GREEN BAY − Green Bay Press-Gazette and PackersNews columnist Pete Dougherty responds to reader questions ahead of the Green Bay Packers ‘ Week 6 game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Lambeau Field .
We pulled out a couple of questions about Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst.
Eric: Do you think (Brian) Gutekunst is one of the most underrated GMs in the league?
Dougherty: He’s probably not real well known among fans leaguewide, but from what I can tell he’s well respected around the league. The Athletic ranked the NFL’s front offices a few weeks ago based on a poll of 35 front-office executives and five coaches (they couldn’t vote for their own teams), and the Packers ranked sixth, behind Baltimore, Kansas City, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Detroit. Gutekunst’s drafting of (Jordan) Love and patience waiting to play him, and handling of and then trading (Aaron) Rodgers, surely had to help his standing among his peers. His recent drafts look very good, and the (Josh) Jacobs and (Xavier) McKinney signings are off to good starts. Here’s the quote from an anonymous front-office executive The Athletic included in the capsule about the Packers: “Gutekunst’s humility and authenticity and being a smart football guy really shows up. He’s very process-driven. There’s no panic there. They’ve made good decisions in free agency. They know their roster. They know their head coach. It’s more of a methodical, process-driven deal where they don’t rush to make a quick fix. They trust their process.”