What does Gutekunst’s move mean for the Packers?

Posted on March 9, 2018

By MARQUES EVERSOLL

When the Green Bay Packers’ 2017 season came to an end in Detroit, they wasted no time in getting the offseason underway. They quickly fired defensive coordinator Dom Capers and replaced him with Mike Pettine, while general manager Ted Thompson moved to a lesser role and Brian Gutekunst took control.

It was an electric start to the offseason.

But since then, crickets … until Friday.

Gutekunst officially put his stamp on the Packers by trading cornerback Damarious Randall to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for quarterback DeShone Kizer. The teams will also reportedly swap fourth and fifth-round picks.

Quarterback is arguably the single-most important position in all of sports, and in today’s pass-happy NFL, quality cornerbacks are absolutely essential.

So, what does Gutekunst’s first big trade mean for the Packers?

  1. Quarterback: DeShone Kizer is the new QB2. Don’t get it twisted.

While I’m sure the Packers will label this move as adding “competition” for Hundley, I’m not buying it.

The Packers just traded their 2015 first-round pick — who led the team in interceptions in 2017 — for Kizer. Gutekunst probably wouldn’t make this move if he didn’t see Kizer as a clear-cut improvement over Hundley.

It’s easy to see why the Packers were motivated to address the backup quarterback position.

In nine starts last season, Hundley threw just nine touchdowns, went 3-6, and set a new NFL record for the most passes in a single season without a touchdown pass at home. Granted, Kizer didn’t win a game in 15 starts, and threw just 11 touchdown compared to 22 interceptions as a rookie.

But the Packers clearly like Kizer, and maybe they’ve seen enough from Hundley.

Kizer was a second-round pick in last year’s draft; Hundley was a fifth-round pick in 2015. Draft position isn’t everything, but Kizer was certainly the superior prospect coming in to the NFL. During last year’s draft, sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Kizer was “in play” to be the Packers’ top pick at No. 33 overall. Ultimately, the Pack picked Washington cornerback Kevin King, and Kizer landed with Cleveland at pick No. 52.

Almost a full year later, Kizer moves to Green Bay, and the Packers have to find a guy to play across from King — the team’s new No. 1 corner.

  1. Cornerback: The Packers have their eyes on someone. Stay tuned.

The Packers needed a cornerback before they made this trade. Now, they’re desperate for help. After King, the Packers have Quinten Rollins, Demetri Goodson, Josh Hawks, Lenzy Pipkins, Donatello Brown and converted wide receiver Herb Waters.

There’s been a lot of movement across the NFL at cornerback already this offseason. Within the past week, the Los Angeles Rams acquired Marcus Peters from Kansas City, and Aqib Talib from Denver. Last month, the Washington Redskins sent Kendall Fuller to Kansas City in the Alex Smith trade. Trumaine Johnson will likely hit the free-agent market after the Rams’ multiple moves, Richard Sherman was officially released Friday by the Seattle Seahawks, and Malcolm Butler has already said his goodbyes to the New England Patriots. It’s still possible that Jacksonville’s Aaron Colvin signs elsewhere when free agency kicks off.

Needless to say, the Packers have options at cornerback if they choose to pursue a veteran.

The guess here is that they were comfortable enough with the free-agent cornerback market to finally say goodbye to Randall, who had a rollercoaster three-year run with the Packers and who Mike McCarthy said needed to “clean his own house” after the season.

Sherman is an interesting conversation for a few reasons. First, he’s a four-time Pro Bowler and may be the best cornerback of this generation. Second, having 6-foot-3 bookend corners in Sherman and King could reap a very nice reward for the Packers. And finally, I have absolutely no freaking idea how to value a 30-year-old corner coming off Achilles surgery.

Sherman brings a lot of unknowns, although that’s not stopping David Bakhtiari — AKA “Agent 69 — from recruiting Sherman to Green Bay.

When there’s one move, there’s usually more to come.

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