Brandon Aiyuk, Denzel Mims and Jalen Reagor along with Ezra Cleveland were all on the board for the Packers at No. 30 in the ESPN Nation mock draft. I went with none of them and here's why. Video by Rob Demovsky (0:38)

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Brian Gutekunst enjoys the sound of ringing phones on 2020 NFL draft day. The Green Bay Packers general manager likes to look down the table and see his top advisers -- Milt Hendrickson, Jon-Eric Sullivan, John Wojciechowski, Matt Malaspina, Richmond Williams and others -- making and taking trade offers for draft picks.

It's that look in their eyes, full of excitement and angst over the possibilities, as time ticks off the clock before each selection that he relishes.

Trades have shaped Gutekunst's drafts in his first two years as general manager.

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He sees no reason why that should change now.

He just won't be able to hear the buzz, feel the vibe and read the look on everyone's faces.

"The difference will be obviously we have four or five guys who work the phones during the draft, and they're usually all sitting to my right," Gutekunst said this week on -- what else? -- a conference call with reporters. "As calls come in or we call people to know what's out there, they're communicating with me. Those same four or five guys are going to be communicating with me. Obviously I'll hear their voices, [but] I won't be able to see their facial expressions."

That's one reason a veteran NFL coach believes this draft, more than any in the past, will be one-man shows.

"I think there will be more impulsive buying in this draft by the GMs because there's not a human body in their face," the coach said.

Like everyone in the NFL, Gutekunst and his staff must figure out how to work the draft in isolation because of the coronavirus. With his home a dozen or so miles west of Lambeau Field converted into a makeshift draft room and his scouts and coaches doing the same in their separate locales, Gutekunst will again try to work his trading magic.

"For me, just hearing their phones ringing and knowing that there's something [in the works], it's helpful," Gutekunst said. "Not being able to really see that is really more the difference. So I have to wait for them to say, 'By the way, we have this out there, we have this out there,' instead of just being able to see the phone ring and know something's going on, on the other line.

"That will be a difference. Other than that, I'll be in constant communication with those guys. If I'm not dealing with their team individually about the trade, I'll let them know kind of what's on the table, and we'll go from there."

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst hasn't been reluctant to make trades on draft day during his two years calling the shots. Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire

In two drafts at the helm, Gutekunst has made four draft-day trades. Three involved first-round picks: a move down from No. 14 to 27 followed by a move up from 27 to 18 to take cornerback Jaire Alexander in 2018 and then from 30 to 21 last year for safety Darnell Savage. In between, he moved up in the third round in 2018 to get linebacker Oren Burks.

With the Packers at No. 30 in Thursday's first round, Gutekunst sits in prime position to move again -- either up for a player he covets or back because there are so many options available (and perhaps there's a quarterback-needy team that wants to move into the first round and thus get the option of a fifth year on a rookie contract).

Perhaps the only thing that could hamper a trade is a technical glitch like the one that occurred during Gutekunst's call with reporters on Monday. He lost his connection less than 10 minutes into what was a nearly 40-minute session.

"Not sure what happened," he said upon reconnecting. "Hopefully that doesn't happen on Thursday."

To be sure, Gutekunst has praised the setup constructed with help from Packers director of football technology Mike Halbach and director of information technology Kenny Ansel to the point where his concerns are only about selecting the right players -- not whether the remote technology will hold up.

While so many mock drafts project a receiver to the Packers at No. 30 -- assuming they stay there -- it's possible all the pass-catchers worth taking at that spot could be gone. There's little doubt Gutekunst will take a receiver -- perhaps even multiple receivers -- in this draft, but would he actually trade up for one in the first round? If LSU’s Justin Jefferson is still available halfway through the first round, he might. Jefferson is likely No. 4 among receivers behind CeeDee Lamb, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, but the Packers love his skill set.

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"It's going to go one of two ways," Gutekunst said of the receiver group. "Either it's going to go fast or everyone is going to think they can get guys later and it's going to go slow. But we'll see how it goes. It is a deep class, but I don't think you can just count on things and wait and expect to get a really good player. So if there's guy we think can play and can help us, I don't think we'll wait too long."

A trade up wouldn't necessarily be for a receiver, either.

The top-two inside linebackers -- LSU's Patrick Queen and Oklahoma's Kenneth Murray -- figure to be available in the late teens and early 20s but not at 30. The top four or top five offensive tackles won't last until 30, either.

A trade down could also be with a receiver in mind. There's a group of late first-round/early second-round receivers -- Arizona State's Brandon Aiyuk, Baylor's Denzel Mims and TCU's Jalen Reagor among them -- who all could be there at the end of Day 1 or the beginning of Day 2. Gutekunst witnessed his predecessor, Ted Thompson, trade back from No. 30 to 36 in 2008 and take Jordy Nelson.

"I don't have any information to back this up, but it feels like the last few years there's been a lot more trading going on maybe than there has in the past," Gutekunst said. "I appreciate that. I think it's certainly something I like to do, if we can. This draft in particular, I'll probably know a little bit more Wednesday night and Thursday morning. I do think the circumstances will affect it some way, somehow, but I don't know what that's going to be yet."

But if the Packers stay at 30, then TCU defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (the pick in the ESPN NFL Nation mock draft) could be the call.