Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has all intentions of keeping Devonte Wyatt and Quay Walker for the foreseeable future.
During Monday’s media availability in advance of the 2025 NFL Draft that runs from Thursday to Saturday, Gutekunst addressed preparations for the future, which include fifth-year contract options for two of the Packers’ defensive starters.
Walker and Wyatt, two first-round picks from the 2022 draft, have been contributors on the defensive front, but battled injuries this past season.
Wyatt missed time due to an ankle injury and finished 2024 with 23 total tackles (17 solo) and 5 sacks in 14 games. Walker was sidelined due to an ankle injury and totaled a team-high 102 tackles (72 solo), 2.5 sacks and two passes defended.
The deadline to exercise the fifth-year option on 2022 first-round picks is May 1. Based on the league’s formula for determining the options, Walker’s fifth-year would cost the Packers $14.75 million in 2026, while Wyatt’s would cost $13.92 million.
Gutekunst said discussions will start after the draft.
“For both those guys, whatever mechanism we use, we’d like to keep those guys around for ’26 and beyond,” Gutekunst said Monday. “So, whether that’s doing the fifth-year option or extending them, one way or another, we’re planning on doing that, we’d like to do that.”
Here are other takeaways from Gutekunst’s news conference:
Brian Gutekunst doesn’t need a rookie to make an immediate impact
The Packers GM is confident in the roster he has heading into 2025. He didn’t make the type of splash in free agency he did in 2024 when he signed Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney, but did add Aaron Banks, Nate Hobbs and Mecole Hardman.
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Part of that was that Gutekunst didn’t feel there were as many options in the free agency market this offseason. The other part is that he believes the pieces are in place for the team to contend for Super Bowls.
So, regardless of who the team drafts in the first round, there’s no pressure for the player to be a vital piece from Day 1.
“It’s great when they do, but that’s not always the case. The transition to the National Football League is tough, it’s not always easy. A lot of time it’s really determined by opportunity. If you take a guy in a particular area thar he’s just going to have a lot more opportunities than somebody else. We try to stay away from that drafting for need and take the best player, if possible.”
Packers don’t use RAS metrics
While NFL scouts continue to use traditional scouting methods, from the combine and other workouts to analyze prospects, one metric teams use is the Relative Athletic Score, a tool that assesses a player’s athleticism compared to their peers at the same position.
It combines various physical measurements and drill performances from the NFL combine and pro days into a single, standardized score on a scale from 0 to 10. A score of 10 represents elite athleticism, while a score of 5 indicates an average performance. For example, Packers quarterback Jordan Love recorded a score of 8.45. Wide receiver Christian Watson scored the highest among all prospects in his 2022 draft with a 9.96 score.
Gutekunst said he’s familiar with it and the Packers feel good testing numbers and traits are important, but RAS is not what they use for evaluations.
“We don’t use RAS score at all. We don’t have anything like that,” he said. “We do have some analytic scores that our analytic people do on their own that measures athletic traits and other things.”
