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Green Bay Packers Picking Quarterback in 2020 NFL Draft

Green Bay Packers Picking Quarterback in 2020 NFL Draft

Green Bay Packers Picking Quarterback in 2020 NFL Draft

The Green Bay Packers are picking a quarterback in the 2020 NFL Draft it would appear.

With quarterback Aaron Rodgers creeping closer and closer to the end of his career, Green Bay needs to start developing a contingency plan for when he reaches Ben Roethlisberger status.

Currently, Rodgers is still one of the league’s best players. However, old age hits quarterbacks like a ton of bricks. One day, they are playing like Cam Newton in 2014. The next, Cam Newton in 2018. That is a big difference.

Recently Brian Gutekunst sat down for an interview with ESPN and was asked about what the team’s plan was heading into April’s 2020 NFL Draft.

The general manager didn’t pull any punches on his future prospects. In fact, he acknowledged that Green Bay was looking to take a quarterback this year.

“You guys have heard me say this before: Everything I’ve been taught, that’s where you start, you start with the quarterback,” he said.

“So you evaluate them every year, and I think it’s always on the table. It’s a good crop this year.

“It’s a good group of quarterbacks. I think it’s a little deeper than it has been in the past. It will be interesting. But yeah, sure.”

Green Bay has the 30th overall selection this season. That means they will be too far down the pecking order to get any of the big names like LSU’s Joe Burrow, Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Oregon’s Justin Herbert and Utah State’s Jordan Love.

Washington’s Jacob Eason will also likely be gone by the 30th overall pick.

Fortunately, this draft is filled with a ton of quarterback depth in the later rounds. And from the sound of things, that is what Gutekunst is banking on.

For Gutekunst, taking a young franchise quarterback while you still have an amazing one as your starter is just sensible planning. The Packers did it with Brett Favre and Rogers – and obviously it worked out pretty well for them.

“Aaron didn’t play for three years and for three years people were probably saying well, that was a total waste,” Gutekunst said.

“I just don’t think developing a young quarterback is; I don’t think that is a waste. You just don’t know when the time is going to be when you’re going to need [a young QB].

“Or if you’re going to trade him to New Orleans like we did with Aaron Brooks or Matt Hasselbeck to Seattle. … I know this: If you make it a priority to develop quarterbacks, I think it’s going to be a positive for your organization.”

Rogers remains under contract with Green Bay for three more years. However, the Packers do have an out. As per the $134 million deal he signed in 2018, Green Bay can gain salary cap room if they move on from him after 2020.

At the moment, all signs point to Rodgers remaining the Packers’ starter for many years to come.

Regardless of who Green Bay ultimately takes in the later rounds of this year’s draft, it is unlikely that they will be able to compete with the future Hall of Famer for the starting spot.

That being said, planning ahead never hurts. Having a contingency plan for the post-Favre era worked out well for Green Bay once before, and having the same sort of plan for the post-Rodgers era is just good sense.

Who will the team ultimately end up taking? We are about two months away from find out once and for all. It should be a very interesting draft.

Related: Bruce Irvin Leaving Panthers For Chargers Or Rams?

Carlos Garcia

A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.

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