Quarterback

The Packers closed the book on the Aaron Rodgers era after the 2022 season, trading him to the Jets after 15 seasons as the Packers’ starter, which included a Super Bowl victory and 4 MVP seasons. In his place, the Packers turned to Jordan Love, a 2020 1st round pick who spent the first three seasons of his career developing behind Rodgers, but who had only thrown 83 career regular season pass attempts, with mixed results. Love’s tenure as the Packers’ starter got off to an underwhelming start, as he went 3-6 in his first nine starts, while completing 58.7% of his passes for an average of 6.70 YPA, 14 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. However, Love then caught fire down the stretch, completing 70.3% of his passes for an average of 7.71 YPA, 18 touchdowns, and 1 interception in his final eight starts, while going 6-2 and leading the Packers to a surprise post-season appearance.

Going into 2024, expectations for Love were high, but he suffered an injury at the end of week 1, missed two games, and didn’t seem to be 100% for several weeks. Through his first seven starts of the season, Love completed just 61.3% of his passes for an average of 7.58 YPA, 15 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while leading the Packers to a 4-3 record. However, he seemed to shake off his injury after that and completed 65.4% of his passes for an average of 8.48 YPA, 10 touchdowns, and 1 interception in his final eight starts, leading the Packers to a 5-3 record and taking them back to the post-season for the second time in two seasons as a starter.

Now going into his third season as a starter, Love is still only going into his age 27 season and has a massive upside if he can put it together for a full season. One thing Love did in his first season as a starter that he didn’t do in his second was continue his strong second half into the post-season, as Love completed 67.3% of his passes for an average of 8.47 YPA, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in two post-season starts in 2023, leading the Packers to an upset of the #2 seed Cowboys and then keeping it close with the #1 seed 49ers, but in 2024 he only completed 60.6% of his passes for an average of 6.42 YPA, 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in a first round playoff loss. However, Love was facing the eventual Super Bowl Champion Eagles and their league best defense in his one playoff game in 2024, so he deserves somewhat of a pass for that.

Even with Love missing time and struggling for a few weeks upon his return last season, the Packers still finished last season ranked 3rd in yards per play differential and 8th in first down rate differential and they largely return the same team as last season, losing just 3 of the 22 players who were in their top-11 in terms of snaps played on offense and defense last season, none of which were key players who played at a high level. Love is still pretty unproven, but if he can stay healthy and put it together for a full season, the Packers have the upside to be among the best teams in the league.

In Love’s absence last season, the Packers got decent play from Malik Willis, who completed 74.1% of his passes for an average of 10.2 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions across 54 pass attempts, while rushing for 6.90 YPC and 1 touchdown on 20 carries. Prior to last season when he was with the Titans, Willis had completed 53.0% of his passes for an average of 5.30 YPA, 0 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions across 66 pass attempts, while rushing for 4.50 YPC and 1 touchdown on 32 carries, but Willis was a third round pick in 2022 by Tennessee, so it isn’t a surprise that he developed into a solid backup and he could easily remain one in 2025 and beyond. Overall, this is an enviable quarterback room.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

The one offensive starter the Packers didn’t bring back this off-season is center Josh Myers, but he finished with a 55.7 PFF grade in 16 starts last season, so his departure could be addition by subtraction. To replace him, the Packers are moving guard Elgton Jenkins inside to center, where he has some experience (6 career starts). Replacing Jenkins at guard will be free agent addition Aaron Banks, who joins from the 49ers on a 4-year, 77 million dollar deal.

That contract looks like an overpay, but it shouldn’t be hard for Banks to be an upgrade on Myers. Banks was a 2nd round pick by the 49ers in 2021, but he was mostly a replacement level starter, making 43 starts over the past three seasons, but finishing with PFF grades of just 62.7, 54.9, and 65.4. Already going into his age 28 season, Banks likely is what he is at this stage of his career and will be likely provide the Packers with decent, albeit expensive play at left guard.

Jenkins, meanwhile, has been a solid starter through his career, finishing above 65 on PFF in all six seasons in the league, including two seasons above 70. Most importantly, considering he is changing positions this off-season, Jenkins has played similarly throughout his career regardless of where he’s played, whether it’s his most regular position of left guard, or center, or even left tackle (8 career starts), or right tackle (5 career starts). The one concern is he is now heading into his age 30 season, but he hasn’t shown any signs of decline yet (66.1 PFF grade in 17 starts in 2024) and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he remains a solid starter for at least another season.

The Packers’ best starter for the past two seasons has been right tackle Zach Tom, who was only a 4th round pick in 2022, but who has improved his play drastically in all three seasons in the league, with a 68.3 PFF grade across 5 starts as a rookie, a 77.8 PFF grade across 17 starts in his second season in the league, and a 87.5 PFF grade across 17 starts last season. Tom might not be quite as good again in 2025 as he was in 2024, but, only going into his age 26 season, he looks likely to play at a high level at right tackle for years to come.

Meanwhile, the other two offensive line spots might be up for grabs. The Packers used a first round pick in 2024 on Jordan Morgan, but injuries and ineffective play limited him to 186 snaps as a rookie, all of which came at guard. Morgan was a tackle in college, but it seems the Packers prefer him at guard, even using another high draft pick on a young tackle in this year’s draft, taking Anthony Belton in the second round. At guard, Morgan will compete with incumbent right guard Sean Rhyan for a starting role. 

Morgan probably has a higher upside, but Rhyan had a decent 62.0 PFF grade in 17 starts at right guard last season, in the first extended starting experience of the 2022 3rd round pick’s career and he could easily hold off Morgan for the starting job for another season. Belton, meanwhile, is likely to be the swing tackle, but could theoretically push left tackle Rasheed Walker at some point. Walker, a 2022 7th round pick, has been decent, but unspectacular since taking over the starting left tackle job in 2023, posting PFF grades of 66.4 and 68.4 across 15 starts and 17 starts respectively over the past two seasons. He should keep the job for another year, keeping Belton and either Morgan or Rhyan as above average reserve options. This is an above average offensive line overall, after replacing their one weak spot from 2024, former starting center Josh Myers.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

In the receiving corps, the Packers didn’t lose any of their key players from a year ago, but Christian Watson is likely to miss at least a significant portion of the season as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered in week 18 last season. An excellent deep threat, Watson finished last season with a 29/620/2 slash line on 53 targets with an average of 2.26 yards per route run, good for 14th among eligible wide receivers. In three seasons in the league since being drafted in the 2nd round in 2022, Watson has averaged 16.86 yards per catch, 9.61 yards per target, and 2.03 yards per route run. Watson was only a part-time player (554 snaps) in a deep overall receiving corps though and the Packers used their first round pick on one of the fastest wide receivers in the draft, Matthew Golden, who will fill in for him early in the season and then will give them even more depth at wide receiver after Watson returns, so Watson won’t be missed too much.

With four wide receivers rotating, it didn’t give any of them the opportunity to put up big numbers, but Jayden Reed was their nominal #1 receiver, leading the team with a 55/857/6 slash line on just 75 targets and averaging 2.20 yards per route run. A 2nd round pick in 2023, Reed also had an impressive rookie season, with a 64/793/8 slash line on 94 targets and 2.05 yards per route run. Additionally, he provides some value on the ground, taking 31 carries for 282 yards (9.10 YPC) in two seasons in the league. He should remain efficient again in 2025, still only in his age 25 season, but his overall production will probably remain limited by a limited snap count and target share.

Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks were not as efficient as Reed and Watson, as Doubs turned 72 targets into a 46/601/4 slash line and 1.67 yards per route run and Wicks turned 76 targets into a 39/415/5 slash line and 1.42 yards per route run. Last season was actually a career best for Doubs, as the 2022 4th round pick had slash lines of 42/425/3 and 59/674/8 on target totals of 67 and 96 in his first two seasons in the league, while averaging 1.36 yards per route run and 1.32 yards per route run. Wicks, on the other hand, showed a lot more potential as a rookie in 2023, with a 39/581/4 slash line on 58 targets and 2.04 yards per route run, but he was only a 5th round pick in 2023, so it’s not a surprise he couldn’t translate that into a larger role. Both are likely to remain decent, but unspectacular receiving options in 2025.

Tight end Tucker Kraft also had a solid receiving season in 2024, with a 50/707/7 slash line on 70 targets with 1.61 yards per route run. Also a young recent draft pick, the 2023 3rd round pick was not as good as a rookie, with a 31/355/2 slash line on 40 targets and 1.20 yards per route run, but he probably has permanently turned a corner and will remain a solid starting tight end going forward. The Packers also used a 2nd round pick in 2023 on a tight end, Luke Mugsrave, and, after their rookie seasons, it looked like Musgrave would be the better player long-term, as he finished his rookie season with a 34/351/1 slash line on 46 targets and 1.28 yards per route run in 11 games.

However, Musgrave took a big step back in year two, finishing with a 7/45/0 slash line on 10 targets and 0.66 yards per route run in 7 games. He has the talent to bounce back in 2025, but he is probably locked in as a backup long-term, given how Kraft played ahead of him last season. Durability has also been an issue for Musgrave thus far in his career, as he’s missed 16 games over the past two seasons. This is a talented young receiving corps, even if they lack a clear #1 option.

Grade: B+

Running Backs

The Packers’ passing offense was very effective last season, but they actually had more rush attempts (526) than pass attempts (479) on the season and their running game was very effective too, ranking 5th in the NFL in rushing yards (2,496), 5th in rushing touchdowns (23), and 6th in yards per carry (4.75). Josh Jacobs, who they signed to a 4-year, 48 million dollar deal last off-season, led the way, rushing for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns on 301 carries (4.42 YPC), with a 52.2% carry success rate, 13th in the NFL among running backs.

That shouldn’t have come as a surprise, as Jacobs averaged 4.25 YPC on 1,305 carries with a 51.6% carry success rate in his first five seasons in the league with the Raiders before signing with the Packers, doing so despite playing on a much worse offense with the Raiders than the one he gets to play on with the Packers. Jacobs also had a 36/342/1 slash line on 43 targets with 1.36 yards per route run last season, slightly up from the 39/290/0 slash line on 51 targets with 1.15 yards per route run that Jacobs averaged with the Raiders. His one Achilles heel is durability, as he has missed time in four of six seasons in the league, but as long as he stays healthy, Jacobs is likely to remain a high level feature back in 2025, still only in his age 27 season.

Backup Emanuel Wilson also had a great season in a limited role, averaging 4.87 YPC on 103 carries with a 59.2% carry success rate. Wilson went undrafted in 2023, had just 14 carries as a rookie, and kind of came out of nowhere to have that kind of season in 2024, as he was expected to be no higher than the 4th running back and only got an opportunity because of injuries to long-time backup AJ Dillon and 3rd round rookie MarShawn Lloyd. Dillon is no longer with the team and, while Lloyd is expected to be healthier in 2025, after playing in just one game as a rookie, it will be hard for Lloyd to beat out Wilson to be the primary backup, given the season Wilson just had. This is a deep and talented backfield overall.

Grade: A

Edge Defenders

While the Packers’ offense played at a high level last season, ranking 5th in yards per play and 10th in first down rate allowed, their defense was also a solid unit, ranking 5th in yards per play allowed and 14th in first down rate allowed. This season, there is actually reason to believe they will be even better. For one, their top edge defender Rashan Gary actually had a down year last season. He still had a 73.8 PFF grade across 638 snaps, but he had PFF grades of 89.3, 82.9, and 80.0 in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and, still only in his age 28 season, he has a great chance to bounce back and be better in 2025. Also a solid run defender, Gary has totaled 32 sacks, 43 hits, and a 15.4% pressure rate in 59 games over the past four seasons.

The Packers need Gary to bounce back because the rest of this edge defender group is underwhelming. Kingsley Enagbare (509 snaps) and Lukas Van Ness (427 snaps) ranked second and third among Packers edge defenders in snaps played last season and both struggled, with PFF grades of 56.0 and 53.8 respectively. Enagbare, a 2022 5th round pick, had better seasons in his first two seasons in the league, with PFF grades of 61.4 and 64.5 across snap counts of 465 and 453 and he’s still only going into his age 25 season, but, even if he does bounce back in 2025, he doesn’t have a high upside.

Van Ness, on the other hand, should have a high upside, but the 2023 1st round pick hasn’t come close to living up to his draft slotin two seasons in the league. He was slightly better in a limited role as a rookie, with a 64.0 PFF grade across 366 snaps, but overall he has been underwhelming through two seasons in the league, particularly as a pass rusher, with a career 8.9% pressure rate. Still only in his age 24 season, it’s possible he takes a step forward in 2025 and has his best season yet in his third season in the league, but that’s far from a guarantee.

The Packers added some long-term insurance in the draft by using a 4th round pick on Barryn Sorrell, but he is no guarantee to contribute in a positive way as a rookie. The Packers do have Brenton Cox, a 2023 undrafted free agent who showed some promise in the first significant action of his career last season, with a 72.2 PFF grade, but that came across just 160 snaps and he’s a projection to a larger role who could easily struggle if he sees his snap count increase significantly. Rashan Gary elevates the overall grade of this position group and the rest of the group does have some upside, but they also have significant downside as well.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

Things remain largely the same at the interior defender position this season. The one major difference is the loss of TJ Slaton, who played 427 snaps last season. Slaton struggled with a 45.3 PFF grade though, so, even though the Packers didn’t really replace him, his departure could be addition by subtraction. Slaton was their worst interior defender, but the rest of this group is still pretty underwhelming, especially against the run, as none of their interior defenders finished above 60 against the run.

The Packers did at least get good interior pass rush from Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt. A first round pick in 2016, Clark used to be a good run defender as well in his prime, leading to him finishing above 70 on PFF in five straight seasons from 2017-2021, but his overall grades have fallen to 66.4, 68.8, and 59.3 over the past three seasons and now he’s heading into his age 30 season, so his best days are almost definitely behind him. He still had a 7.9% pressure rate last season, but even his pass rush has fallen off in recent years, as that is well below his career pressure rate of 10.2%. At best, he will probably be a mediocre run defender and slightly above average pass rusher in 2025, but he could fall off further.

Wyatt is also a former first round pick, selected in 2022. He has finished above 70 in pass rush grade in all three seasons in the league, while totaling a 12.8% pressure rate, but he has also finished below 60 in run defense in two of his three seasons in the league and, as a result, the Packers have limited his playing time to 24.2 snaps per game and 379 snaps per season. Wyatt is already heading into his age 27 season, so he might just be who he is at this stage of his career, but the Packers might not have a choice but to increase his playing time in 2025, given the state of the rest of the position.

Karl Brooks ranked second at the position behind Clark (685 snaps) with 440 snaps played last season, but he struggled with a 58.8 PFF grade. He had a 66.9 PFF grade across 379 snaps as a rookie in 2023, but he was only a 6th round rookie and, overall, looks like an underwhelming option. The Packers also have Colby Wooden as a deep reserve, but the 2023 4th round pick has received PFF grades of just 58.2 and 47.8 on snap counts of 256 and 234 over the past two seasons respectively and will likely continue struggling in 2025. The Packers also added Warren Brinson in the 6th round of this year’s draft, but it’s unlikely he will make a significant positive contribution in year one. Overall, this looks likely to remain an underwhelming interior defender group.

Grade: B-

Linebackers

The Packers lost linebacker Eric Wilson this off-season and he was solid with a 65.8 PFF grade across 556 snaps, but his absence will open up an every down role for 2024 2nd round pick Edgerrin Cooper, who flashed a lot of talent as a rookie with a 84.0 PFF grade across 489 snaps, excelling both in coverage and against the run. He might not be quite as good in an expanded role in 2025, but he has a massive upside and could easily be at least an above average every down linebacker. Cooper ascending to an every down role is another reason why this defense could be better in 2025 than 2024.

Cooper will start next to Quay Walker, a 2022 1st round pick who has been an every down linebacker for the Packers since he entered the league, averaging 55.5 snaps per game in 44 career games. He hasn’t lived up to his draft slot though, finishing with PFF grades of 52.0, 60.0, and 57.4 respectively. He still has upside going into his age 25 season, but, even if he has a career best year in 2025, the Packers probably can’t expect more than decent every down play out of him.

Isaiah McDuffie returns as the top reserve and he has finished with PFF grades of just 58.4 and 56.0 on snap counts of 511 and 698 over the past two seasons respectively, in the only two seasons of the 2021 6th round pick’s career in which he’s seen significant action. He’s a decent situational run stopper, but struggles mightily in coverage. The Packers also took a flier on former 8th overall pick Isaiah Simmons, but he has finished below 60 on PFF in three of five seasons in the league and, as a result, has been limited to just 559 snaps as a reserve over the past two seasons. Now going into his age 27 season, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely he will ever be more than a reserve in the NFL. Edgerrin Cooper slightly elevates the overall grade of this position group, but, aside from him, this is an underwhelming group.

Grade: B

Secondary

The position group on this defense that has undergone the most changes this off-season is the cornerback position. Jaire Alexander was released for salary cap reasons and, while he had a 75.2 PFF grade last season, injuries limited him to just 361 snaps in seven games, so he won’t be missed too much. Meanwhile, free agent departure Eric Stokes had a 61.3 PFF grade last season, but that came across just 587 snaps, so he won’t be missed much either. The Packers also mitigated the loss of Alexander and Stokes by signing Nate Hobbs from the Raiders and he should be a solid starter, having finished above 60 on PFF in all four seasons in the league, though he has missed 16 games with injury over the past three seasons, which is a concern.

Hobbs will probably start next to Keisean Nixon, who led Packers cornerbacks with 1,018 snaps played last season. Nixon had a decent 64.5 PFF grade last season, but it was a career best year for him, as the 6-year veteran played just 563 snaps in his first four seasons in the league from 2019-2022 and then struggled in his first season of significant playing time in 2023, with a 59.0 PFF grade across 808 snaps. He could face competition for the starting job from Carrington Valentine, a 2023 7th round pick who struggled as a rookie with a 57.5 PFF grade across 694 snaps, but took a step forward in year two, with a 70.3 PFF grade across 546 snaps. He has some upside, but is also an underwhelming starting option. Whoever doesn’t start opposite Hobbs between Nixon and Valentine will probably still have a significant role as the #3 cornerback.

The Packers don’t have much depth at cornerback behind their top-3, as none of the other cornerbacks on the roster have ever played a defensive snap and the only two who were drafted were 2024 7th round pick Kalen King and rookie 7th round pick Micah Robinson. Fortunately, the Packers have a lot of depth at safety and could use three safeties together frequently in sub packages to offset their lack of depth at cornerback.

When the Packers use three safeties together, Javon Bullard will man the slot, but he was the worst of the Packers’ safeties last season, with a 52.3 PFF grade across 785 snaps. He was a 2nd round pick in 2024 and could take a step forward in his second season in the league in 2025, but that’s not a guarantee. Evan Williams, meanwhile, was only a 4th round pick in 2024, but he showed a lot more promise as a rookie, with a 72.4 PFF grade across 473 snaps. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start at safety over Bullard. He’s a projection to a larger role, but easily could be the better of the two second year safeties. The Packers also have Zayne Anderson, who had a 80.8 PFF grade last season, albeit across just 122 snaps, after the 2021 undrafted free agent played just two snaps across his first three seasons in the league prior to last season. Still, he’s not bad depth to have.

The Packers best safety is Xavier McKinney, who is one of the best safeties in the league. The 2020 2nd round pick was a bit inconsistent early in his career, but he has received PFF grades of 87.5 and 84.8 over the past two seasons respectively and, overall, has finished above 70 on PFF in four of five seasons in the league. Still only in his age 26 season, he should remain one of the best safeties in the league again in 2025. The Packers have some issues at cornerback, but are much better at safety, which makes up for their issues at cornerback somewhat.

Grade: B+

Kicker

Brandon McManus was the Packers’ kicker last season and had a solid season, accumulating 3.12 points above average. He also has 12.96 total points above average in the past ten seasons, but he did finish below average in both 2022 and 2023 and now he’s going into his age 34 season so, despite a solid year last year, he is on a downward trajectory overall. He could have another solid season in 2025, but also could easily regress. The Packers do have competition for him in Alex Hale, but the 2024 undrafted free agent spent his rookie season on the practice squad and overall doesn’t seem like a legitimate candidate for the starting job.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Packers finished last season 3rd in yards per play differential and 8th in first down rate differential, despite Jordan Love dealing with an injury for the first half of the season. Love has shown the ability to be an elite quarterback when healthy and, even though he’s still pretty unproven, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him put it all together in 2025 and take a talented team to the next level.

Update: The addition of Micah Parsons via trade just adds to the likelihood of this team having a breakout season and joining the short list of Super Bowl contenders.

Prediction: 13-4, 1st in NFC North