If the tale of Pinocchio were a non-fictional story of caution warning us all of the risks you take when telling a lie, every NFL General Manager would be walking around with a nose so long they'd have to renovate their team facilities to get in the door.
Come free agency and the NFL Draft, each team's front office puts up enough smoke and mirrors to put a Vegas magician to shame. But why the deception? It's simple really, it's like an animal of prey trying to throw off a hunting predator. The hunted don't want the hunter to know where they are or where they're going, so they create deception. It's the same with NFL GMs, they don't want their opponents to know what they're thinking or what they may do, so they create distractions to throw off their competitors. Sometimes it could be wanting to steer their competition away from where they are truly focused. Or, it could be a tactic to cause their competition to overpay. We see that last example a lot with Brian Gutekunst in Green Bay.
Driving up the Price
We've learned over the years that player agents love to use the Packers to drive up their client's price tag in free agency. They "let it slip" that the Packers have an interest in their client, and they try to use that to pressure other teams into meeting their terms before the Packers do. Not only is this done in free agency, but it's done with trades as well. And it is very entertaining when the transaction is all said and done and the news comes out that the Packers were not involved at all. It was all a deception. Don't get me wrong, it can be frustrating as a fan as well, however, when you think your team is in on the bidding for a premiere player only to find out that they weren't at all. But it's kind of worthwhile if you find out that their interest caused a rival team to drop out of the bidding or overpay.
I think this was used in the vast majority of wide receiver negotiations this offseason. Everyone assumed the Packers would be in the market for a receiver. From the very beginning, there were talks that the Packers were in on the DK Metcalf trade sweepstakes. You can include me on the list of those deceived because I've been tracking that possibility ever since Brian Gutekunst's end-of-season press conference when he just kind of slyly name-dropped DK Metcalf. Perhaps this was all done by design to help out Gute's buddy in Seattle, John Schneider, to drive the price up. Or even Cooper Kupp. I have a hard time believing that the Packers were making a hard push for a receiver who will be 32 years old by the time training camp rolls around.
These may have all been deceptions to drive up the price tag. What's the benefit to the Packers then you ask? It may be as simple as forcing a division or conference rival to overpay. Or maybe there are other incentives at play we may never hear about. Perhaps future considerations are at play where some agents may agree to not press the Packers for more money at their next negotiation, or perhaps the agent will agree to sell the Packers more as the better option for their client. With other teams perhaps there will be some free intel trade down the road. You never know what could be at play as the NFL can be a business of "who you know." I imagine having other teams or agents in your debt for favors can come in handy from time to time.
Draft visits
For the Packers, I think the heart of lying season comes with the NFL Draft. Some teams are terrible at concealing what direction they're going in come draft time, the Packers though, seem to be masters of deception every year. One area they perfect the art in is with draft visits. In the world of social media, the Packers don't even have to announce they have a prospect in for a visit, the prospect themselves will make it known by posting to their Instagram or Twitter. And then the whole world knows. A comical part of these visits lately is that with the Packers, they could mean absolutely nothing.
When it comes to first-round talent, the Packers have rarely had the player they drafted in the first round in for a visit to Lambeau Field. That's why when a recent visit by a well-liked edge rusher, Shemar Stewart to Green Bay was made known by Stewart's Instagram post, it almost told us all that the Packers have zero intention of drafting him. It's all a smokescreen.
So, then how do the Packers truly evaluate these guys? My thoughts are that they compare notes with other friendly GMs in the league. Last year the Packers drafted Jordan Morgan in the first round without having him in for a pre-draft visit. Well, the Broncos, Jets, Bills, Commanders, and Giants are listed to have had visits with Morgan, perhaps some notes were compared with GMs of those teams while the Packers gave them notes on prospects the Packers had in, but they didn't. Of course, I can't confirm this, but we probably never will. That's the point of deception.
Mecole Hardman
On Wednesday, the Packers finally announced a move at wide receiver with the signing of former Kansas City Chief, Mecole Hardman.
This was not the wide receiver move that so many Packer fans were hoping for this offseason, but it's something. Hardman is thought of as a speedster. He's considered a bit of an upgrade over Keisean Nixon in the kick and punt return aspect, and will surely take on that title after Nixon has made it apparent that he wants nothing to do with the return game anymore and wants to focus on defense.
Hardman is more of a slot receiver, which is maybe a bit odd considering that role has belonged to Jayden Reed for the most part. But perhaps Reed may be seeing a change in his role if they decide to run Hardman on offense more often. Hardman can be a gadget player. Line him up all over and use his speed to create mismatches or catch a defense off guard. Hardman wasn't the big splash everyone was hoping for in free agency, but he may still be a decent contributor to the Packers' success this season.
Tetairoa McMillan
Headlines were made across Packer nation on Friday as it was noted that Packers GM Brian Gutekunst was the only NFL GM present at the private workout of Arizona wide receiver, Tetairoa McMillan.
Of course, as I said earlier in this article, it is lying season. Gute's presence is notable as the Packers are surely in the market to add to their pass-catching arsenal, but is it all just a smokescreen or not?
Many would love the Packers to take Tet McMillan with the Packers' first-round pick. What's not to like? He's been very productive throughout his collegiate career, he's very good at getting open for his quarterback when under duress, he's good at adjusting his route to the coverage given, and he plays with great focus. McMillan could be a great weapon for the Packers' offense if they choose him.
That only asterisk is that art of deception. But perhaps after so many years of deceiving the opposition, Gutekunst has recognized that the rest of the league is catching on and is instead going to reverse his trend and grab the players they have shown the most interest in. That would be a big turn of events in Green Bay.
Nonetheless, the moral of the story is that it is indeed lying season. Don't believe every headline you read. While sometimes they may be true, don't get yourself invested in them all. The Packers are very good at deceiving what direction they're going in, so be prepared for anything in the 2025 draft.
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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