On Day 1 of the NFL Draft, Packers fans got a little taste of what might play out through the rest of the draft with GM Brian Gutekunst at the helm.
The Packers traded out of the 14th overall pick with the Saints, moving down to 27th.
Still on the board at that point were top-tier defensive talents Derwin James and Tremaine Edmunds, who Gutekunst and company passed up on in favor of a future-oriented move, as Green Bay picked up New Orleans' 2019 first-rounder.
"The ability to get a first-round pick in next year's draft wasn't something that we started out thinking about trying to acquire," Gutekunst said Thursday night after Round 1 concluded. "But it was just too good to pass up quite frankly. Those picks don't come around often and we just thought it was in our best interest to do that. We were going to get the same value player in my mind once that trade came up."
Then, they traded back up to No. 18 via Seattle and selected Louisville CB Jaire Alexander, a player Gutekunst called "explosive... physical, aggressive, competitive."
Here's that attitude #Packers alluded to liking in their first-round pick. 😂 https://t.co/QclbEIWKXB
— Kelly Price (@thekellyprice) April 27, 2018
The Packers are now equipped with 11 additional selections through the rest of the draft, before any trades could be made on Day 2:
- Round 2: No. 13 (No. 45 overall)
- Round 4: 1 (101), 33 (133)
- Round 5: 1 (138), 10 (147, from Saints), 35 (172), 37 (174)
- Round 6: 33 (207)
- Round 7: 14 (232), 21 (239), 30 (248, from Seahawks)
Gutekunst hinted moves were likely on Day 2, with 10 total picks in his arsenal to use in order to jockey his way back into the second or third rounds Friday.
"You never can predict it. I think the way that our board looks right now I would assume we would move around a bit," he said Thursday night. "We have a lot of picks and there's areas of the board that we feel really good about so I would assume we would (move)."
