It hasn’t been easy to predict what Brian Gutekunst is going to do in the draft. In fact, it feels impossible at times. However, the prospects that the Green Bay Packers bring in for top 30 visits have provided us with some insights.
And before you tell me, “no kidding,” this isn’t always the case around the NFL, nor was it with Ted Thompson when he was at the helm.
As part of the pre-draft process, NFL teams are allotted 30 official visits where they bring potential draft prospects into their facilities. When Thompson was in charge, there wasn’t much that could be gleaned from these visits. However, that hasn’t been the case with Gutekunst.
None of the Packers’ pre-draft visits in 2021 ended up on the team, but in 2020 there were two. In 2019, three, and in 2018, six.
Then, in 2022, six of Green Bay’s top 30 visits ended up being draft picks. This included Romeo Doubs, Rasheed Walker, Christian Watson, Devonte Wyatt, Samori Toure and Tariq Carpenter.
On top of that, Jahmir Johnson would end up being signed as an undrafted rookie following the draft. Benjie Franklin was signed to the practice squad just before Week 1, and Jean Delance in December.
In total, that is nearly one-third of the prospects brought in for a top 30 visit were either draft picks or members of this Green Bay Packers team at one point in 2022, with most seeing regular playing time in some capacity.
The purpose of these visits is that prospects get the opportunity to meet members of the coaching staff along with executives. It also gives the organization the chance to get to know each player better and to go over film with them in order to get a better understanding of their decision-making and how they are processing the game. It also allows the Packers to address any potential red flags.
More often than not, the Packers will bring in Day 3 or even potential undrafted prospects that they have questions about, but Gutey has been much more willing to bring in top prospects than Thompson was. Recent examples include Watson, Wyatt, Jordan Love, Treylon Burks, and George Pickens.
With compensatory picks included, Green Bay is going to have 10 selections in 2023 – before any potential trades take place – with four of them coming in the seventh round. Based on how last year went along with Gutekunst’s overall tenure as GM, there is likely a future Packer or two, if not more, in the upcoming visits that Green Bay will host.
Packers Wire will provide a tracker once reports of visits begin. This was last year’s tracker.
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