The Green Bay Packers sent a lightning bolt through their fan base early on Saturday. They sat comfortably with the 20th selection of the 4th round, letting the board come to them, and then they struck: general manager Brian Gutekunst delivered a card to the NFL office with the name Dani Dennis-Sutton on it.
For the second straight year, the Packers landed an incredible value on an athletic, productive pass-rusher in the fourth round. Last year, it was Barryn Sorrell out of Texas, who was in Green
Bay on his own dime to watch the draft. Sorrell expected to hear his name called on day two, but he stuck around and was rewarded when the host team selected him, allowing him to be welcomed instantly into the organization.
History repeated itself a year later with Dennis-Sutton, an even more impressive athlete with even better collegiate numbers. Like Sorrell, DDS was widely expected to be drafted earlier, with many Packers fans expecting him to be squarely under consideration for the Packers’ picks at 84 or even 52 on day two. Instead, Gutekunst waited and found him still available at 120 to start day three off with a bang.
Packers director of player personnel John Wojciechowski said that the team was surprised he was still available at that pick, making it an easy decision for the team to turn in the card with his name. Here’s a look at the pick from the Packers’ official feed:
If it’s not yet clear, we at Acme Packing Company are huge fans of the pick, and the value proposition of getting him in the fourth round is frankly shocking to us. But we’re not alone in those feelings among those who cover the Packers. Here are a few reactions from other Packers draft analysts:
Those opinions are not limited to Packers writers, however. National NFL analysts also absolutely love the player, value, and fit here as well:
The Dennis-Sutton pick is a dream come true and shores up another major defensive need for this team. After landing one of the best cornerback prospects in the draft with Brandon Cisse and adding a versatile defensive lineman in Chris McClellan, DDS should come in ready to compete for rotational snaps on defense with Sorrell and others while also providing significant special teams value as well — as evidenced by his three punt blocks as a senior at Penn State.
It’s time to celebrate, Packers fans. We got our guy, and we got him later than anyone expected him to be available.
