Packers Should Contend Once Again

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Emanuel Wilson illustration

Emanuel Wilson illustration

The public ownership structure of the Green Bay Packers is great for many reasons. It helps to keep the team in Green Bay, it allows for the team to raise funds for projects without taxpayer assistance, and most importantly for the product on the field, it protects the team from the whims of an unchecked billionaire owner. The Packers are one of the most well-run franchises in all of sports, and the way they’ve gone about this offseason is no exception.

Offense: Getting Bigger and Solving Man Defense

The Packers play a variation of the Kyle Shanahan offense, which means that they will be running the ball at a well above average rate, and while starting running back Josh Jacobs was outstanding last year, he was hit in the backfield far too often. The Packers almost always have a good offensive line, but over the last few years it’s grown light, and it’s cost them in the power running game. They also just saw the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that also loves to run, win the Super Bowl behind the biggest offensive line in the league.

Noting that, the Packers got bigger, first through the free agent acquisition of guard Aaron Banks from San Francisco. Banks will also push guard Elgton Jenkins over to center where he should be an upgrade from incumbent Josh Myers. And in the draft, Green Bay used a second-round pick on 330-pound tackle Anthony Belton, who can serve as a swing tackle for the lighter Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom on the outside or flip inside as a depth guard. Improving the per play efficiency of the running game should help the offense overall, but the team also needs to solve a problem that cropped up after the first Bears game last season: man-to-man defense.

The Packer receivers excel against zone, but only outside burner Christian Watson was effective against man coverage. Once Watson was lost for the season with a knee injury, the passing game struggled mightily whenever faced with man, and teams definitely noticed as the Packers faced a steady diet of man coinciding with their three-game losing streak to end the season.

If Christian Watson does recover, he likely won’t be available until the back half of the season in a best-case scenario, and so to address this issue, the Packers used a pick on a rare first round receiver in Matthew Golden of Texas. Golden is one of the fastest players in the draft and offers rare versatility as a smaller receiver who can still dominate outside in contested catch situations, while also jumping inside to the slot. Golden as well as third round pick Savion Williams, should make things easier on incumbents Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks, and most importantly, solve an obvious weakness.

Jeff Hafley’s Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, the team failed to make significant upgrades and suffered a major loss in the secondary as the team cut ties with star corner Jaire Alexander, but they made some savvy depth plays that should help to minimize the impact of Alexander’s departure. They can also count on improvement from edge rusher Lukas Van Ness in his third full season. The talented but raw pass rusher played most of last year with a serious hand injury which impacted his technical development. He is among the most athletic edge rushers in the league, and a solid run defender, but this is a make-or-break year in terms of breaking out against the pass.

Rashan Gary is also a solid bet to return to form now two years removed from an ACL tear. Gary showed flashes of his old self last season and finished strong, but should either Gary or Van Ness struggle, the team also used their fourth-round pick on Texas edge rusher Barryn Sorrell. Sorrell was projected to be drafted earlier by most draft publications and seemed to fall to the fourth primarily because the class was so deep with talented edge rushers that someone was destined to. He is unlikely to be a breakout star immediately, but the Packers were sorely lacking in edge depth, and that problem is now solved.

In the secondary the Packers dipped into free agency, signing Nate Hobbs from the Raiders. Hobbs will join Keisean Nixon outside while Javon Bullard moves to the slot full time. Missing Alexander is a blow; however, he has been injury plagued for years and the team has compensated well without him. Safeties Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams serve as an excellent back line, and Carrington Valentine is one of the better coverage backups in the league.

The NFL’s salary cap makes it difficult to stay on top, but the Packers as an organization are among the very best at understanding and addressing the problems that plague their team. They employ one of the league’s best play-callers in head coach Matt LaFleur, and now with Jeff Hafley in his second year as defensive coordinator, there are no lingering obvious weak spots. The Packers should once again contend in the NFC, and more importantly, they should be extremely fun to watch.