Oftentimes on draft night, it feels as though the Green Bay Packers are trolling not just quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but the entire fan base.
That seemed to be the case in the first round of the 2022 draft Thursday night when the Green Bay front office once again neglected to address Rodgers’ supporting cast. Last night would mark the 20th consecutive draft in which the Packers decided not to select a receiver, tight end or running back in Round 1.
Six weeks after the team traded first-team All-Pro Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the team would do the right thing this time. Green Bay took two Georgia defensive stars, selecting linebacker Quay Walker with the 22nd overall pick and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt with No. 28.
After a slew of outrage online, former team executive Andrew Brandt decided to calm the fears of the fan base.
“Packer fans: Greg Jennings Jordy Nelson Davante Adams. All 2nd round picks. Deep breaths…See you tomorrow…,” he said on Twitter.
Unlike when the team selected Jordan Love — Rodgers knew the direction they were headed and was fine with it.
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“Well I’ve had a little insight, I’ve been talking with him throughout the night … so I know that they really liked Wyatt early on and were wondering if he was gonna be there, at either pick I believe, and when the linebacker was there in the 20s and all six of those receivers, I believe it was six who they had first round grades on, were gone, I think it was pretty obvious that they wanted to sure up those two spots in their mind … I’m sure Packer nation will be wondering why we didn’t take a receiver or trade up or whatnot, but at this point you just gotta have some faith in the organization,” he told Pat McAfee, via CBS Sports.
Speaking to the media, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made it clear that the team would not “reach” for a wide receiver just to give star quarterback Aaron Rodgers more weapons.
“I think having weapons for him to go to is important,” Gutekunst said, via Sports Illustrated. “We play in September, and we’ve got nine picks the next couple days and a whole summer before we get to that first game. So, I think certainly by the time we get to that first game, we’re going to add some one way or another to that room. Hopefully, it’ll fall right for us the next two days but, if it doesn’t, I don’t think we can reach and make bad decisions just because they’ve got a WR by their name.”
As long as Rodgers and the front office are cool with each other, the fan base can at least be happy with that after what they went through last offseason.
