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Gutekunst gave credit to a little-known member of the front office in praising the Nate Hobbs deal.
Nate Hobbs was hardly a household name before the Packers gave him a four-year, $48 million contract this spring, but according to Brian Gutekunst, the team has had eyes on him for a while.
Specifically, Gutekunst says director of pro personnel Richmond Williams had been keeping tabs on Hobbs during the first four years of Hobbs’ career.
“Richmond Williams on our pro staff does a great job and has been pushing [for him],” Gutekunst told reporters today at the NFL’s spring owners meetings.
Even if you’re a Packers diehard, Williams’ name may not ring much of a bell, but he’s been slowly raising his profile in league circles over the past few years and has taken on a bigger role for the Packers in the last few months. He represented the Packers at league meetings in December and was a part of the NFL’s Coach and Front Office Accelerator program in 2022 and 2023.
A cornerback at Iowa, Williams got started on the personnel side of football in 2007 as a scouting intern with the Packers. Since then he’s climbed through the ranks from there, ultimately landing in his current role in 2019.
Everything to this point suggests he’s on the path to a general manager gig of his own someday, and if the Hobbs signing pans out, that would be a nice line item for his resume. Hobbs will have every opportunity for a big role this year, too. In the same interview where he mentioned Williams, Gutekunst said Hobbs could play inside or outside in Green Bay, having done a bit of both during his time with the Raiders.
Of course, whatever ends up happening with Jaire Alexander could factor into Hobbs’ role, too. Gutekunst again went out of his way to say that Alexander’s time in Green Bay isn’t necessarily done, which aligns with previous timelines APC contributors have laid out.
Whatever role Hobbs ends up playing, though, it’s interesting to get a little glimpse behind the scenes into who helped bring him to Green Bay.
