Brian Gutekunst seems to be on a bit of a roll at the moment.
The Green Bay Packers GM made a potentially intriguing move on Tuesday, adding former Washington Commanders linebacker Jamin Davis to the practice squad.
ESPN’s senior NFL writer Jeremy Fowler was the first to report the signing.
Davis, the 19th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, hasn’t quite lived up to expectations yet. Over three seasons with the Commanders, he appeared in 50 games, starting in 36, and logged 174 solo tackles, seven sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and 10 QB hits.
Interestingly, some metrics—mainly those from Pro Football Focus—suggest Davis was actually performing well this season. PFF graded his overall defense, run defense, and tackling all above 70, which are impressive scores, particularly for someone now on a practice squad. The sample size of 86 snaps may factor in here, but there’s certainly reason for optimism, even without looking too hard.
Packers may have just made another sneaky-great midseason signing
It might be recency bias, but on paper, this looks like yet another savvy signing by Gutekunst. There’s a solid track record backing this move, with Gutekunst’s previous finds—like Malik Willis, De’Vondre Campbell, and Rasul Douglas—coming to mind as examples of his ability to uncover value where others have overlooked it.
One day he may miss on a big swing, but for now, the Packers’ front office decisions are hard to dispute.
Plus, Davis’ recent position switch could help him find meaningful snaps in Green Bay. Originally drafted as an off-ball linebacker, he spent all but one of his snaps in 2024 at defensive end.
With solid depth already at defensive end, the Packers can afford to take their time and assess how Davis, still just 25 and with plenty of standout traits, might fit into the defense in the long run. Even if this move doesn’t pan out, as Fowler notes, having young, former first-round picks on the practice squad is a good problem to have.
Leave a Reply