The Packers prioritized leadership in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made double-digit picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. One thing stood out more often than anything else when looking at the incoming rookies.
Leadership.
That theme started in the first round, with the Packers taking Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan.
“Really athletic,” Gutekunst said when asked about Morgan. “Really feel like he could probably play four positions for us, two-time team captain — just our kind of guy.”
Morgan was far from the only captain or leader taken by the Packers this year. Here are the leadership credentials for some of the team’s noteworthy draft picks:
Jordan Morgan: 2-time team captain
Javon Bullard: High school captain. Viewed as team leader at Georgia
MarShawn Lloyd: High school captain
Ty’Ron Hopper: 2023 team captain
Evan Williams: 3-time team captain at Fresno State
Jacob Monk: 2-time team captain
Kitan Oladapo: 2023 team captain
Tyron Glover: 2023 team captain
Michael Pratt: 3-time team captain
Kalen King: High school captain
A quick search for captain experience shows that only second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper hasn’t been a captain before. Four of the team’s 11 draft picks have been captains multiple times in college.
It’s clear that leadership is something that Gutekunst wanted to prioritize in this draft class. As someone who used to think that leadership in draft evaluations was overrated, coaching high school football for three years has had me completely change that stance.
Football is a game that requires both mental sharpness and physical intensity. In order to succeed in both, players need to be intrinsically motivated and driven with a strong work ethic.
That work ethic can be a positive feedback loop when brought into a locker room. It can elevate teammates around that player. The opposite is also true. A player with bad habits and a bad attitude can bring down the rest of the team.
I’m fully aware that this sounds like a football take of a man who would tell you that real football involved players like Mike Alstott averaging 3.0 yards per carry. But for anyone who has been around a locker room, having highly motivated players (especially ones lower on the depth chart) forces everyone else to be better.
The Packers are on the cusp of being a legitimate long-term NFC contender. Adding mature, motivated players with proven track records of leadership can help the rest of the team get better in 2024 and beyond.
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