The important Packers developments from the NFL owners meeting didn't make headlines

While most of the Packers coverage from the NFL owners meeting centered on Jordan Love and Aaron Jones, the team's GM and head coach revealed more significant details that many missed.

When Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers' general manager and head coach, respectively, met with the media during the NFL owners meeting this week, their headline-grabbing statements didn't reveal much new information.

Yes, the Packers have begun preliminary talks with quarterback Jordan Love on an extension, but the team leadership had already nodded toward those plans earlier in the offseason. That those negotiations will take some time to unfold also doesn't come as a surprise given that, by rule, Green Bay can't officially sign a new deal with its franchise signal-caller before May.

And of course, losing Aaron Jones represents a major blow to the locker room. Not only does that go without saying, but Gutekunst largely hit the same beats from the team's official press release on Jones' departure. Likewise, LaFleur talking up new starting running back Josh Jacobs feels perfunctory no matter how the head coach truly feels about the backfield swap.

But while much of the coverage focused on these details, Gutekunst and LaFleur hinted at some more interesting and important developments during the nearly full hour combined they spoke with reporters. That information reveals far more about how the Packers currently view themselves as well as the NFL landscape.

Don't expect Packers to deprioritize big edge rushers after shift to 4-3 defense

For the past 15 seasons, the Packers have used the 3-4 as their base defense. Dom Capers brought the front to Green Bay in 2009, a move that helped yield a Lombardi Trophy two years later. Even after the team replaced Capers with Mike Pettine and later Joe Barry, the 3-4 persevered, albeit with less impressive results.

Gutekunst spent the first six seasons of his GM tenure drafting with that front in mind. During that stretch, the Packers prioritized larger edge rushers, signing 265-pound Preston Smith and 275-pound Za'Darius Smith as well as using first-round picks on 277-pound Rashan Gary and 272-pound Lukas Van Ness. While most teams have a pass rusher or two who play at those sizes, few defenses feature as many as Green Bay.

However, with the Packers switching to a 4-3 defense under new DC Jeff Hafley, the notion of featuring smaller edge rushers doesn't seem off the table. The San Francisco 49ers, the team for which Hafley previously coached and will use as the model for his system in Green Bay, have found success with lighter defensive ends. Just this offseason, they signed 240-pound Leonard Floyd to a multiyear deal in hopes of continuing that trend.

Gutekunst didn't totally dismiss the idea of adding smaller defensive ends, but he doesn't seem enthralled with it either.

"I prefer bigger guys on the edge," Gutekunst said. "At the same time, if they have a skill set that can work, some of those 240 to 250 guys maybe help on special teams more than let's say your 270 guy can. I think it really depends on the player. What I don't want to do is get small. I think you've seen some of these 4-3 teams with the way they play, particularly in some of the sub packages where they may move ends inside, they can get small in a hurry. I don't want that to happen. Certainly, that'll be something we focus on as we move forward."

The 2024 rookie class won't make it easy for the Packers to avoid small defensive ends, at least in the early rounds. The March 19 edition of The Athletic's consensus big board includes 10 edge rushers in the top 100, eight of which weigh under 260 pounds. Unless Gutekunst bends on his size preferences or likes the options he'll have on Day 3, Green Bay will need to look for reinforcements for the position group elsewhere.