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It is commonly held that the Packers are in some respects a one-man team. As it turns out, in 2017, that proved far too true. Rodgers’ injury exposed a roster that simply wasn’t good enough to truly compete for a Super Bowl, even with Rodgers at the helm. This was especially true on offense, where outside of a few rookie running backs and Davante Adams, everyone else struggled. The defense, led by the outmoded Dom Capers, couldn’t support an average offense, let alone Brett Hundley’s atrocious play.
This year will be different. With Brian Gutekunst taking over for former general manager Ted Thompson, the front office quickly identified the outstanding issues with the team, and aggressively targeted solutions. This included an uncharacteristically active free agent season which helped to shore up a flailing defense and address the biggest problems on offense. The team isn’t perfect, but it’s weak in areas where it can afford to be weak, and in the salary-capped NFL, that’s about as good as it gets.
Offense
Even though the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, the offense hasn’t been very good since Jordy Nelson blew out his ACL in 2015. While Rodgers bounced back a bit with 40 touchdowns in 2016, he only averaged 7.3 yards per attempt, a far cry from his best seasons. Nelson, James Jones, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jermichael Finley were all credible deep threats, but that dimension of the passing game left with Nelson. While Davante Adams is an excellent all-around receiver, he can be taken away deep with coverage schemes.
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The Packers addressed their offensive woes by bringing in tight end Jimmy Graham as a free agent. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Graham is one of the best receiving tight ends in NFL history. He’s still only 31 years old and has only failed to average more than 10 yards per reception once. That one time was last season; however the Seattle offense was a complete mess due to a historically bad offensive line. Graham is still as skilled as ever, and absolutely dominant around the goal line. He’ll spend most of his time outside, playing a position similar to Jordy Nelson while Marcedes Lewis, signed away from Jacksonville, stays in as a blocker/receiver hybrid. Lewis is a good receiver in his own right, but he excels as a run blocker and pass protector.
Lewis may be more important than you think, as the offensive line has struggled in preseason. Should anything happen to David Bakhtiari or Bryan Bulaga, Lewis will be crucial to a working offense. When everyone is fully healthy, Lewis will allow the team to go with a power-heavy look that can shift into five-wide on a whim. Offensive line is an area of concern, and don’t be surprised if the team adds another veteran or two as backups.
As for restoring the deep threat, the Packers went to the draft, adding three late-round, speedy giants. J’Mon Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Equanimeous St. Brown will be counted on to provide depth behind Adams and Randall Cobb. All are very big, very tall and more than capable of running the “go” route in week one.
The Packers may still make a few acquisitions, but on cutdown day the roster featured only two running backs in Ty Montgomery and Jamaal Williams (with Aaron Jones suspended for two games). The philosophy this year is crystal clear: Aaron Rodgers is back, he’s ready and they want him to throw often.
Defense
Mike Pettine took over as defensive coordinator for Dom Capers, and he quickly remade the defense just as he likes it. Pettine has always relied on outstanding corners, and no one had worse secondary play last season than the Packers. To address this, Gutekunst re-signed Tramon Williams in the offseason, and spent their first two picks on cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson. Alexander and Jackson have excelled in preseason and Williams has been an enormous upgrade over former retread Davon House. With a healthy Kevin King, the secondary will be more formidable than it has been in years.
Gutekunst also made a big move upfront, signing defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. Wilkerson will combine with Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark to make one of the most formidable lines in the NFL. Blake Martinez and speedy rookie Oren Burks will be tackle machines at inside linebacker, and Burks has the athleticism to be a true force. The issue is outside, where the Packers will bring back Nick Perry and Clay Matthews, with little behind them. Pettine’s defenses don’t rely heavily on quality edge rushers for success, but it’s hard to imagine the defense being truly elite when Kyler Fackrell is likely to see time at some point. Fackrell, and the impressive Reggie Gilbert will be backing up the oft-injured starters, that makes the position a big concern.
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Ha Ha Clinton-Dix is still a liability, and Josh Jones and Kentrell Brice are both works in progress at strong safety. But good corners and interior pass rush will cover up a lot of poor safety play. There is also ample free agent help available should they struggle.
Capers’ defense was antiquated and painful. Pettine ran great defenses until he was put into an impossible situation as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns. Like so many before him, including Bill Belichick, he didn’t succeed, but relative to other Browns coaches he was actually great. The man can coach a defense, and I expect an instant, large upgrade over last year’s debacle.
Overall
The Packers have, if nothing else, shown themselves to be an intelligent organization once again. They did a nice job making smart upgrades all over the roster, and with Rodgers returning to lead the offense, they should be one of the five best teams in football, and a Super Bowl contender.
