Grade the Gute

[AmishMafia]

Well some are getting their desire for more FA activity. But what does everyone think now? Grade these moves and non moves:

TE Graham: B- like him but we over-paid him. You can say it was our only option and we had to pay, I don't know. $10M per year is a lot for a TE past his prime. $6M and I would have given an B+.

DE Mo Wilkerson. A+. Great signing at less than i imagined. If we don't resign him we should get a decent comp [not if Gute continues all these fa signings though]. $5M is a bargain and will make a big impact. I think it is probable he plays like he did 3 years ago.

Tramon Williams: C. Shocked at how much we paid for a CB well past his prime.

Kyle Fuller: B: I would much rather pay Fuller $15M per year than Tramon $5M. We should have upped it a bit, but the bears would probably still have matched. Liked the attempt, but there is only so much we could do.

Trade Randall for Kyzer: A: dumped a problem player and picked up a young QB with a huge upside. Upgrade 2 picks. And filled a hole at backup QB.

Jordy Nelson: B: ducks but as MM said, it was painfully obvious how his skills had declined.

 

[gopkrs]

I like your grades but I would give an A for Graham. I'm sure both of us hope that I am right.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I think it's way too early to grade Gutekunst's moves as it's impossible to view any of them in isolation. Therefore I'm withholding judgement at least until after the draft.

 

[hallzi43]

I would give the Graham signing a B+. Considering a lot of the signings, I think the money was pretty close. I like that management has been working hard to get a high caliber TE over the last 3 seasons. Hopefully this one sticks.

Wilkerson gets an A+ from me. Comes from a Pettine defense, cost us almost nothing, and you get a player who is ready to prove he is still elite.

Williams gets a B from me. I don't know about the pay scale, but I still haven't seen the full contract details yet. Pretty much got what Gaines got at the same time though and will work better in our man coverage system. Also has played for Pettine already. Only thing I really don't like about the deal was the fact it took us this long to finally pick up a corner.

Fuller gets a D from me. Money really didn't make much sense in the first place but the structure was an absolute laughable attempt. Chicago was easily going to match that. Would have gotten an F but at least you upped their cap number for him.

Randall/Kizer trade gets a C+ from me. Kizer possibly an upgrade from Hundley (at the very least I won't have to watch him chomp on his gum for 4 quarters anymore). Gives you a manageable contract for your backup QB for a few more years as well. Also upgrades 2 picks, 1 of which ends up being the first of day 3 which could be a tradeable asset if someone we like hits the block.

Nelson gets a B- from me. I don't hate that we cut him but it sounds like the offer to him was a league minimum which is pretty insulting to even some of the worst players out there.

 

[Mondio]

If i'm grading moves, Graham gets C/B range for me. A little much I think, with an outstanding year he could earn it, but I'm guessing he's overpaid to come here. Jordy, necessary, but hard to grade. Wilkerson I think was an A. Low risk, very high reward. At worst we have a very talented guy that isn[t motivated and produces like every other player getting paid like him. The only way it doesn't work is if he quits like that other guy last year. Randall/Kizer no opinion on, C? Tramon? I think we overpaid. Glad he's back, I don't think he's done yet, but I'll give it a C/B. The Fuller attempt? what's to grade? I'm glad we didn't sign some of those other guys to huge contracts, I did like Fuller. He was only partially protected, so we took a shot. It didn't work. People are making way too much of this. if the Bears wanted him they had to pay him like a franchise DB, or not and we did and were prepared to do so. It's not like this took some tremendous amount of time and resources to do. and any cap money tied up in the meantime could have easily been dealt with had another person they wanted been willing to sign a contract.

Lots of work left to be done. He gets a draft and TC to get thru though before I think of any grade to give him. Big picture always takes a while to come into focus.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Don't you mean to grade McGute? If you don't believe McCarthy has a stronger hand is this process than in the past you'd be kidding yourself.

Given the contract terms that lock him onto the roster for 2 years at those amounts, his declining performance, and the needs elsewhere on the roster, I give the Graham signing a C+. While we might think his productivity will go up with Rodgers, it's not a game changer in the prevailing offensive approach. The only thing that would change this assessment is a change in the McRodgers mind set. Year after year we see Rodgers pass up guys open underneath to go downfield and Graham is not the downfield threat he once was.

However, when the offense struggled during the first half of 2016--"Rodgers has lost it!" Remember that?--the Packers went to a ball control passing offense in the second half against Dallas featuring Montgomery (10 catches, 98 yards), exploiting Dallas' slower LBs. Rodgers went 14 of 15, I think it was, to close out the game, methodically moving the chains.

They followed that up with more of the same in the Bears win with Adams, Cobb and Montgomert at 10+ catches with the receiving crew in the aggreagate avereraging 8.4 yards per catch.

After that, it was back to business as usual. In a more ball control approach, Graham could put up good numbers, in which case that grade is null and void. However, I don't think this is what A graders are envisioning. And I'm not holding my breath.

Taken in isolation without regard for the rest of the roster, I'd give the Wilkerson deal a C+. However, given this is a depth addition and a guy with very high snap mileage, along with the holes elsewhere to be filled, I give it a D+ for use of cap space. Maybe we should call it McGuttine?

As for Williams, I'd give that a B- considering the reamining cap and limited remaining FA options worth cutting somebody to make space. At this age we can't expect too much, and whatever resurgence was evident in AZ it was as the #2 corner. There's still no #1 and a bunch of candidates with a bunch of question marks for slot corner which is a starting position these days and a chronic sore spot in this secondary.

My Williams grade is as high as it is for the locker room and the position room. Williams is a guy who worked his way from UDFA to the Pro Bowl. He's got some evident love of the game to stick with it this long. Absent Williams, this may be the least experienced corner group in the league which will probably be more so with adds in the draft. So, I expect his example of what it takes to be a pro to be a value add.

 

[GleefulGary]

There's no point in grading for at least a year or so, but giving the Wilkerson deal a D+ is going to give me the laughs until I'm able to grade. Thanks for that CapGuru.

 

[HardRightEdge]

There's no point in grading for at least a year or so, but giving the Wilkerson deal a D+ is going to give me the laughs until I'm able to grade. Thanks for that CapGuru.

You'll know what you've got by week 4 in a "win now" approach with grissly vets. Thanks for the props!

By the way, if you've got time on your hands you could dig back through the years and through those 10,000 posts for my post-draft grades. I'll put those up against anybody's, professional or amatuer, given in the aggregate my grades were lower than anybody elses.

I didn't like the Bennett signing. That's easier to find.

Most recently, I pegged Jamall Williams as the best value-for-pick in last year's draft. B+ I think I gave him. I stand by that given his improved patience running the ball as the season moved along and his 3-tool ability (run, catch, block). There's more upside there.

 

[Dantés]

There's no point in grading for at least a year or so, but giving the Wilkerson deal a D+ is going to give me the laughs until I'm able to grade. Thanks for that CapGuru.

Totally agree. How can anyone give the “+” to a move that will send the Packers spiraling into cap purgatory over a player that’s only going to play 20% of the snaps and isn’t even an edge?? That’s a straight D at BEST!

 

[LambeauLombardi]

Graham- D. Aging guy who depends on his athleticism for 10 mil a year, and he can't block, wtf.
Wilkerson- A. Love everything about it.
Tramon- B- Rate for corner is is now crazy high. Just a 2 year deal.
Fuller- A . Not sure if I should give this one a grade since it wasn't an official move but this forced Bears to give him deal they didn't want to originally want to.
Randall for Kizer- incomplete. Part of me is pissed off they got rid of a position of need with some upside for an inexperienced bad backup qb (which what killed us last year). Even if Kizer turns out to be good I doubt it will be in 2018 and by that time he'll be a free agent. Just get a vet for this spot. But if Randall is going to be a pain in the *** in the locker room about not starting due to ineffective play, then I'm not going to get too upset.
Jordy- C-. I'm not that upset he left, but to give Graham his money ****** me off. Jordy is also a better blocker than him too. According to a poster on here we weren't able to give him half of his salary which would have been best case scenario. So it came down to paying him close to his salary or 10% of what he was making. That part doesn't **** me off. Replacing him for Graham does.

 

[AmishMafia]

I think it's way too early to grade Gutekunst's moves as it's impossible to view any of them in isolation. Therefore I'm withholding judgement at least until after the draft.

You would rather wait till we know the results before letting folks know if you thought it was a good idea. Really sticking your neck out there, aren't you?

 

[AmishMafia]

There's no point in grading for at least a year or so, but giving the Wilkerson deal a D+ is going to give me the laughs until I'm able to grade. Thanks for that CapGuru.

There is no point in giving our opinion on who we should draft either. We won't know if they are any good for a few years.

C'mon JJ. You don't have an opinion on if the moves are good or not?

 

[OldSchool101]

TE Graham:

In itself, it’s a B+
It’s not that long ago we had (Jared Cook) a play making TE that changed the intensity of this Offense. Even with a limited Martellus (I know, I know it’s dirty word!) we went 4-1 against some pretty good teams. Before that we had Finley..and we were nearly unstoppable, blowing teams out by mid 3rd quarter. The dominant TE is a big piece of the puzzle of success.
The only thing that makes this not an A is the not being under 10M. I’m sure we tried tho.

DE Mo Wilkerson

A-
This could very well be the steal of ALL
FA. We’ll have to wait an see..
Buy the man a good alarm clock for heavens sakes! Lol.

Tramon Williams:

B-
His familiarity with our City and it’s Fans are a huge plus. I think he’s still “good enough” even at age 35. We desperately needed this pick.

Kyle Fuller: B:

C+ For Effort. It was worth a try, but we all knew we only had an outside shot here.

Trade Randall for Kyzer:

B
If Randall was as big a jerk as I’m surmising? (He’d have to be to do deal this to begin with) It really was our hand being forced. It’s not a “****” move and would normally get C grade, but getting the 1St pick day 3 is huge (that’s essentially the 3rd round Comp pick we never got awarded) Couple it with moving up to first pick round 5 sweetens it. Getting Kizer allows us to take some focus off of the QB position this year as far as spending a big draft pick (which would’ve been on the table initially). It’s not ideal, but it buys us time until next draft in needed and allows focus at other positions of need.
I think this shows that Gute has ****** to make tough decisions with problem players. This sends a message out that all players are on notice with their attitude.

Jordy Nelson: B:

D+
While I clearly understand the argument that he lost a step and it cleared Cap space, he’s still a very formidable receiver and his connection with Aaron is one of the best natural fits in the NFL. Jordy led the league in TDs in 2016 and was leading the league again in 2017 until EXACTLY when #12 went down. Coincidence?? Not a chance.

We actually went backwards and lost value here (To date, we still havnt found an answer to losing our #2 WR and when we do, will it get us better than Jordys production for around 5M of less and could it have been used at another position of need?
I’m not disagreeing with getting more speed and the format of the program to gain said speed.
I AM disagreeing with the syntax of how we went about it.

 

[McKnowledge]

Best move was the Kizer trade. Worst...the Kyle Fuller offer debacle.

Well some are getting their desire for more FA activity. But what does everyone think now? Grade these moves and non moves:

TE Graham: B- like him but we over-paid him. You can say it was our only option and we had to pay, I don't know. $10M per year is a lot for a TE past his prime. $6M and I would have given an B+.

DE Mo Wilkerson. A+. Great signing at less than i imagined. If we don't resign him we should get a decent comp [not if Gute continues all these fa signings though]. $5M is a bargain and will make a big impact. I think it is probable he plays like he did 3 years ago.

Tramon Williams: C. Shocked at how much we paid for a CB well past his prime.

Kyle Fuller: B: I would much rather pay Fuller $15M per year than Tramon $5M. We should have upped it a bit, but the bears would probably still have matched. Liked the attempt, but there is only so much we could do.

Trade Randall for Kyzer: A: dumped a problem player and picked up a young QB with a huge upside. Upgrade 2 picks. And filled a hole at backup QB.

Jordy Nelson: B: ducks but as MM said, it was painfully obvious how his skills had declined.

I would say spot-on assessment, except the Tramon Williams signing. I'm giving that move a F. Not only is it a 2 year contract, but at 5 million for a full year. WTH? Could've got the vet for half that price on a one year w/ possible incentives. With limited cap space, every dollar counts.

 

[hallzi43]

Best move was the Kizer trade. Worst...the Kyle Fuller offer debacle.


I would say spot-on assessment, except the Tramon Williams signing. I'm giving that move a F. Not only is it a 2 year contract, but at 5 million for a full year. WTH? Could've got the vet for half that price on a one year w/ possible incentives. With limited cap space, every dollar counts.

Details haven't really come out on Williams contract but it made sense given that he has played in Pettine's system and there isn't much left in terms of FA's that will be as helpful.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

Too early.

Incomplete.

 

[McKnowledge]

Details haven't really come out on Williams contract but it made sense given that he has played in Pettine's system and there isn't much left in terms of FA's that will be as helpful.

What about DRC? I think he would be a great fit in Pettine's system either playing slot or outside. Has the measurables, the rep, and is familiar with a 3-4 defense having played for Wade Philips in Denver. Would be an instant contributor on a playoff bound team that needs him.

 

[hallzi43]

What about DRC? I think he would be a great fit in Pettine's system either playing slot or outside. Has the measurables, the rep, and is familiar with a 3-4 defense having played for Wade Philips in Denver. Would be an instant contributor on a playoff bound team that needs him.

Who is to say he isn't in play? He isn't making a decision until after the draft. Still have about 6-7M to play with in 2018 without knowing the details behind Tramon's contract and tons of money to play with beyond 2018.

 

[GleefulGary]

There is no point in giving our opinion on who we should draft either. We won't know if they are any good for a few years.

C'mon JJ. You don't have an opinion on if the moves are good or not?

Oh sure.

In general, yay! But I'm an optimistic guy for the most part. I want to enjoy this, and it's easier to enjoy it (for me) if I'm optimistic about while still being semi-realistic.

Graham, money was higher than I wanted but he's still a good player. Solid B, maybe B+. But how will we use him? If we try to use him like Seattle did, then it's a waste. If we try to use him like the Saints did, it's great. I just don't have the information to make a quality grade.

Wilkerson, A. It's a no-brainer move. I've discussed it a lot. The risk is minimal (2.8% of cap) for a potentially very good player.

Williams...I mean, he's a solid vet that will help the locker room. He'll be alright on the field because he's better than other guys we have, but he's not as good as PFF indicates. C, C+...but when it comes to off field (leadership, film, teaching) he's an easy A. So how do I grade that? I just don't know tbh.

The Trade: traded a very quality DB for a high potential QB. If we didn't realize the importance of a backup QB after last year, we should now. Can Kizer be that for us? We don't know. Did we get great value? I don't know. I like the draft pick swap and I like that we don't have to pay Randall money in a couple years. Maybe a C, C+.

I think the most important part of a GM's job is the draft. If we do just ok in FA, and good in the draft, then we're sitting pretty. So far I think Gute has been addressing needs, and improving the roster. Made the hard call to cut Jordy but it was the right one. So far, I'm good with everything he's done. We won't know until the season is over though.

 

[XPack]

Jordy Nelson: B: ducks but as MM said, it was painfully obvious how his skills had declined.

Harsh to grade by last season with AR12 not being there. I reckon he still has a good season and two with Raiders.

Hard but the right decision for us through. I'd give that an A for efficient (if not likeable) problem solving.

TE Graham: B- like him but we over-paid him. You can say it was our only option and we had to pay, I don't know. $10M per year is a lot for a TE past his prime. $6M and I would have given an B+.

I'd give this an A too, purely based on potential. We've lacked a proper threat at TE all along and he still has a lot to offer. Always be a headache for defenders to cover and will open up spaces for the WRs imo.

 

[McKnowledge]

Who is to say he isn't in play? He isn't making a decision until after the draft. Still have about 6-7M to play with in 2018 without knowing the details behind Tramon's contract and tons of money to play with beyond 2018.

My fear is that knowing GB needs a Cb like himself, DRC will ask for said 6-7m/year., especially post-draft. He would have all the leverage. Without signing Tramon Williams (or for cheaper), GB could offered said deal to DRC, and use the rest of the cap space for the draft, and roster depth.

 

[hallzi43]

My fear is that knowing GB needs a Cb like himself, DRC will ask for said 6-7m/year., especially post-draft. He would have all the leverage. Without signing Tramon Williams (or for cheaper), GB could offered said deal to DRC, and use the rest of the cap space for the draft, and roster depth.

He has all the leverage regardless. He is the top CB besides Breeland left on the market and several teams, some with more cap space than us, probably vying for him. The 6-7M I wrote takes into account the space for the draft. Currently we have around 15M if Tramon's contract actually indeed takes up 5M in 2018.

Honestly in terms of winning, right now the Vikings could offer him more money than us and he would fit right in as a slot corner on a team, on paper, who is closer to vying for an NFL Championship.

And I think I read the article wrong on when DRC plans on choosing his team. Looks like he plans to make a choice in April, so that could very well be before the draft takes place.

 

[RRyder]

Graham- F

11 million for him is horrible. Can't block and only excels split out wide with a HoF QB throwing him the ball. Even if he puts up 700-800 yard and catches 8+ TDs people will be ecstatic because "wow. Look at those numbers for a TE" While neglecting the fact he's not actually a TE. He's just a big WR.

Wilkerson- A+

Low risk high reward. Not a whole lot not to like

Williams- C+

This is kind of a hard one to figure out. We needed a CB so this was a predictable move and if we get Arizona Tramon, even just for a year, this gets moved to an "A". But if we're relying on him to start and end up getting Cleveland Tramon, the last time he played under Pettine, then this turns into an D- or an F. As is I'm splitting the difference

Randall Trade- D (and I believe I'm being very generous with that D)

Im not the biggest Randall fan but at least he bounced back a little bit last year and showed to at least be a solid CB. By far our weakest position on the team and even though he was a headed trading him not only made it a necessity to pick up at least one vet CB and use at least one high draft pick on one. That's a hell of a domino effect to bring in the only QB worse then Hundley last year who only consistent trait was consistently making the worst possible mistake at the worst possible time. We did move up on two rounds though so I can't make it an "F"

Fuller- D

Offering Fuller a contract that was almost guaranteed to be matched was an asinine move. All it did was waste their own time and tied up 18 million in cap space for 5 days. Only reason it's an "F" grade is because I suppose the Bears couldve pulled a Browns and ****** up the paper work to match

Overall (so far)- D+/C-

Better on the D line. Worse at Saftey. Wash curretly at CB compared to last year given Tramons age and a bad contract handed out to a overrated WR offense while moving up slightly in two of the mid rounds with a waste of time added on in RFA. I'm sure plenty of people love it because of how active he is but this hasn't been nearly as good of an off-season as some would make it seem

 

[OldSchool101]

I just wanted to say overall I think Gute has done a solid job of being aggressive. I’m really excited to see how these new changes pan out.

One thing is for certain. We could not afford to do business as usual. Like these moves or not, there HAD to be a shakeup on shakedown Street.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

We'll have to see. Graham very likely is not what he once was,but he's been in a terrible offensive system the past few years. In his prime, he's a target that Rodgers has never had before, so it would be nice if he could come close to that level of play.

I didn't really like the way that he did Jordy. He could have renegotiated much more reasonably. I think both sides could have come to an agreement that didn't basically force Jordy out.

I'd like to have seen this move years ago. With a more aggressive and urgent approach, we may not have had some of the giant holes at TE and CB, the lack of athleticism on defense, and we would likely have more dynamic talent. It's basically been all about Rodgers elevating an average roster without playmakers on either side out the ball. Someone else occasionally has to win a game. Gute's approach seems to acknowledge this.