Even the crowd that believed Brian Gutekunst to be the Antichrist during this past offseason's Rodgers saga can still admit one thing: he's had plenty of "hits" in his short stint as Packers general manager.
From the wheeling and dealing that ultimately landed both Jaire Alexander and Darnell Savage during his first draft as GM - to the additions of Za'Darius Smith, Billy Turner and Adrian Amos in free agency - to hiring the man that helped turn a 6-win team into one that reached the NFC title game in back-to-back seasons...he's made quite the impact over a short period of time.
Which is why I don't feel bad about citing some of his most suspect decisions in the GM role.
Since the regular season is frequently used as the time to applaud a GM's good moves, we'll use the final roster cuts of training camp as the juncture at which to criticize the bad decisions, keeping in mind that some of Gutekunst's worst are already behind him.
Head-scratchers that just missed the Top 3:
2018 free agent signing of TE Jimmy Graham
2019 drafting of TE Jace Sternberger
2020 free agent signing of OT Rick Wagner
2020 drafting of LB Kamal Martin
3. Paying DE Dean Lowry: Spurred by a few highlight reel plays and - to a much greater extent - the lack of other young, DE talent on the roster, Gutekunst gave the very average defensive end Lowry a three-year contract worth over $20 million during the 2019 offseason. Since then: Kenny Clark continues to be regularly double-teamed and the Packers' D-line is one of the worst in the game.
This decision seems infinitely more mind-boggling when you consider the fact that Gutekunst chose to cut loose aging-but-still-productive Mike Daniels the same offseason he paid Lowry.
2. (Almost) the Entire 2018 Draft: Gutekunst may have had better luck throwing darts at a board of prospects on Friday and Saturday of the 2018 draft. Serious losses were cut this past training camp as CB Josh Jackson, P J.K. Scott and WR EQ St. Brown (retained on the practice squad) joined WR J'Mon Moore, OL Cole Madison, DE/TE James Looney and DL Kendall Donnerson as 2018 draft casualties.
The clock may also be ticking for LB Oren Burks and LS Hunter Bradley, which would leave just first-round CB Jaire Alexander as the remaining player from that draft class.
1. Trading CB Damarious Randall for QB DeShone Kizer: The first major move that Gutekunst made after taking over from the late Ted Thompson was the addition of Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer, dealing a disappointing former first-round CB, Damarious Randall, for the expensive insurance policy at quarterback.
As luck would have it, Kizer got an immediate chance to prove Gutekunst's decision wise, filling in for Aaron Rodgers during the Packers' season opener versus the Bears. Kizer quickly fumbled that opportunity and now, just three seasons later, is a free agent. Randall, meanwhile, has found at least some success as a safety in the league, a position at which the Packers were unwilling to try the Arizona State product.
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