Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst spoke to the media after selecting offensive lineman Josh Myers and receiver Amari Rodgers during Day 2 of the 2021 NFL draft.
He described each player at length and dove into the process that went into taking the pair on Friday night.
Here’s a collection of quotes from Gutekunst on the picks:
– On the pair: “Two really high-quality individuals, really good young men that I think will fit really well with our team and locker room.”
– On Myers: “Really versatile guy that can play anywhere inside. Two-year starter at center. Captain…Josh is a 6-5, 310-pound center. He’s very very smart. Very very strong. He played at a high level at Ohio State for a couple years there.”
– On Rodgers: “Amari, son of a coach. He’s been a pro from an early age. Polished route runner.”
– On Rodgers’ versatility: “He fills so many holes for us. That’s one of the reasons why we traded up for him. Not only as a punt returner and a slot receiver, but the creativity that Matt has within his offense. The jet sweeps, and screens. He’s a 212-pound receiver, he’s not one of these smaller guys. So I think kick returning could be part of his arsenal as well. He’s just built for us up here in Green Bay. Very versatile plyer. Very smart player.”
– On drafting a shorter receiver: “It has to do with Matt’s creativity and using some of these different body types. This guy is short but he’s not small. He’s 212 pounds. When you see him, he’s not a small man, he’s just not tall. I do think he’s a little different than some of the other slot guys around the league. He’s built more like a running back. He gave me great comfort because you can’t run by everybody in this league. You have to take on contact and break tackles and he can certainly do that.”
– On Myers potentially starting: “He was one of the centers that kind of ran the show there. He’s a little bit bigger than some of the centers we’ve had here, which I like.”
– On No. 62: “It came down to Josh and Amari. We went with Josh, being a center and a big guy. I immediately turned around to see if we could get back up to get Amari…we were trying pretty significantly to get up and get him, took us a little while, longer than we wanted to. We paid a little bit of a price but I thought it was important because of the value of the player I wanted.”
– On first three picks: “The three players we took over the last two days, the stars aligned a little bit for us with some of the things that were important to acquire in this draft. We feel really good about the first two days.”
– On overcoming injuries: “We’re always looking for guys who have had some adversity. Have they been able to overcome adversity and get to the other side? Looking at those two guys and what they’ve overcome, it gives you faith that they can handle the ups and down of the NFL.”
– On Amari’s athleticism: “He hit most of the things we were looking for in the role he will play for us. His pedigree, his performance in college at a big-time stage were things that comforted us and feeling like he could step in and be a productive player for us early in his career.”
– On taking Myers: “His size, his athleticism, his power, how smart he is, what they asked him to do at Ohio State, understanding he could handle that stuff here, that was intriguing to us. He just fit what we’re all about.”