Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst answered questions for almost 12 minutes after selecting Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan in the first round of the 2024 NFL draft on Thursday night.
Here’s some of what Gutekunst said about Morgan:
— “Versatile offensive lineman like we like. Really athletic. We feel he can play four positions for us. Two-time team captain. Our kind of guy.”
— “I think he can play all four spots (both tackle spots, both guard spots).”
— “He’s a really smart kid…we expect he’ll be a quick learner.”
— “Left tackle feet. Very athletic kid. Really sturdy strong lower body. Did 27 reps on the bench press, so he’s a really strong athlete. When you move inside, things move a little quicker and handle a little more power, and he’s certainly shown an ability to do that.”
— Morgan tore his ACL to end the 2022 season. “It was remarkable how well he played early in the season coming off of it (injury). He kept getting better and better, so that gave us a lot of confidence about where he’s headed.”
— “The longer the better, but we’ve had a bunch of guys who have played outside without prototypical arm length and been fine. What makes up for it is usually feet and athleticism, and that’s what Jordan has.”
— Gutekunst admitted he considered moving around in the first round but the board held up strong. Considered moving down but couldn’t pass on Morgan. “I wanted to make sure we secured the player. I didn’t feel great about where we were going to move to and how the board might fall.”
— Gutekunst said offensive tackle is a “premium position” and there are only so many good big guys in a draft.
— Hard decision? “Where we had him valued, this was a pretty easy decision for us.”
— On Morgan’s strong character: “Two-time team captain. The way the people at Arizona speak of him. The right kind of guy for our locker room, I think he’ll fit in great. Whenever you’re picking this high, that gives you a comfort level. Whatever his ultimate potential is, he’s got the work ethic to get there.”
— “When you can protect your quarterback, particularly one like we have, you have a chance to win the football game.”
— “We needed to add some things to that (offensive line) group, and Jordan just fit us.”
— “I like our group of corners, but you’re always looking for corners as well…there’s some good corners in this draft. We’ll see how it shakes out over the next two days.”
— On versatility along the offensive line: “Having guys who can play multiple spots that are athletic enough to do it and strong enough to do it and smart enough to do it, it gives you a lot of comfort.”
— On Friday night (Packers have four picks): “We’re all eager to get back…the board has held up pretty well, so we feel good going into tomorrow.”
— Gutekunst said he’ll “explore some opportunities” in terms of moving up during Day 2.
— “He was solid the last few years of tape we watched…One of his strong attributes is pass blocking in space. He’s had enough competition out west to show us what we need. He did a nice job at the Senior Bowl too.”
— Gutekunst said he had a couple of players he would have traded up for had they fallen down the board, but they didn’t. Became obvious early that the Packers were going to either stay put or trade back.
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— Green Bay Packers (@packers) April 26, 2024
