Every NFL draft class has its own personality and identity, and the Green Bay Packers’ eight new players in 2025 are the result of a fascinating set of selections by general manager Brian Gutekunst and his staff.
Here are some key takeaways from Green Bay’s weekend of drafting:
Gutekunst makes a statement with premium offensive picks
At his season-ending press conference, Gutekunst told the media that while the Packers offense is “exceptionally explosive at times,” he wanted them to be able to “control the game whenever we need to control the game, whether that’s the run game or the pass game.”
It was a pointed statement, but knowing what it would mean in actionable terms and how Gutekunst would make it happen. With the signing of Aaron Banks in free agency, then the drafting of Matthew Golden and Anthony Belton, the answer is now clear.
Banks immediately became the heaviest player on Green Bay’s roster when he came over from San Francisco at 325 pounds, and Belton topped it emphatically at 336 pounds. He is the heftiest offensive lineman the Gutekunst drafted by 15 pounds.
Belton has similar strengths to Banks, in particular his impressive movement ability for such a big man. He is bigger than Banks yet more athletic, should be able to do everything Matt LaFleur asks in the run game, will be difficult to beat with power in pass protection. He also has the versatility to play four of the five offensive line spots.
That is not a common combination to find, so although it was viewed as a reach according to the consensus media big board, it is easy to see why Green Bay would have valued Belton’s skill set highly and probably felt he was a rare prospect in that sense.
How do you control the game? By physically exerting your will on your opponent. The Packers seem to be undergoing something of a philosophical change on the offensive line, specifically by beefing up the interior, seeking to play bully ball with Josh Jacobs at running back.
Green Bay’s offensive line was overwhelmed by the likes of Detroit and Philadelphia in the passing game in 2024, and they appear to want to start dictating things up front.
In Golden, the Packers may have an answer to the issues they faced whereby opponents essentially did not respect their receivers’ ability to get open versus physical man coverage and burn them downfield. Golden is a presence defenses will have to plan for and be aware of on every snap.
With him in tow, Green Bay can get back to dictating to defenses in the passing game, and his ability to make big catches in key moments should also help them convert more third downs and stay on the field, accomplishing the goal of controlling the game offensively.
Packers class has potential for immediate contributions
Green Bay has been accused of not drafting enough players who can help out immediately, but that criticism cannot be thrown at them this year.
Golden will likely start for the Packers right away and might be their best receiver as a rookie. Belton will compete for and could well win the right guard job over Sean Rhyan.
Savion Williams will get snaps every game due to his unique skill set, and sixth-round pick Warren Brinson could be on the field regularly on early-downs due to his ability to stop the run, much like T.J. Slaton did for the Packers in recent years.
The Packers managed to find potential early impact players while also not compromising on their general philosophy of planning for the future.
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom are all set to be free agents after this season. Tom will be a priority for the Packers to pay big money and keep in town, but even if all four leave, the Packers are already in position to play a game in 2026 just with the guys they currently have.
It seems clear at this point that Gutekunst’s statement about “ramping up our sense of urgency” was directed at the players in the building, rather than signalling uber-aggressive off-season moves, but the general manager held up his end of the bargain with how he drafted this weekend.
Green Bay gets spicy with some unique prospects
In recent drafts, the Packers have had a massive amount of picks and have used them to build a talented, young core of their roster by drafting their classic type of prospect at a given position.
With only eight picks this year and not many roster holes, some of their strategy this year seemed to be about asking: “what type of player don’t we have?”, and some unique selections were made to try to add different skill sets to the mix.
Williams is arguably the most unique player in the entire draft and is a luxury pick who could be weaponized by a creative play caller like LaFleur.
Collin Oliver, Green Bay’s fifth-round pick, is a hybrid defensive end/off-ball linebacker who is explosive and was productive at Oklahoma State. He is unlikely to ever be a starter but is an exciting sub-rusher who could be moved around by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to create chaos.
The first three rounds of this draft were reminiscent of 2020, with the Packers going offense with their first three picks for the first time since then, including a big perceived “reach” in round two, much like A.J. Dillon was, and an interesting offensive utility player in round three, similar to Josaiah Deguara.
Green Bay has done serious work in recent years to turn this roster over, make it younger and get them back to competing in a hurry. This weekend they rewarded themselves with some fun picks which could be impactful specific role players.
No excuses for the offense in 2025
The Packers fizzled out on offense at the end of the season, and there were several valid reasons why that may have occurred. There are no excuses to be had in 2025, however.
At his disposal, LaFleur has one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league in Jordan Love, an elite power running back in Josh Jacobs, an explosive change of pace back in Marshawn Lloyd, every possible receiver skill set he could ask for between Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, and two tight ends with different profiles in Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave.
There is an embarrassment of options to get the ball to, and importantly for the Packers, other than one incident with Doubs, a group of selfless players who are focused on team success rather than their own stats.
On the offensive line, they now have athletic guys who can move as well as big guys who can maul. Green Bay can now play any style of football they want on offense, and the coaching staff cannot say they are lacking an ingredient they need.
LaFleur will be thrilled with what he has to work with entering 2025, and there is no cap on the potential this offense has.
Trust being placed in Jeff Hafley
Entering the draft, the consensus opinion was that the Packers’ key needs were on the defensive side of the ball, so it was surprising when they waited until round four to address the defense with Barryn Sorrell.
Gutekunst always talks about letting the board come to them and taking the best player, so it may simply be how the board fell, but the fact they waited until the seventh round to draft a cornerback was especially surprising given how overdue they are for a premium draft investment at the position.
In a weird class full of corner prospects who had injury concerns or are not athletically what the Packers like, Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston was the best fit and may well have been their first-round pick if Golden was not available.
Beyond that, all the corners who went on day two had something the Packers would have to compromise on, and they clearly decided not to, at least not before another team was happy to take them.
Perhaps they simply just preferred Belton in round two, and they were in no man’s land from there, as several corners they could have picked were gone by their pick in round three. Green Bay eventually selected Tulane’s Micah Robinson, making it three straight years they have drafted a corner in round seven.
Despite losing Slaton in free agency, Green Bay did not add to the defensive interior until round six with Brinson, who is a big defensive lineman at over 6-5 and 315 pounds, but not a true nose like Slaton.
This gives credence to the idea that they might not need one in Hafley’s penetrating scheme, although they did add a bigger defensive tackle in Georgia’s Nazir Stackhouse as an undrafted free agent, at least giving them the option of keeping that body type on the roster.
Hafley made the most of what he had on defense a year ago, and the Packers will be relying on him, along with new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, to do the same again.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 takeaways from Packers 2025 draft
Every NFL draft class has its own personality and identity, and the Green Bay Packers’ eight new players in 2025 are the result of a fascinating set of selections by general manager Brian Gutekunst and his staff.
Here are some key takeaways from Green Bay’s weekend of drafting:
Gutekunst makes a statement with premium offensive picks
At his season-ending press conference, Gutekunst told the media that while the Packers offense is “exceptionally explosive at times,” he wanted them to be able to “control the game whenever we need to control the game, whether that’s the run game or the pass game.”
It was a pointed statement, but knowing what it would mean in actionable terms and how Gutekunst would make it happen. With the signing of Aaron Banks in free agency, then the drafting of Matthew Golden and Anthony Belton, the answer is now clear.
Banks immediately became the heaviest player on Green Bay’s roster when he came over from San Francisco at 325 pounds, and Belton topped it emphatically at 336 pounds. He is the heftiest offensive lineman the Gutekunst drafted by 15 pounds.
Belton has similar strengths to Banks, in particular his impressive movement ability for such a big man. He is bigger than Banks yet more athletic, should be able to do everything Matt LaFleur asks in the run game, will be difficult to beat with power in pass protection. He also has the versatility to play four of the five offensive line spots.
That is not a common combination to find, so although it was viewed as a reach according to the consensus media big board, it is easy to see why Green Bay would have valued Belton’s skill set highly and probably felt he was a rare prospect in that sense.
How do you control the game? By physically exerting your will on your opponent. The Packers seem to be undergoing something of a philosophical change on the offensive line, specifically by beefing up the interior, seeking to play bully ball with Josh Jacobs at running back.
Green Bay’s offensive line was overwhelmed by the likes of Detroit and Philadelphia in the passing game in 2024, and they appear to want to start dictating things up front.
In Golden, the Packers may have an answer to the issues they faced whereby opponents essentially did not respect their receivers’ ability to get open versus physical man coverage and burn them downfield. Golden is a presence defenses will have to plan for and be aware of on every snap.
With him in tow, Green Bay can get back to dictating to defenses in the passing game, and his ability to make big catches in key moments should also help them convert more third downs and stay on the field, accomplishing the goal of controlling the game offensively.
Packers class has potential for immediate contributions
Green Bay has been accused of not drafting enough players who can help out immediately, but that criticism cannot be thrown at them this year.
Golden will likely start for the Packers right away and might be their best receiver as a rookie. Belton will compete for and could well win the right guard job over Sean Rhyan.
Savion Williams will get snaps every game due to his unique skill set, and sixth-round pick Warren Brinson could be on the field regularly on early-downs due to his ability to stop the run, much like T.J. Slaton did for the Packers in recent years.
The Packers managed to find potential early impact players while also not compromising on their general philosophy of planning for the future.
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom are all set to be free agents after this season. Tom will be a priority for the Packers to pay big money and keep in town, but even if all four leave, the Packers are already in position to play a game in 2026 just with the guys they currently have.
It seems clear at this point that Gutekunst’s statement about “ramping up our sense of urgency” was directed at the players in the building, rather than signalling uber-aggressive off-season moves, but the general manager held up his end of the bargain with how he drafted this weekend.
Green Bay gets spicy with some unique prospects
In recent drafts, the Packers have had a massive amount of picks and have used them to build a talented, young core of their roster by drafting their classic type of prospect at a given position.
With only eight picks this year and not many roster holes, some of their strategy this year seemed to be about asking: “what type of player don’t we have?”, and some unique selections were made to try to add different skill sets to the mix.
Williams is arguably the most unique player in the entire draft and is a luxury pick who could be weaponized by a creative play caller like LaFleur.
Collin Oliver, Green Bay’s fifth-round pick, is a hybrid defensive end/off-ball linebacker who is explosive and was productive at Oklahoma State. He is unlikely to ever be a starter but is an exciting sub-rusher who could be moved around by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to create chaos.
The first three rounds of this draft were reminiscent of 2020, with the Packers going offense with their first three picks for the first time since then, including a big perceived “reach” in round two, much like A.J. Dillon was, and an interesting offensive utility player in round three, similar to Josaiah Deguara.
Green Bay has done serious work in recent years to turn this roster over, make it younger and get them back to competing in a hurry. This weekend they rewarded themselves with some fun picks which could be impactful specific role players.
No excuses for the offense in 2025
The Packers fizzled out on offense at the end of the season, and there were several valid reasons why that may have occurred. There are no excuses to be had in 2025, however.
At his disposal, LaFleur has one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the league in Jordan Love, an elite power running back in Josh Jacobs, an explosive change of pace back in Marshawn Lloyd, every possible receiver skill set he could ask for between Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks, Matthew Golden and Savion Williams, and two tight ends with different profiles in Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave.
There is an embarrassment of options to get the ball to, and importantly for the Packers, other than one incident with Doubs, a group of selfless players who are focused on team success rather than their own stats.
On the offensive line, they now have athletic guys who can move as well as big guys who can maul. Green Bay can now play any style of football they want on offense, and the coaching staff cannot say they are lacking an ingredient they need.
LaFleur will be thrilled with what he has to work with entering 2025, and there is no cap on the potential this offense has.
Trust being placed in Jeff Hafley
Entering the draft, the consensus opinion was that the Packers’ key needs were on the defensive side of the ball, so it was surprising when they waited until round four to address the defense with Barryn Sorrell.
Gutekunst always talks about letting the board come to them and taking the best player, so it may simply be how the board fell, but the fact they waited until the seventh round to draft a cornerback was especially surprising given how overdue they are for a premium draft investment at the position.
In a weird class full of corner prospects who had injury concerns or are not athletically what the Packers like, Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston was the best fit and may well have been their first-round pick if Golden was not available.
Beyond that, all the corners who went on day two had something the Packers would have to compromise on, and they clearly decided not to, at least not before another team was happy to take them.
Perhaps they simply just preferred Belton in round two, and they were in no man’s land from there, as several corners they could have picked were gone by their pick in round three. Green Bay eventually selected Tulane’s Micah Robinson, making it three straight years they have drafted a corner in round seven.
Despite losing Slaton in free agency, Green Bay did not add to the defensive interior until round six with Brinson, who is a big defensive lineman at over 6-5 and 315 pounds, but not a true nose like Slaton.
This gives credence to the idea that they might not need one in Hafley’s penetrating scheme, although they did add a bigger defensive tackle in Georgia’s Nazir Stackhouse as an undrafted free agent, at least giving them the option of keeping that body type on the roster.
Hafley made the most of what he had on defense a year ago, and the Packers will be relying on him, along with new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, to do the same again.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 takeaways from Packers 2025 draft
