I say take one of our first-round picks this year (trade it for a future first-round pick ) and kick it down the road for a year or two. That way we have the ammo to pull the trigger on drafting a top-tier QB if AR leaves/retires and Love is not the answer.

Every year is a rebuilding year! So what?

Gute has done an excellent job anytime there's a perceived weakness on this Packers team. He seems to throw both FA and draft picks at the weakness, which IMO has been pretty damn successful. He did it on the O-Line, signing Billy Turner, veterans later in the summer in each of the last two years, but also drafting 3 O-Linemen in each of his last 2 drafts. He did it on the Edge with the Smiths and then Gary, and at Safety with Amos and adding Savage.

I know there's LOTS of Packers Fans, especially here at CHTV who didn't care to have Rodgers back at the price it took. I was one of them myself. Hell, I was in favor of trading Rodgers for ALL of those players and picks, AND trading Adams, especially after getting a 1st and 2nd. I mean COMMON MAN, having SIX picks in the first 59 selections THIS year while also KEEPING the defense together? I for one would have jumped at that every day of the week and TWICE more on Sunday.

BUT, that didn't happen and we now get to play will he or won't he retire for the next 2, 3 or 4 years. So now I'm waiting. I have faith in Gute, i really do. But I'm also waiting on the LINE OF PLAYERS who will take LESS to come to GB to play with Rodgers. 12 said it himself, GB isn't a vacation destination, they come here to play WITH #12.

Well 12, time is a ticking. FA has more less come and gone and we have Allan Lazard. There's quite a few busted and broken guys left, or a few slower guys like Jarvis Landry, but we already have Cobb and Amari Rodgers to play the slot. Maybe I'm WAY off but I'm starting to wonder if anybody really wants to play with you. Hell, nobody is taking less OR even more to come to GB to play with 12. I haven't even heard a whisper of someone wishing to come here but I could be wrong.

Lets go 12...You got YOUR money. Now get those recruiting skills going you told us all about and help Gute. Just like you WANTED!

I go back and forth between your take on rebuilding on the fly and the all in for a ring approach. I am hoping that with the 4 picks in the 1st 2 rounds this draft we can make the team so good we can win a super bowl and add to our young core to the point where we can continue to win with an average to above average QB when 12 walks. Its harder today, but championships have been won in the past with Foles, over the hill Peyton Maning, Flacco, Eli Manning, Brad Johnson, Dilfer...

Bad news is I dont think any of those teams found their new franchise QB after. So Keep winning while we hunt for the next franchise guy? Maybe, but its not sustainable if we cant find a way to get into the top 10 and try to get that QB.

I’m pretty convinced this will be Rodgers last year with the Packers.

Hopefully it ends with a Super Bowl and the Packers can still trade Rodgers for a boatload of picks next year.

If he is allowed to walk and the packers only get a 3td round comp pick……..watch Twitter burn 🔥

Rebuild, reload, it's all a matter of opinion. As much of a massive loss Adams is, I hope it forces Rodgers to start playing in the boundaries of the offense -- when he does, the Packers win games. When he plays hero ball with Adams, we sometimes win, but do that in the playoffs, and defenses are too good and have us figured out by then.

However, let's not forget the fact that Rodgers said in December, "I won't drag out my decision."

Then he proceeded to drag it out until the verge of free agency.

This franchise had its hands tied behind its back until the first and biggest domino to fall -- Aaron Rodgers.

All they could do was have "what if scenarios" and action plans in place, but it's hard to take any action when Rodgers did, in fact drag it out.

And about Davante Adams -- they offered him the same as the Raiders. So what? If they love him so much, why didn't they make that offer last summer when they were negotiating a new deal? It's kind of like, if you ask for a raise at your job and don't get it, then you get an offer from an outside company, and they offer you, say 20% more (which is realistic these days). Then you go back to your company and they're like "oh yes! we love you, we'll give you 20% more!"

Ok -- well where was the love when you had asked for a raise? Where was the love when they were negotiating last summer? The last ditch, matching offer for Adams was reportedly leaked out of the front office as a last ditch, perhaps PR effort to keep Rodgers happy that the front office tried to keep Adams, full well knowing that his mind was made up anyway.

Wouldn't you be irritated if your company suddenly had the money to make you that offer, but only when another company made a great offer, that they were willing to match it? (assumption here is no budget constraints, as the Packers could have made that offer last summer)

I'm glad we got $20 of cap space, plus two premium picks to gradually start this rebuild, rather than a full tear-down all at once. At least if Rodgers retires or leaves in 2 years, then some of these new chess pieces will be in place to facilitate the transition to Love.

Ken you just defined football. It's a brutal sport and the window for peak play is pretty small. The QB and the System 'make' the other players great. This has been proven time and time again with O'Dell Beckham being the latest example. How good was he in Cleveland with Baker Mayfield throwing him the ball? He goes to LA and Matt Stafford (with a modern offense) and viola'! Superstar. The pie is only so big every year because of the salary cap so you have to be very judicious in how you divvy it up. Premium positions like QB, Left Tackle, Cornerback and Edge Rusher is where the money must go and the rest is shrewd FA deals and the draft. Also invest money into the organization itself, coaches and facilities, and you have a yearly contender. Good job Pack!

I don't know what the turnover ratio for players is every year, but either way I don't view this team as a rebuild in anyway. Every year there is a certain number of players that will change. However this year the core group of players will be returning. QB, RB, TE, OL (mostly), DL, ILB, OLB, CB, S are going to be essentially the same minus a few changes.

The biggest difference on this roster is the WR position will be overhauled. They lost 3 players already. Adams, MVS and EQ are all playing for someone else next year. Clearly Adams is a huge loss. MVS's deep threat ability will be missed also. I expect them to go fairly hard at WR's in the draft. I wouldn't be surprised if they drafted 2 of them pretty high. They still do have Lazard and Cobb. Rodgers will be entering his 2nd year and should hopefully take a step. Winfree is a guy I do like and think he could take a step as well. But I am expecting them to bring in at least 1 veteran either in FA or via trade. And I do think they will draft a few.

The passing game while it will miss the WR's, we could see a bit of a shift though. Perhaps they find more ways to use the TE's and RB's in the passing game. Tonyan likely won't be ready to start the season, but when he does come back he should make a big impact in the passing game. Don't be surprised if they were to draft a TE also. Find Big faster receiving type that could have an impact on the passing game.

Also, we know Rodgers has had a hard time trusting rookie WR's in the past. Well he doesn't have the Jennings, Nelson, Adams to rely on, so whatever rookie(s) are brought in he will have to learn to trust them quicker. With this offense, they should be able to get on the field faster and contribute.

Finding a good receiver or receivers should be easy. The defense is strong and hopefully special teams will be better.

This is not a rebuilding year for the whole team. For WR, yes, but not for the rest of the team. Releasing Turner is more a statement of how much they think the guys they have who are capable than rebuilding.

It was hard to lose Adams, but it turns out key people got retained. Campbell, Douglas and Tonyan. And I really like the signing of Reed. The DL is betters than last year with him versus Lancaster. We have three quality DB's, two quality safety and a pro bowler at ILB.

On offense, I think we are good with Bahk, Runyan, Myers, Newman and Jenkins/Nijman. Tight end group is same as last year. Two good RB's and Rodgers. Yes, we have to do something about WR. Gute has an opportunity for a trade, or picking up a veteran WR from potential releases to come. No one we pick up will replace Adams. He can't be replaced. The offense will need to evolve into something different. And it just may be better.

And we are looking at a new special teams coach with a veteran punter. We can expect an improvement for next year.

Now the draft. Pending if a trade is made, we may not have all 7 picks in the first four rounds. So I say Leo Chenal at ILB (he is top pick). I also see WR, Edge, IDL as high picks. Then OL, DB, Safety depth.

We will see, but I am encouraged.

Depth is the issue now after the roster changes. Wide receiver is an obvious hole, but there are others. The core of the team remains but has become much thinner from a depth perspective.

Yes we have Campbell, but who is behind him? Barnes plays the other linebacker. At running back, is Taylor the answer? No contract so far for Jaire and he could bolt after this season, another corner is needed. With Henry Black gone they need another safety. Edge rusher needs at least one. Acquiring Reed actually upgraded the d-line. O-line needs a tackle. The o-line also lost Ben Braden to Denver. Tight end: Tonyan isn't back right away. That is a position they need a starter from the draft.

And last but not least: QB. Love will not ride out three years on the pines. The Packers might well take a flyer late in the draft on a guy like Jack Coan, late of Wisconsin and Notre Dame.

One of my recent thoughts on the issue of replacing our WRs, is that with the loss of our talented veterans, Rodgers is going to want/need guys who can learn the system fast AND who have high catch rates. I've been a fan of Christian Watson, but the more I think about it, he has a high drop-rate, which is what really could be a problem.
Just in the last day or two, I've started liking guys like Jahan Dotson, Khalil Shakir, and Bo Melton, all of whom make great catches and seem to be smart WRs.

The truth is, it’s a new team every year. Ask the players, they will tell you the same thing. Changes in coaches, staff and inside the locker room change the dynamics of the team and those changes occur every year. The difference between a reload and a rebuild is a matter of degree. New head coach, GM…team is rebuilding. New QB after losing an elite one (Seattle)…rebuild. New WR room after losing a top 3 WR and half of your WRs….that’s a heavy lift reload, maybe an offensive rebuild. It will be an interesting year whatever you want to call it.

Oceans and Lobo are right! You rebuild and reload 10-15 new players every year-half from the draft, and a few from FA and some UDFA too. And next year, with the FA comp system, the Packers can have 11 plus picks or more again. Thanks to MVS, Burks, Z. Smith, Turner, Sullivan, St Brown, and Yaidom for their services and ability to carry on elsewhere.

NFL Football is a twenty to thirty-year older's game, except for QB and K for the most part. We should get used to it. Youthful players lack experience but recover better, run faster, and are much stronger. The bonus is they also come in cheaper. I am all for a reload-rebuild yearly, and every year I suggest a trade back in the draft to find the talent...but that's just me! GB is fine but a WR1, and will still lead the North unless any major injuries to skill players. Just r-e-l-a-x, and run those mock drafts for it's a month away...yeeha.

Remember this...life as is football, is a marathon that requires balance, pace, and a plan.

I wouldn't call it a rebuild, as every year team's turnover about 20-25% of their roster. Packers have done a good job of replacing older offensive linemen with drafting good and versatile young guys. Now it needs to be done with the WR's, and I still think a free agent or two comes in. Some fans want OBJ who will miss most of the season to injury or other expensive guys. So far, I feel the $20 million from Adams has helped immensely with re-signing Campbell, Douglas, Tonyan, and picking up DL Reed. I am excited to have that many high draft picks and its just a wait and see now.

When you pay more cap than you can afford for one player then it’s inherently going to force restocking. The strange and incongruous fact here is that you pay a QB knowing there is a strong possibility (now reality) that the consequence will be a barren WR room.

In my view the Packers have ended up with a scenario that is ridiculous. A massively paid QB and no money to invest in experienced catchers beyond a 3/4 RFA, A TE coming back off an ACL (hopefully early) and a 32 year old slot with dubious ability to stay healthy and effectively now zero money to spend on reinforcements.

If any other team did that we’d be laughing. What little money we spent has gone mostly on the D and a hopeful return of Tonyan. We are all pinning our hoped on early draft picks, the success rate of which is about 50 percent for first rounders and that’s on s 2-3 year viewing. We may find a reclamation project or two, if we are lucky.

This situation is leading to many increasingly stretching the bounds of credibility to find a “rational” justification. It is in fact the opposite. It will take a miracle to avoid the worst catching corps in decades in a year while we offered a 38 year old QB the farm for as long as he wants it and paid for it with future cap and opportunity.

It’s very simple, you don’t mortgage the future for a QB that you can’t provide weapons to. You don’t pay a QB that much for a team led by RBs on O and when your strength is greatest on D. Yet that is exactly what we have done.

The contradictions between how the roster has developed beyond Rodgers and the frankly craven willingness to cede to his demands is striking. Gute’s general moves and the Rodgers signing are at odds. It looks to me as if Murphy ordained keeping Rodgers at all costs when common sense screams we could not afford it and a viable roster now and less so later.

Rodgers is merely taking money at this point, it’s fairly obvious. He didn’t come back demanding weapons to resign. He just wanted to be paid and the freedom to walk on a whim, regardless of the health of the Packers. Well he got what he wanted off the field at the price of an arsenal of weapons that might have caused him to leave in the past.

Bravo Packers, a mercenary QB and a team built to run, paid for by void years galore. This organization is knee deep in contradictions not sneakily clever, though I think Gute’s doing all he can. This is not how to run a team, this is what happens when the senior leader messes up otherwise sound work. It isn’t rational it’s at war with itself.

I'm sure Gute's will do SOMETHING about the WR situation...it was viewed as mediocre before Adams left now its downright bad...as it stands its the worst WR group in the division and probably close worst in the NFL...take off the green and gold glasses and name a team with a worse grouping than the Packers..and not to mention TE's which isn't very formidable either...no one knows how Tonyan will be after a very bad injury...yup, the Packers brain trust has lots of work to do...

This is a really great article, Ken.

While many see 12 here through the next 3 years, after which point our salary cap becomes a complete dumpster fire, my wishes are for the Packers to trade him now, while his value remains high.

I wouldn’t be surprised if terms of a trade are agreed to in principle on draft day, with finalization of any deal happening after June 1st, when the dead cap hit drops below $30M. Personally, I think that’s the smart play.

NYG are loaded with top picks/players to pull a deal like that off, and they are QB starved, in a very, very weak QB draft (highly questionable if there are 2 QBs worthy of an R1 grade in this class, from what I’m seeing).

If not, I’ll continue to wish our Packers, with 12 at QB, the best moving forward.

Actually the one constant throughout the Lombardi era was their OL. Except for Jim Ringo who was replaced by Ken Bowman the Packers OL was the same throughout the Lombardi era. They won games even when Starr was out with injuries and they won after Hornung and Taylor had moved on. To the point where in 1967 the Packers won there 3rd consecutive NFL championship with Chuck Mercein and Ben Wilson as starting RBs.

Take nothing from Starr but the OL made the offense go regardless of the RBs or the QB. Also Lombardi's defense was always rock solid, allowing only 9.7 PPG in the post season.

The difference in the current era is that there is Free Agency and a Salary Cap. Lombardi never had to deal with either, otherwise players would have been as mobile as they are today. The Packers are retooling or re-engineering rather than rebuilding. The most significant difference will be in their WR group and probably their TE group. Until we get through FA and the draft we won't know how much of retooling the Packers have completed. Thanks, Since '61

Now, I have been told (a time or ten) that my driveway doesn't go all the way to the garage... so, just throwing this out there. I wonder with the timing of the recent stock sale that MM/EC felt they almost had to sign Rodgers so as to not have the recent buyers of G-stock fuming that they spent all that $ and then...poof, Rodgers gets traded followed by a couple potential down years...I ain't sayin, just saying....

I'd conclude 11 draft picks is a subtle roster revamp in and of itself.

I was happy with 9 draft picks, and then Gutey had the balls to tag-n-trade DA for an extra 1st and 2nd round picks.

Masterful job Gute!

This article is meant for the naive fan as it attempts to encapsulate the past into the present to project an all is good or that the desire/leadership of the past resides in the present team. This team is not being led by a field general but by a mercenary, and that mercenary turned on his men until the FO paid the fee to have that mercenary do again what he has failed to do over and over, lead his men to victory. The more you pay a mercenary the less you'll get for the money because it's about money for those types, and not the end result because the result is never guaranteed and mercenaries only guarantee themselves a payday Congrats to the FO, you have overpaid a failed mercenary who folds when he needs to earn his money in the real campaign of competitive battle, again.

Come on Ken, by these standards basing players from 2019 to going into the 2022 season.... EVERY team is rebuilding.... averaging 7 new picks a year, that is 28 new guys of which 15-20 BETTER replace guys..... and with a hard cap..... you HAVE to go cheaper in places.....

Rebuild? The defense is back and stronger. Special Teams has arguably the best coaching staff in the NFL now...if we had another stud defensive lineman and a stronger special teams for the playoff last season (like we have now), we would have dominated. Yes, we lost linemen and wide receivers this offseason...but given what we have added including our draft capital, it is fair to argue that the Packers on balance could be stronger this year come playoff time when younger players have had a full 17 games experience In the offense...and it's fair to assume we will have a ticket into the playoffs...at that time anything can happen... and with our 2nd year defense even stronger than last season, and Rodgers under center, I like our chances.

Shoot...with all that money Super Turbo 12 gets, we can't afford cheerleaders or a mascot!!!!!!!! :D

What I truly love are the male/female cheerleaders from the local community college. They seem genuine and down-to-earth. I had to smile with pride a few years ago while attending a game at Lambeau. There was an attractive cheerleader (they all are attractive in their own, unique way)...but she was a looker. The gloves she was wearing were Hardware Hank gloves...I knew right then and there, I was in the right place for me! GPG...!

Rebuild? Rebuild what? The same team as last year - which is currently less than what it was - with little cap room for player upgrades? Rodgers salary is the very meaning of throwing good money after bad. It's actually deplorable to see the FO of a professional sports franchise squander a golden opportunity for a timely team re-generation.

Thanks Ken! As usual your story is thoughtfully written and interesting.
As for the Packers replenishing the Wide Receiver position-stay tuned, film at 11...

Well, with MVS gone, I now can see the Packers drafting a WR with a 1st, 2nd, and in third or #132/4th.

Dream Weaver hope:

Olave or Burks round 1.

Christian Watson 2nd (will have high probability of contributing right away on all ST units...especially as a KR and gunner. Maybe even at PR.

Then in round 3 or 4, Tolbert or Doubs.

Thanks for the article Ken. I am not so much concerned about the Lass word as I am intrigued by who gets the Lass laugh.

Okay; I owe, I owe...so off to work I go....

So what did we get for Adams a first rd pick a second round pick and cap money to sign Campbell, Douglass Tonyan Reed. I would say it was a great trade