The Packers created another new quarterback drama a week ago, and it continues to unfold.
The latest dispatch from Green Bay puts the responsibility for drafting Jordan Love in the first round at the feet of General Manager Brian Gutekunst, as opposed to coach Matt LaFleur.
That’s not exactly a revelation (in general, the G.M. picks the players, the coach coaches them). But considering the move also lit the fuse on speculation about Aaron Rodgers’ future, it’s also going to be examined in great detail.
The report outlines the process of scouting Love, which included Gutekunst watching a game in person last year, and goes into detail about the G.M.'s background in the Ron Wolf system, in which acquiring quarterbacks was prioritized.
Gutekunst has said as much since the draft, saying the decision was based on the long-term health of the roster rather than any immediate benefits they might receive by drafting a skill position player for a team which made the NFC Championship Game last year.
“Matt was on the [phone] line with us and understood where I was coming from,” Gutekunst said. “I think it was one of those things where, again, with a second-year head coach, I certainly wasn’t going to give him a player he didn’t want. . . .
“It’s not something we anticipated. It kind of fell to us, and we were excited about that. I know a lot of people will look at this as not a move for the immediate, and I understand that, but the balance of the immediate and the long term is something that I have to consider, and that’s why we did it.”
Of course, there was also a report which suggests that LaFleur was not thrilled with the way Rodgers handled himself last year, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest Gutekunst was serious about adding help at the mot important position since taking over.
They had Drew Lock in for a pre-draft visit last year, before he went in the second round to the Broncos. And considering the way Rodgers came to the Packers, such a move shouldn’t be unexpected.
Only time will tell if the decision was a sound one, and that will be determined as much by how Rodgers handles it in the short term as how Love plays in years to come.
