How Trading with the Seahawks Shaped the Packers Roster
Jaire Alexander and Darnell Savage have both ended up in Green Bay as a result of draft day trades with the Seahawks.
In contrast to his staid predecessor, Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has been more than willing to make aggressive moves to improve his team. In his two years at the helm, Gutekunst has used every resource available to him to add talent, pursuing free agents, exploring trades, and moving in the draft to grab his preferred targets.
Sunday’s game against the Seahawks will feature a unique confluence of a few Gutekunst moves: at least four players expected to be in uniform for the Packers were acquired as a result of trades involving draft picks. Three of those players came from trades involving the Seattle Seahawks. Here’s a look at each of those trades and the players the Packers acquired.
Gutekunst’s first draft involves two big trades
In his first draft with the Packers, Gutekunst had the world at his feet when the Packers came on the clock. Sitting with the 14th pick in the first round, several desirable prospects were still available, including safety Derwin James and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Gutekunst, however, received an offer he couldn’t refuse. The New Orleans Saints offered the Packers the 27th overall pick and the 147th pick in the 2018 draft along with a 2019 first round pick, which turned out to be the 30th overall selection. Gutekunst wisely jumped on the deal.
Shortly thereafter, Gutekunst was again working the phones, putting together a deal with former colleague John Schneider in Seattle. The Packers sent the Seahawks the 27th, 76th, and 186th picks for the 18th and 248th, then promptly used the 18th overall pick to select Louisville cornerback Jaire Alexander.
On Day 2 of the draft, Gutekunst used the 147th pick — one acquired from the Saints — as part of a package to trade up for linebacker Oren Burks. Ultimately, Gutekunst added two players in 2018 as a result of two big trades. But his work was just getting started.
Solving a quarterback competition and selling high on a safety
Prior even to the 2018 draft, Gutekunst had already made a significant splash on the trade market. In March of that year, Gutekunst sent malcontent defensive back Damarious Randall to the Browns in exchange for quarterback DeShone Kizer. Swapping players was noteworthy enough, but this trade came with a bonus: the Packers and Browns swapped their fourth and fifth round picks. The Packers used some of this slightly sweeter capital as a part of the Oren Burks trade.
The move for Kizer created an extremely mild quarterback controversy in Green Bay. Brett Hundley had filled in for an injured Aaron Rodgers in 2017, but heading into a contract year he’d done little to give the Packers confidence that he could be a long term answer behind the two-time MVP.
A training camp competition ensued. Kizer, having been acquired for a relatively hefty price, had a built in advantage but didn’t ultimately give the Packers a compelling reason to keep him over Hundley. So Gutekunst went searching for a trade partner and found one in...the Seattle Seahawks.
Seattle surrendered a sixth round pick for Hundley, which turned out to be the 194th overall selection in the 2019 draft. The Packers used that pick on Notre Dame running back Dexter Williams.
But that wouldn’t be Gutekunst’s only move of the 2018 season. Midway through the year, Gutekunst sent safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Redskins for a 2019 fourth round pick, stockpiling critical capital to target a mid-round prospect — or trade up.
Final trade pieces fell into place in 2019
Gutekunst’s Seahawks-related pick flipping came to a head during the 2019 draft. Thanks to his 2018 Saints trade, Gutekunst had two first round picks at his disposal this spring. He elected to stand pat at 12, selecting Michigan edge rusher Rashan Gary.
Nine picks later, though, Gutekunst consummated his second major trade with the Seahawks, sending the 30th (via New Orleans), 114th, and 118th (via Washington) picks to Seattle in exchange for the 21st overall selection, which he used on Maryland safety Darnell Savage.
Savage, along with Alexander, will play a big role in Sunday’s contest, while Burks and Williams wait in the wings. As the Packers try to get past the Seahawks, it’s worth remembering that some significant pieces are a direct result of deals with the very team they’ll be playing.
