My biggest knock on Gute, up until the 2022 draft, he didn't pay enough attention to the Receiving Room. Granted, Rodgers (and Adams) covered up a lot of the deficiencies, but there is only so much that one FHOF QB and WR can do. Amari was a total bust, but so was Gute's 4 years approach to the position.
You have to clarify that stance more, you don't feel he paid enough attention to it on Day 1/2 of the draft on the room. Gute consistently and almost constantly targets athletic high RAS types on Day 3 for that room. At the time in the draft moments, the only time I've really truly disliked a lot or I guess you could say disagreed with the thought process of the pick and thought we should have went WR was actually the Love pick when I thought for sure we'd traded up for Pittman (or Higgins).
Otherwise,
top 50 picks he's had have been:
2018
Jaire Alexander - top flight CB at that time made a LOT of sense
Josh Jackson - TONS of people saw him as a 1st rounder, couldn't blame Gute
Neither of these picks at the time had a WR just screaming at us that arguably to me made intensely more sense. Sure I loved Calvin Ridley and Christian Kirk that year, but it was logical how Gute attacked this draft.
2019
Rashan Gary
Darnell Savage
Elgton Jenkins
None of these guys can one argue with Gute's direction, intersecting with team needs and just immense athletic profiles. This was NOT the year for WRs many thought then, and reflecting back on them that holds true and only retrospective abilities make you mad the likes of AJ Brown was there or Deebo...again cannot hold that against Gute even with the ability to look back. Savage was an absolute turnover machine and atheltically profiled as elite...no one saw the roller coaster of play before us then...and even if they had no elite WR was there...only two went in the first anyways this year.
2020
Jordan Love *The only pick I believe 100% should have been a WR
AJ Dillon
Everyone can remember I loved these two prospects - BUT I didn't want us to pick a QB unless one fell to the second and I felt Dillon was not worth a pick till the 3rd given his positional value. This is the ONLY year I think there is actual argument that Gute overlooked the WR room almost intentionally....to the degree did he think we had something we didn't (a guy coming up? a trade that maybe fell through? what?). But Pittman and Higgins both were there (and I wasn't a Higgins fan personally if you remember)...but even in the second round there was Bryan Edwards that quite a few of us called was going to be successful (and has been a WR3 type when healthy, plus Devin Duvernay) but the guy if anyone remembers I loved was Gabriel Davis for Day2. I will admit though as far as those three go I can hear the argument that addition to the offense at that time I would have said was fairly much a wash between them and Dillon....only retrospectively confirms otherwise...but one could argue at that time if it was a wash, pick the position that appears to be the weakest...which if you look back though, you can understand Gute's thought process....Adams was here, Lazard had just had his "breakout" rookie year, MVS was a massive upside speed threat beginning to come into his own and an athletic big EQ that your QB seemed to praise whenever he had a chance....I concede the Dillon pick as "defendable" vs WR...but I forever will say at the time the Love pick for me if you cared about 2020/2021 seasons a WR was the pick you had to go with given Pittman and Higgins were there.
2021
Eric Stokes
Josh Myers
You cannot argue the logic of going after a top flight CB in the first and we desperately needed a starting Center...yes you can argue Myers did not fit the GB mold and RAS, but it didn't make sense not to address it. The only receivers that at the time fit the GB mold that one could argue were Nico Collins instead of Myers or maybe you argue Josh Palmer/Anthony Scwartz...but again I'm not making the case Myers wasn't the right position direction here vs WR. Yes those WRs arguably may have been a better NFL player now knowing what we know...but gotta separate that from the reflection of the picks.
2022
Quay Walker
Devonete Wyatt
Christian Watson
Defense and QB execution in the playoffs was a major issue and arguably to many we got two Top 10/15 prospects here.......and CIRCLED back to finally grab Gute's first top 50 pick at a WR....actually his first second round or higher WR.
So that is the top 50 picks...
I argue Gute's biggest issue is he didn't always focus on grabbing that one high RAS receiver that is there on Day 3 each year. Personally there are three positions I will always attempt to grab on Day 3:
A high RAS - "smaller" school starting LT with versatile background offensive lineman.
A high RAS - productive WR at any school or level relative to the school's style and QB play.
A high RAS OR highly productive RB from any school.
To me those are three positions adding bottom of the depth chart pressure is always something I love.
Gute ignoring WR in 2018, 2019 and 2020 was when the ship started having issues with grounding....
