Packers GM Gutekunst watches former assistant Sullivan orchestrate a Dolphins draft-day trade spree, joking about his busy rival's moves.
Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst didn't expect to do anything other than watch the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft after giving up two Day 1 picks in 2026 and 2027 for star pass-rusher Micah Parsons.
Instead, Gutekunst spent the night watching former Packers assistant general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan making trades Thursday night as the general manager of the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins traded back one spot from No. 11 to No. 12 with the Dallas Cowboys. Miami then moved up from No. 30 to No. 27 with the San Francisco 49ers.
During his news conference on Thursday night, Gutekunst was asked if he thought about trading into the first round. The GM joked that he didn't, as Sullivan was too busy making deals.
"Not really, you know," Gutekunst said about considering trading into Day 1. “John-Eric took care of all that, and he was trading all over the place, so, which was really cool to see."
Gutekunst noted that the price to trade up would have been too high for a team that needs to conserve its picks. After trading for Parsons, Green Bay has to be cautious with its draft capital.
It's a trade the Packers would do all over again, believing the team got better overall with Parsons than any player they could have taken in this year's draft.
"When you sit there, wherever you're picking, and you're watching good players come off the board that you put a lot of time scouting, and you appreciate their skill set, yeah, it's never fun,” Gutekunst said.
"But now... looking back and doing, you know, doing what we did. I think, I certainly, I don't think there are any players that were in this draft that can compete with that one."
The trade does have one catch for 2026, and it's the same one that hurt the Packers’ chances of winning the Super Bowl last season.
The Packers could have drafted a Week 1 starter if they had the pick for 2026 that they gave up for Parsons. It's unclear if Parsons will be ready in Week 1, as he's recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in Week 15 against the Denver Broncos.