly shaped up as one that was conducive for Gutekunst to make a splash, given his roster-building philosophy.
As Gutekunst described after the season, when it comes to making a big trade, it’s not only draft capital that is being sent away, but the team is also losing out on young, ascending players who come with relatively inexpensive rookie deals. In return, the team is getting an established presence, but with that comes a hefty contract that now must fit into the long-term salary cap plans, which could require some maneuvering and potentially impact roster building down the road.
“You’d better be right,” said Gutekunst when asked about trading a high draft pick for a player. “When you trade a high pick for a veteran player, you’re trading a young, really good contract for a player who’s proven but is probably expensive.
“So you’re giving up a pick and salary-cap space. So I think you’ve got to weigh that. And if it’s the right player, if you feel like he can be a dynamic player who can change your football team, I think you’ve got to consider that, because there’s not many of those guys out there. But I think you have to also understand what you’re giving up.”
When it comes to the free agent market, while there is a lot of production out there at the receiver position, it’s also a lot of players who are nearing or beyond 30 years old. Which, again, right, wrong, or indifferent, doesn’t appear to be a path that Gutekunst wants to explore, particularly when it comes to handing out a decent-sized deal in order to land that player.
Realistically, no true WR1 was going to swoop in and lift the Packers’ wide receiver room for the reasons mentioned. Instead, it was always going to have to be competition that was the catalyst for improved play and fostered the urgency Gutekunst hoped to see, which in theory, could then elevate the play of that entire room.
Going down this path certainly doesn’t guarantee success, but it appears to be the best option that the Packers have at this time, given how Gutekunst wants to build out the roster, and so the draft was always the most likely avenue when it came to adding to the receiver position.
“You’d like to have somebody move into that space,” Gutekunst said of having a No. 1 receiver, “but, at the same time, I’d like multiple guys to be able to move into that space. What I’m looking for is guys that, when they’re called upon, can perform at a high level. I think we have a lot of guys that have done that.”
The same could be said for the defensive line unit. This is a position that the Packers have already invested fairly heavily into from a salary cap perspective. Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark are both top-four on the team in salary cap hits this season, not to mention a decision about Devonte Wyatt’s future has to be made soon as well.
That important factor, to some degree, probably had some impact on Gutekunst’s willingness to spend on the defensive line in free agency. This is also an incredibly deep defensive line draft class. So when it comes to adding to the roster at this position, if the choice is between a veteran with a hefty cap hit or a high-upside draft pick on a rookie deal, we all know what Gutekunst would prefer.
“I think you’re always looking with pass rushers, you can never have enough,” Gutekunst said after the season. “And I thought there were times this year we did that we were able to rush with four. I think every team in the league, that’s how you’d prefer to do it. Drill rush with four and affect the quarterback. There was periods of time where we didn’t do that well enough. I think everybody understands that that affects your football team.”
An added wrinkle to this decision-making process when it comes to how to go about adding to this unit is that I don’t think adding a middle-tier veteran would accomplish what the Packers need, which is a significantly improved pass rush.
Green Bay already has a strong foundation along the defensive front, but what they need is more high-impact play–not depth. So, adding another rotational defender to the mix may not accomplish that ultimate goal. Improve play from those on the roster and/or a top-tier pass rusher added to this team, which perhaps the draft can offer, is going to be the ultimate remedy.
As Gutekunst said at the NFL Combine, if the Packers are going to accomplish their goals this season, then the pass rush has to be more consistent, and finding that elusive element–consistency–was mostly likely to always come via the draft and internally through improved play.
“I think the biggest thing and we talked a little about it earlier is just the fact we need to affect the quarterback with four,” Gutekunst said. “How we do that kind of remains to be seen. We had good moments last year, but it just needs to be more consistent. It needs to be able to control the game when we need to control the game and finish games off.”