Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t think a change of format will make wheeling and dealing during the draft any more difficult this week.
In fact, Gutekunst is planning to remain aggressive and attempt to make trades despite the fact that the draft will be conducted virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Gutekunst told reporters on a conference call Monday that the operation of making trades won’t be significantly different for him or his staff, and he believes he has the draft capital to find ways of moving around the board.
“We’ll be as aggressive as we need to be,” Gutekunst said. “I’d like to move around and get to the areas of the draft I think are strong.”
Gutekunst has made four big trades during his first two drafts, including three trades in the first round. In 2018, he moved back from No. 14 overall and then up to No. 18 in the first round. Later, he traded up into the third round. Last year, he moved up to No. 21 from No. 30.
The Packers have 10 picks in this year’s draft, including one each in the first five rounds and five in the final two rounds. The abundance of picks in the sixth and seventh rounds could give Gutekunst the chance to move around the board, especially on Day 3.
“We’ve got enough ammunition to move around a little bit and do what we need to do,” Gutekunst said.
While he intends to be aggressive, Gutekunst said he didn’t yet have a feel for how the circumstances of this year’s draft will affect trading volume throughout the NFL.
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