Packers GM Brian Gutekunst attends Florida State’s Pro Day

Brian Gutekunst is certainly doing his due diligence on the cornerback class for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Last week, the Green Bay Packers’ general manager made a short drive down the East coast of Wisconsin to attend the Pro Day workout at Northwestern University. That college features a potential late-first round cornerback prospect in Greg Newsome II, who notably plays a position that the Packers need badly on the roster.

This week, Gutey is at it again, though he traveled much farther for today’s event. According to Jim Nagy, Gutekunst is in attendance at the Pro Day for Florida State University, which also features a prominent cornerback prospect. Asante Samuel, Jr. is, like Newsome, a potential first-round draft pick who may be available in the range of the Packers’ selection at 29 overall. Notably, the Seminoles have no other prospects widely expected to be drafted in the early rounds this April.

Samuel has been very much on the Packers’ radar, having met with the team virtually earlier this spring. And although he is on the smaller side, measuring in at 5-foot-10-1/8 and 180 pounds on Monday, the Packers have been willing to bend a bit on their old traditional size cutoffs at the position under Gutekunst.

Indeed, one of the players whom Samuel looks up to is the Packers’ own star cornerback, Jaire Alexander. Alexander measured in at 5-foot-10-1/4 at the 2018 NFL Combine, though he possessed more bulk than Samuel at 196 pounds. Samuel told the media on Friday, including Acme Packing Company’s Peter Bukowski, that he views himself similarly to Alexander, comparing their size and making the case that he can stay on the boundary in the NFL.