The Green Bay Packers have a long history of outstanding quarterback play. Arnie Herber, a Hall of Famer, was a pioneer in the position since the franchise’s inception. Tobin Rote and Cecil Isbell also have special spots in franchise history, preceding the glory days of Hall of Famer Bart Starr and the Vince Lombardi Packers teams, which won five NFL championships.
Of course, more recently, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers have continued Green Bay’s tradition of Hall of Fame quarterback play. Even before them, the Packers had Lynn Dickey and Pro Bowler Don Majkowski at quarterback. Jordan Love appears to be on track to maintain the high level of play he set in his debut season as a starter.
How Do the Green Bay Packers Keep Finding Good Quarterbacks?
Brian Gutekunst, general manager of the Packers, spoke with the national media on Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. During his session, Eliot Wolf, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Packers’ great general manager Ron Wolf, asked Gutekunst how the Packers continue to get the quarterback position right.
“Luck,” Gutekunst replied.
Eliot Wolf is the New England Patriots’ Director of Scouting. He is, in essence, the de facto general manager since Bill Belichick’s retirement as head coach and general manager.
There is no doubting that Green Bay has been blessed to have such a long tradition of excellent quarterback play. But is it actually luck?
The truth is that, while everyone understands that quarterback is the most essential position on the field, Green Bay has addressed it differently and has reaped the advantages of this method for years, along with other teams.
Green Bay Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst wants to draft more quarterbacks.
One of the things that Gutekunst said during his press conference was that he wants the Packers to get back to drafting multiple quarterbacks. This came on the heels of his declaration that backup quarterback Sean Clifford, who Green Bay drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, is a proven backup quarterback and can possibly be something more in the NFL.
Former Packers executive Andrew Brandt has been known to say “The best time to draft a quarterback is when you don’t need one.” This was the approach Gutekunst himself took in 2020 when he traded up to take Jordan Love in the first round. Rodgers was aging, yes, but he was also about to win two consecutive NFL MVP Awards. But while Gutekunst could not have known exactly how high of a level Rodgers was going to play in 2020 and 2021, he did not draft Love to be Rodgers’ immediate successor.
The plan had always been for Love to wait and learn from Rodgers, just as Rodgers had to sit behind Favre for three years. Even Favre began as Majkowski’s backup before taking over following the latter’s injury. Green Bay’s select and develop system has proven effective, but only because the team has historically drafted and produced quarterbacks even when they did not need them.
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