It took them a bit to determine issues out, however as soon as they did, the Inexperienced Bay Packers stunned lots of people in 2023 with their surprising playoff run and upset of the Dallas Cowboys within the wild-card spherical.
Listed here are the franchise’s 5 most precious folks in 2024:
5. Head coach Matt LaFleur
LaFleur had loads of early success in his head-coaching profession (39-10 report), however he’s since come again all the way down to earth within the final two seasons (17-17 report). In video games the place the Packers are evenly matched, teaching will probably decide in the event that they win or lose.
LaFleur has all of the expertise on the earth — Jordan Love is the highest-paid QB within the NFL, working again Josh Jacobs is only one yr faraway from an All-Professional season, Inexperienced Bay has arguably the most effective younger WR group within the league — however the group will solely go so far as LaFleur takes them.
4. Extensive receiver Jayden Reed
Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are the Packers two most-featured receivers, however Reed would be the most gifted out of the group. He led the group in receptions (64), yards (793), touchdowns (eight) and yards after the catch (335) as a rookie, and he ought to solely get higher in 12 months 2.
Doubs has struggled with consistency points and Watson damage troubles, however Reed missed only one sport and was typically Love’s prime goal final yr. If he can flip into Love’s model of Davante Adams, that takes some strain off Doubs and Watson to hold the WR corps and it makes issues harder for opposing defenses having to cowl three actually good wideouts.
3. Cornerback Eric Stokes
The Packers are trying to find their No. 2 CB behind Jaire Alexander, and it’s time for Stokes to start out dwelling as much as his billing as a former first-round choose. There’s stable competitors within the secondary with Carrington Vallentine, Keisean Nixon and Corey Ballentine, however Stokes has an actual alternative to grab it from these three.
Inexperienced Bay’s go protection ranked ninth within the NFL final yr, however the secondary has to switch cornerback Rasul Douglas plus safeties Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford and Darnell Savage. Stokes could make issues simpler for defensive backs coach Ryan Downard by shoring up the CB place.
2. Working again Josh Jacobs
Aaron Jones had three 1,000-yard seasons throughout his final 5 years with the Packers, however at 29, he was beginning to decelerate and he missed six video games final yr. Enter Jacobs, whos’ simply 26, just one yr faraway from an All-Professional season, has rushed for 1,000 or extra yards in three of his 5 NFL seasons and scored 46 complete touchdowns.
Inexperienced Bay has youthful, brisker legs behind Love who will also be an efficient receiver out of the backfield (Jacobs has averaged practically 40 catches and 300 yards receiving per season) — including one other dimension to an already potent offense.
1. Quarterback Jordan Love
In his first yr as a beginning QB, Love threw for 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with a passer ranking of 96.1, ascending into one of many prime passers within the NFL. However most groups are solely nearly as good as their QB, and Inexperienced Bay actually falls into that class.
Based mostly on final season the Packers have playoff expectations once more, and they’re actually a menace to unseat Detroit for the division title. However if you happen to have been to take Love out of the equation, it’s powerful to see Inexperienced Bay as something greater than a .500 group. If there’s one singular one that’s very important to the group’s success in 2024, it’s Love.
