Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst called the decision to select Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford an “easy” one based on the board, and both Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur believe he has the traits necessary to be a successful quarterback in Green Bay.
The Packers took Clifford, who visited Green Bay before the draft, at No. 149 overall in the fifth round.
“We really liked what he brings to the table,” Gutekunst said Saturday. “Started a lot of games in the Big Ten. Has a lot of experience. Really good athlete. Liked his arm talent. We brought him in for a pre-draft visit and we really liked the makeup of the person.”
LaFleur echoed the evaluation and pointed to Clifford’s intelligence as a defining factor.
“Sean is a guy who is really intelligent,” LaFleur said. “He’s played a lot of games. He’s got some athleticism. He’s a natural thrower. All the things we look for in quarterbacks, he possesses. We had him up here on a 30 visit and went through the meetings with himand were impressed by his football acument and overall intelligence. Looking forward to working with him coming rookie minicamp.”
Clifford (6-2, 218) started 46 games for Penn State over five seasons. He threw a school record 86 touchdown passes and rushed for 15 more and was a four-time team captain and three-time All-Big Ten pick. He also produced a Relative Athletic Score of 9.04 out of 10.0 at Penn State’s pro day.
Clifford will get a chance to go from long-time Big Ten starter to immediate Jordan Love backup in Green Bay.
Instant analysis of Packers taking QB Sean Clifford in fifth round of 2023 draft
Gutekunst said the Packers looked at the quarterback room during the transition from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and decided youth was the best opening path, with Clifford and Danny Etling somewhat mirroring what the Packers did behind Rodgers with Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn in 2008.
A veteran won’t be considered until the Packers get a chance to see the young quarterbacks in action.
“I like that room right now. All those guys need reps. We’ll see how those guys do before we bring in a veteran right away,” Gutekunst said.
Why did the Packers use a top-150 pick on Clifford, who many draft analysts believed was destined to go undrafted? Gutekunst explained the process, noting a run on quarterbacks in the fifth round and the lack of options behind Clifford at quarterback on the Packers’ board.
“You have to listen to your board,” Gutekunst said. “With Sean Clifford today, there was a quarterback run, and a lot of quarterbacks underneath him went, so as we looked at it, we had a number choices up there that were all kind of the same, but there weren’t any quarterbacks after him that we felt strongly about like we did him. That made it easy.”
