The Packers raised some eyebrows and the ire of some of their fans in the first round of the draft when they picked quarterback Jordan Love rather than a player who would be in line to help them in 2020 and their second day picks drew some similar reactions.
They took former Boston College running back AJ Dillon at No. 62 despite the presence of Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams on the roster. In the third round, they chose former Cincinnati tight end/fullback Josiah Deguara with the 94th overall pick while passing on bigger perceived needs at wide receiver and on defense.
General Manager Brian Gutekunst shrugged at any negative reaction to the selections and said they fit the offense head coach Matt LaFleur wants to build this season.
“I think he’s talked to you guys repeatedly about how much he’d like to run the ball and have the pass work off of that,” Gutekunst said, via Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com. “I think as we went through, we wanted to have some versatile pieces. Obviously AJ’s a big, bruising back with very, very good speed . . . Josiah, just the versatility, whether it’s a lead blocker, his ability to create mismatches in the passing game. Matt really wants to tie everything to the run game and off the run game, and these guys will help us do that.”
Those skeptical of the picks wonder how much Dillon and Deguara will help a team that made it to the NFC title game win now, but Gutekunst said he believes both players he picked on Friday will help the team win in the short term and get better down the line.