Much has been made of the changes to the way the Packers personnel department is doing business this offseason with Brian Gutekunst taking over the General Manager job from Ted Thompson and the team could add more fuel to that fire in the first round of the draft.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Packers are one of the teams “plotting” a trade that would move them up in the first round on Thursday night. The Packers currently have the No. 14 pick.
There’s no word on who the team might be targeting with such a move, but defensive additions are expected after the hiring of defensive coordinator Mike Pettine early this offseason kicked off renovations on that side of the ball.
The Packers have not made a trade to move up the draft board in the first round since 2009 when they dealt a second-round pick and two third-round picks to the Patriots in exchange for the 26th overall selection. Green Bay selected linebacker Clay Matthews with that pick.
Gutekunst comes into the draft with 12 picks at his disposal, although only one pick in each of the first three rounds so there may be a limit to how high they can go without dipping into future drafts.