Quarterback

After back-to-back post-season appearances in 2023 and 2024, the Packers made an aggressive trade to try to get themselves to the next level, giving away first round picks in 2026 and 2027 to acquire Cowboys edge defender Micah Parsons, one of the best defensive players in the league. The Packers then gave Parsons a 4-year, 186 million dollar extension, making him the highest paid edge defensive player in the league in terms of average annual salary at the time, ahead of what would have been his contract year in 2025.

Things got off to a great start, as the Packers began the season 9-3-1 and were leading the eventual AFC #1 seed Broncos week 15 in Denver, but disaster struck when Parsons suffered a torn ACL midway through that game. The Packers would go on to lose to the Broncos and did not win a game the rest of the season, finishing 9-7-1 and collapsing after building a 21-3 halftime lead in the first round against division rival Chicago. 

Parsons was the most important player the Packers lost to an injury last season, but he wasn’t the only key player that suffered a season ending injury, as tight end Tucker Kraft, their leading receiver at the time of his injury, had his season ended in week 9 by a torn ACL, top interior defender Devonte Wyatt had his season ended in week 13 by a fractured ankle, and top offensive lineman Zach Tom had his season ended in week 15 by a partially torn patellar tendon. Despite all of their injuries, the Packers still finished the season ranked 7th in schedule adjusted efficiency, better than their record would suggest.

It is easy to say the Packers were better than their record last season and will be even better this season when key players return from injury, but it is not that simple for a few reasons. For one, all of those injuries are serious enough that they could cost those players time at the start of the 2026 season and/or limit them upon their return. Secondly, injuries are part of the game and, while the Packers’ injury disproportionately affected their most important players, it is also unreasonable to assume they won’t have any injuries this season. On top of that, the Packers had several key free agent losses and they didn’t have a first round pick to use to replace those departed players. 

Quarterback Jordan Love also missed a couple games down the stretch last season and he is an above average starter when on the field, completing 64.5% of his passes for an average of 7.57 YPA, 80 touchdowns, and 28 interceptions in 47 starts since taking over as the starter at the start of the 2023 season. Last season was probably his best season, as he completed 66.3% of his passes for an average of 7.70 YPA, 23 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, good for a 101.2 passer rating that ranked 6th in the NFL. However, he wasn’t really missed in the couple games he missed last season because backup Malik Willis completed 85.7% of his passes for an average of 12.06 YPA, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, while rushing for 5.59 YPC and 2 touchdowns on 22 carries.

Willis signed with the Dolphins as their starting quarterback this off-season, so the Packers will be in a tougher situation if Love misses time this season, something he has now done in two of three seasons as a starter. Veteran Tyrod Taylor was signed to replace Willis this off-season and he has plenty of experience, with 62 career starts, but he hasn’t been a regular starter since 2017 and is now going into his age 37 season, so he figures to be a big downgrade from Love if forced into the lineup. If Love stays healthy though, he has the upside to be one of the better quarterbacks in the league.

Grade: A-

Offensive Line

The unit where the Packers lost the most this off-season is their offensive line, with left tackle Rasheed Walker leaving as a free agent and center Elgton Jenkins being let go in a cost saving move. The Packers also didn’t really do anything to replace them, with their only off-season offensive line addition being 5th round rookie Jager Burton, who is unlikely to make a positive impact in year one. Instead, the Packers will replace Walker and Jenkins with 2024 1st round pick Jordan Morgan and 2025 2nd round pick Anthony Belton.

Both players have obvious upside, given where they were drafted, but neither have shown it yet. Morgan has made 13 starts in two seasons in the league, all but three of which came at guard, and has mostly been a liability. Belton, meanwhile, struggled in seven starts as a rookie in 2025, all but one of which came at guard. Not only will both have to start in 2026, but one of them will have to replace Walker at left tackle, the most important position on the offensive line. Morgan and Belton becoming starters also significantly hurts their offensive line depth, leaving the rookie Burton and Darian Kennard (5 career starts) as their likely top reserve options.

Jenkins will be the easier of the two to replace, not only because he plays a less valuable position at center, but because, while Walker was a solid starter in 16 starts, Jenkins was underwhelming in 9 starts in an injury plagued season. Whichever of Morgan or Belton does not start at left tackle will play right guard, with Sean Rhyan moving from right guard to center. Rhyan has been underwhelming in 28 career starts, 21 at guard, 7 at center, and, while a move to center full-time could benefit him, he could also struggle to adjust. Left guard Aaron Banks is a little better, but he has been average at best across 57 career starts.

The loss of Walker and Jenkins makes the health of Zach Tom even more important because, not only do the Packers lack good depth on the offensive line now, but Tom is also now by far their best offensive lineman. Only a 4th round pick in 2022, Tom had developed into one of the best right tackles in the league over the past two seasons before the injury. He did not miss a game with injury in his first two seasons as a starter in 2023 and 2024, so he isn’t injury prone, but a partially torn patellar tendon is a tough injury to return from and it is very possible Tom is not 100% in his first season back after the injury. He is still the saving grace on an offensive line that is now otherwise very underwhelming.

Grade: B+

Receiving Corps

The Packers also lost wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who led the team in catches (55), yards (724), targets (85), and tied for the team lead in touchdowns (6), while averaging 1.73 yards per route run. Meanwhile, Dontayvion Wicks, who had a 30/332/2 slash line on 46 targets with 1.39 yards per route run, was traded to the Eagles ahead of the final year of his rookie deal. Like on the offensive line, the Packers have a recent high draft pick, 2025 1st round pick Matthew Golden, in line to take over a bigger role in his absence. 

Like on the offensive line, Golden has a lot of upside, but has yet to show it at the NFL level, finishing his rookie season with a 29/361/0 slash line and 1.35 yards per route run on 44 targets. He has the potential to take a big step forward in his second season in the league though. The Packers should also get healthier years out of Christian Watson and Jayden Reed, who were limited to snap counts of 416 and 169 in 10 games and 7 games respectively. Watson, Reed, and Golden should play the vast majority of snaps in three wide receiver sets as long as they are healthy.

Reed, a second round pick in 2023, has averaged 2.09 yards per route run in his career, while Watson, a second round pick in 2022, has averaged 2.14 yards per route in his career. They have only averaged 40.1 snaps per game and 35.8 snaps per game in their careers, leading to their career highs in single season yardage being 620 and 857 respectively, but both should play much bigger roles in a more consolidated receiving corps in 2026 and both have the potential to have very productive seasons, even if they aren’t quite as efficient in larger roles as they were in smaller roles. Watson in particular has a huge upside and his 2.51 yards per route run average in 2025 ranked 5th in the NFL among wide receivers.

With Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs gone, the top reserve role will likely go to Savion Williams, a 2025 3rd round pick who has potential, but who played just 91 snaps as a rookie and didn’t show much in limited action. He will see an expanded role in his second season in the league, but figures to be a clear 4th on the depth chart, as opposed to recent years when the Packers have had 4-5 receivers they rotated heavily, capping everyone’s potential for production.

With several wide receivers cannibalizing each other’s production, tight end Tucker Kraft was the team leader in receiving last season at the time of his injury, with a 32/489/6 slash line in just 8 games. His 2.33 yards per route run average ranked 2nd in the NFL among tight ends. Kraft, a 2023 3rd round pick, had never played at that level before, with slash lines of 31/355/2 and 50/707/7 on 1.20 yards per route run and 1.61 yards per route run respectively in his first two seasons in the league and, now coming off of a major injury, it is a significant question mark whether or not Kraft can come close to being that efficient over a full season in his first season back from injury, but he has a lot of talent and is only going into his age 26 season, so he at least has a high upside.

In Kraft’s absence last season, the Packers gave an expanded role to Luke Musgrave, who was actually drafted higher than Kraft in the same draft (2nd round), but he continued to underwhelm, finishing with a 24/252/0 slash line on 1.19 yards per route run, after averaging 1.16 yards per route run in 2023 and 2024 combined. He will likely remain the nominal #2 tight end and could still have theoretical upside, but Kraft is an obvious upgrade returning from injury. This is a young group with a high variance of potential outcomes, but there is a lot of upside here.

Grade: B

Running Backs

The Packers also lost running back Emanuel Wilson, which isn’t a huge loss because he was their #2 running back, but he did receive 125 carries last season and 103 carries the season before, which is more than most #2 running backs, and the 2023 undrafted free agent has been pretty effective across 242 career carries, averaging 4.48 YPC, 2.94 yards per carry after contact, a 18.1% missed tackle rate, and a 59.1% carry success rate. With Wilson gone, the Packers’ options for backup running backs are Marshawn Lloyd, a 2024 3rd round pick who came into the league with upside, but who has been limited to 10 total snaps in two seasons in the league due primarily to injuries, and Chris Brooks, a passing down specialist with 82 career carries in three seasons in the league.

Lead back Josh Jacobs is an above average starter who has averaged 17.5 carries per game in 105 career games, while averaging 4.24 YPC, 3.09 yards per carry after contact, a 22.2% missed tackle rate, and a 51.4% carry success rate. However, the Packers are a run heavy team that gives a lot of carries to their running backs, so they will need a #2 running back capable of being used more than the average backup, especially since Jacobs has missed time with injury in five of seven seasons in the league and now is going into his age 28 season, an age where running backs start to decline, especially ones with a history of significant workloads (2,109 touches in seven seasons in the league).

In a best case scenario, Lloyd can stay healthy and prove why he was a third round rookie originally by stepping into Wilson’s old role effectively, leaving Brooks as the passing down specialist, but in a worst case scenario, Brooks will have to step into a role he is probably not equipped for or Jacobs will have to be among the league leaders in carries, which he might not have the durability to do effectively at this stage of his career. Depth is a significant concern at a position group that is headlined by an above average, but aging lead back.

Grade: B+

Edge Defenders

On defense, the Packers lost a pair of edge defenders, Rashan Gary, who was sent to the Cowboys in a move that netted them a mid-round pick and saved them 19.5 million, and Kingley Enagbare, who signed with the Jets as a free agent. Enagbare was mediocre last season across 468 snaps, totaling 2 sacks, 6 hits, and a 9.9% pressure rate, but Gary was solid across 653 snaps, totaling 7.5 sacks, 12 hits, and a 13.0% pressure rate and, with neither being replaced and Parsons coming off of a significant injury that could cost him time at the start of the season, there are reasons for significant concern at the edge defender position.

Fortunately, Parsons is one of the best edge defenders in the league when healthy and has been since his rookie season. His run defense is only average, but he has totaled 65 sacks, 80 hits, and a 18.8% pressure rate in 77 career games, including 12.5 sacks, 15 hits, and a 18.1% pressure rate in 14 games last season, and he is still only going into his age 27 season. Even if he is at less than his best, he would probably be a well above average edge defender and, even if he misses some time at the start of the season, he could still play more than the 14 games he played last season.

With Gary and Enagbare gone and Micah Parsons coming off of a major injury, the Packers will be counting on Lukas Van Ness in a big way. A first round pick in 2023, Van Ness was a disappointment in his first two seasons in the league, playing a total of 793 nondescript snaps, while pressuring the quarterback at just a 8.9% rate. However, Van Ness showed a lot more potential in 2025, albeit across only 263 snaps in 9 games in an injury plagued season. He especially played well as a pass rusher, with 1.5 sacks, 7 hits, and a 15.2% pressure rate, and he played at a solid level against the run as well. 

It was a limited sample size and Van Ness could regress in 2026, but he is still only going into his age 25 season and has always had a lot of talent, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he was an above average starter. The Packers somewhat surprisingly picked up his 5th year option for 2027 this off-season, guaranteeing him 13.752 million, so they clearly still believe in his potential and they could be rewarded for continuing to take a chance on him. 

Behind Parsons and Van Ness, the Packers have Barryn Sorrell, a 2025 4th round pick who struggled across 178 snaps as a rookie, and Dani Dennis-Sutton, a 4th round pick in this year’s draft who would likely struggle if he had to play a significant rookie year role. This position group has a lot of upside if Parsons and Van Ness both stay healthy and play to their potential, but there is a good chance that doesn’t happen and the Packers’ alternative options are below average.

Grade: B+

Interior Defenders

The one big free agent addition the Packers made this off-season was interior defender Javon Hargrave, who they signed to a 2-year, 23 million dollar deal. Hargrave is going into his age 33 season and isn’t quite as good as he was in his prime, but he still played pretty well in 2025, making up for his below average run defense with 3.5 sacks, 3 hits, and a 10.5% pressure rate as a pass rusher. He could continue declining in 2026, but it wouldn’t be hard for him to be an upgrade at the interior defender position, where every other interior defender struggled other than Devonte Wyatt, whose 2025 season ended prematurely due to a fractured ankle.

The Packers also could get a healthier season out of Wyatt, who was limited to 10 games last season. Wyatt is similar to Hargrave, struggling against the run, but totaling 16 sacks, 12 hits, and a 12.1% pressure rate in 57 career games. Wyatt could struggle to return to form, coming off of a significant injury, and his struggles against the run in his career have limited the 2022 1st round pick to an average of 26.6 snaps per game in his career, but he was averaging 37.9 snaps per game last season before he got hurt and, even if he isn’t 100%, he should be an upgrade over the players who filled in for him down the stretch last season when he was out.

In Wyatt’s absence, the Packers were led in snaps played at the interior defender position by Karl Brooks (618 snaps) and Colby Wooden (587 snaps), who both struggled. Wooden is gone and, while Brooks remains, he should play a smaller role this season. Brooks also has some bounce back potential because, while he has always struggled as a run defender, his pressure rate of 6.4% in 2025 was a career low, as the 2023 6th round pick totaled a 9.2% pressure rate in the first two seasons of his career. The Packers also added further depth at the interior defender position by using a 3rd round pick on Chris McClellan, though he was a reach who is likely to struggle as a rookie. This position group still has some issues, but they should be better than a year ago.

Grade: B

Linebackers

The Packers also didn’t retain linebacker Quay Walker and, while he was mediocre last season, he played 900 snaps in 14 games and his replacement Zaire Franklin figures to be a downgrade. Franklin has played an average of 1,121 snaps per season over the past four seasons, but he was never more than an average linebacker, he struggled mightily in 2025, and now is heading into his age 30 season and is likely to continue struggling.

Fortunately, their other starting linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is one of the best linebackers in the league, playing at an above average level against the run and in coverage across 489 snaps as a second round rookie in 2024 and then continuing to play at a high level across 1,046 snaps in 2025. Still only in his age 25 season, it is possible his best days are still ahead of him and he has the upside to be an All-Pro caliber player. Isaiah McDuffie remains as the third linebacker, a role in which he has played 571 snaps per season over the past three seasons and has mostly struggled. Edgerrin Cooper elevates an otherwise below average group by himself.

Grade: B

Secondary

The Packers’ secondary largely remains the same this season as it was last season. Nate Hobbs was released for cap reasons, but he only played 358 middling snaps in 11 games in an injury plagued 2025 season, so he won’t be missed much, especially since the Packers added Benjamin St. Juste in free agency and Brandon Cisse in the second round of the draft to replace him. St. Juste and Cisse will compete for roles with holdovers Keisian Nixon (1,014 snaps), Carrington Valentine (780 snaps), and Javon Bullard (724 snaps). None of them are above average starters, but the Packers legitimately go five deep with starting caliber cornerbacks, depth that could easily come in handy this season.

Nixon was the de facto #1 cornerback last season, leading the team in cornerback snaps, but he was only a marginal starter. He also played at a similar level across snap counts of 808 and 1,018 in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In a deeper cornerback room this year, he isn’t guaranteed to remain a starter or to play as many snaps. Carrington Valentine was mostly an injury replacement for Nate Hobbs last season, but he was the Packers’ best cornerback, continuing to show the potential he showed across 546 snaps in 2024. The 2023 7th round pick isn’t more than a solid starter, but he has proven he belongs in the starting lineup and should have a good chance to remain there, even in a deeper cornerback room.

Javon Bullard is also probably locked into his job, not because he is more than an average starter, but because he is the best pure slot specialist on the roster. Bullard is also a 2024 2nd round pick who is only going into his age 24 season, so he could have further untapped upside. Benjamin St. Juste comes over from the Chargers, where he only played 356 snaps last season, but the 2021 3rd round pick is pretty experienced, starting 47 of the 70 games he has played in his career and performing about average. St. Juste will compete for a starting role, as will the rookie Cisse, who gives them an outside cornerback with upside that they didn’t have previously, but who might spend his rookie year as a deep reserve.

Things remain the same at safety, which is a good thing. Xavier McKinney is one of the best safeties in the league and has been for three seasons. Still only going into his age 27 season, I would expect that to continue in 2026. Evan Williams is not as good, but the 2024 4th round pick has developed into a solid starter, showing potential across 473 snaps as a rookie and proving that was not a fluke across 903 snaps last season. This is a solid secondary, even if they lack a true #1 cornerback.

Grade: B+

Kicker

The Packers’ kicking game was a weakness in 2025 and pretty much single handedly cost them the game in the first round of the playoffs. Brandon McManus had been a solid kicker for them for years, but he was playing through injury in 2025 and, as a result, was arguably the worst kicker in the league, costing the Packers 12.83 points compared to an average kicker last season. Lucas Havrisik was the kicker for three games last season and he was about league average, but even with last season included, he has cost his teams 0.78 points per game over his career, so he isn’t a good starting option either. 

To remedy this, the Packers used a 6th round pick on kicker Trey Smack and cut McManus, leaving Smack to compete with Havrisik, a job Smack should be considered the heavy favorite to win. It is tough to know what to expect from rookie kickers, but Smack was a good enough college kicker to deserve to be drafted, hitting 82.8% of his field goals in his collegiate career, including 10-13 from 50 yards or more. He should have a good chance to at least be an average kicker as a rookie, which will be a big boost to the Packers, given how terrible their kicking game was last season.

Grade: B

Conclusion

The Packers were better than their record in 2025, despite numerous injuries to key players. This season they should be healthier and it is easy to see how they could be better. However, many of the players who were injured last season suffered significant injuries that could affect them into 2026. The Packers also lost numerous players this off-season and didn’t have a first round pick to use to replace them. The Packers should still be in playoff contention this season, but I wouldn’t call them true Super Bowl contenders.

Prediction: 10-7, 2nd in NFC North