Packers: 2018 Draft Class Looms As Possible Huge Failure

Green Bay Packers’ General Manager Brian Gutekunst potentially messed up his first ever draft class in 2018, affecting the team this season.

Coming off a highly-scrutinized 2020 NFL draft, general manager Brian Gutekunst has risked the Green Bay Packers‘ future. Unfortunately, his work with the draft is not very strong; especially his 2018 class.

Gutekunst has been praised by Packers’ fans everywhere for his work in free agency. Last year, he found impact players in Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Adrian Amos and Billy Turner. Even if Turner might be a little overpaid, the Smiths proved to be worth every penny and then some.

It resulted in the Packers bouncing back from consecutive disappointing seasons where they missed the playoffs. Green Bay went 13-3 in 2019 and advanced all the way to the NFC Championship game.

Unfortunately, his 2018 draft looms as a potentially huge mistake. Below is that draft class:

• Jaire Alexander (18th overall pick)
• Josh Jackson (45th overall pick)
• Oren Burks (88th overall pick)
• J’Mon Moore (133rd overall pick)
• Cole Madison (138th overall pick)
• JK Scott (172nd overall pick)
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling (174th overall pick)
• Equanimeous St. Brown (207th overall pick)
• James Looney (232nd overall pick)
• Hunter Bradley (239th overall pick)
• Kendall Donnerson (248th overall pick)

Setting Alexander aside, who’s been a complete stud for the Packers and whose best days are clearly ahead of him, this has been an extremely underwhelming draft class.

Jackson was thought to be a first-round prospect, but fell to the second for Green Bay. At the time, many people lauded the pick, but the truth is he’s been extremely underwhelming in his two seasons. After playing in 68 percent of the defensive snaps in his rookie season, he only played 10 percent of the time in 2019. And, if it weren’t for the extreme lack of depth in the secondary, he might be at risk of losing a roster spot in 2020.

Burks is in the same boat. He was thought of as a player who could cover running backs and tight ends and use his speed to impact the game. Unfortunately, that hasn’t translated to the actual football field. He only played in six percent of the defensive plays last year and is at risk of being cut altogether this year.

Speaking of being cut, Moore was already released by Green Bay in August of 2019. Although he possessed good speed and athletic ability, he was never able to put it all together and, you know, actually catch the football. He’s now with the Cleveland Browns.

Cole Madison missed his entire rookie season due to personal reasons and didn’t prove to be an NFL caliber player last year. Scott has had his ups and downs, but is one of the few players in this class who actually belongs in the league.

Valdes-Scantling has been the only wide receiver drafted by the Packers in 2018 who has actually done something on the field. And even that has been minimal. He has great speed, but disappeared for the back half of 2019 and needs to take a step forward next season.

St. Brown struggled with injuries last year, Looney transitioned from defensive line to tight end, Hunter is a long-snapper and Donnerson is out of the NFL. That about sums up the 2018 class for the Packers.

Green Bay continues to have a need at cornerback, middle linebacker and wide receiver–the exact positions they spent a lot of draft capital on in 2018. If they would’ve hit on any of those picks in the second, third and fourth rounds, it would’ve gone a long way to solving present day problems. Unfortunately, Gutekunst appears to have struck out on his first swing at the draft.