Recipe exists for Packers to again go heavy on the offensive line this offseason

Paul Bretl | 1/28/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Not only addressing the offensive line but often doing so heavily has become common practice each offseason under general manager Brian Gutekunst, and the recipe for that trend to continue could very well exist in 2025 as the Packers plan ahead and attempt to add competition to the position group.

In three of Gutekunst’s last four draft classes, the Packers have selected three offensive linemen. That’s an infusion of nine new offensive linemen to the roster in a four year span, not accounting for who was already on the roster or any outside free agent additions brought in.

It’s one thing to talk about the importance of a position group, it’s another thing to walk the walk as Gutekunst has with his roster building approach.

“Those big guys are hard to find, so that’s never something we’re not going to address,” said Gutekunst. “Like we’ve been pretty consistent in our time here. We very much believe that, with the exception of quarterback, winning in the trenches is how we need to get it done.

“And so, we’ve got some decisions to make as we move forward on the offensive line, and as we go through that, there could be some shuffling around.”

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘The Paul Bretl Show’ for more Packers coverage.

Continuity was a key element behind the Packers overall play along the offensive line this season. According to ESPN, Green Bay’s starting offensive line unit played 830 snaps together during the regular season–the most in football.

When it comes to offensive line play, the sum of the parts are greater than any one individual, and when there is familiarity and an understanding in not only what you’re supposed to do as a blocker but a trust in where the blockers around you will be, that creates a cohesive and unified unit that operates as one.

We really saw the benefit of this in pass protection, particularly with how often Jordan Love was blitzed last season. During the regular season, no quarterback was blitzed more often than Love, according to PFF’s metrics. However, in terms of how often he was pressured, Love ranked 23rd in that category. Overall, the Packers’ offensive line finished seventh in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric.

“I thought our offensive line, particularly in pass pro, played really, really well all year for the most part, with the exception of a couple games,” Gutekunst said. “But I think all those guys had really solid years and improved.”

While it was a highly productive season for Josh Jacobs, who rushed for 1,329 yard–the sixth-most in football–one element that was missing from the Packers’ run game was the home run ability. Jacobs would steadily pick up positive gains, averaging 4.4 yards per rush on the season, and oftentimes, turning a carry that could have been a loss or no gain into one where he picked up a few yards.

But in terms of ripping off a huge gain, while Jacobs would rank 11th in rushes of 15-plus yards, that in part, is a product of how often he carried the ball. From an efficiency standpoint in that regard, Jacobs was 32nd among eligible running backs in breakaway rate.

In order to have more opportunities for those explosive runs, Jacobs needs more opportunities to hit the second level cleanly where we all know he has the ability to make defenders miss. However, of Jacobs’ 1,329 rushing yards, 1,039 of them came after contact. That’s nearly 80% of Jacobs total yards were manufactured after a defender contacted him.

For some context, the only backs with more yards after contact were Saquon Barkley (1,093) and Derrick Henry (1,137), but a stark difference is that both of those backs were around the 2,000 yard mark–or roughly 50% of their yards came after contact. Naturally, it’s a lot easier to rip of big runs when not dealing with defenders right away.

With Jacobs as the back, we saw a much more heavy dose of the gap running scheme this season rather than the traditional outside zone runs often associated with Matt LaFleur’s offense. The gap scheme suits Jacobs skill set well, but it was a change for the offensive line.

“I think coaching is, yeah, you have a philosophy of what you want to do and a foundation of what you want to do, but you’d better not be so stubborn that you just – this is what we’re going to do – if you’re pieces don’t necessarily match. I think that’s good coaching – putting your players in the best position possible,” LaFleur said.

During the Packers’ playoff matchup with Philadelphia, the depth of the offensive line was exposed when Elgton Jenkins left the game. From there, the Packers turned to rookie Travis Glover–his first significant NFL snaps–to fill in at right guard, and then second-year lineman Kadeem Telfort after Glover was penalized numerous times.

With the Eagles’ able to generate steady pressure on Love and a strong push in the run game while only rushing four, that made the already difficult task of breaking free from the Eagles’ two-high coverage shell all the more difficult. Losing that line of scrimmage battle was an key contributing factor to the Packers’ offensive woes.

Without Jenkins, as well as Jordan Morgan who was placed on season-ending injured reserve late in the year, I’m not sure that there are many–if any–offensive lines out there who could trot out their seventh lineman on the depth chart and expect them to hold up well against that Eagles’ front.

So, as Gutekunst said, you don’t want to overreact to that one performance, but competition has been a vital element to the rapid growth that we’ve seen from the Packers these last two years, so adding more of that to the offensive line room to push Glover, Telfort, and Jacob Monk–rather than assuming that a step forward in 2025 is going to happen–should be on Gutekunst’s radar, which it very often is, as highlighted at the beginning of our conversation.

In the outside world, the offseason is focus on immediate improvement–how can my team get better now? But internally, it’s part of Gutekunst’s job description to keep his eye to the future a few years down the road as well.

In the short term, center Josh Myers is set to be a free agent this offseason. Looking ahead just one year from now, Rasheed Walker, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom are all free agents in 2026. So whether it be planning to extend any of those players or bringing in new talent to be better prepared for any potential free agency exits, those are additional factors that will be baked into how Gutekunst navigates the offseason along the offensive line.

If you put all of that together: Gutekunst’s track record in the draft, the need for more competition on the back end of the roster, and some pending free agents over the next 12 months, and you get a recipe for, what I would guess, is another offensive line-centric offseason for the Packers.

“We’re going to continue to lean on versatility,” added Gutekunst. “We’ve got three or four guys on our line that could probably play five spots, and that’s, I believe in that. I think every coach that I’ve been around believes in that and I think that’s an asset that we have that not all teams have.”

The Senior Bowl’s significance to Packers’ pre-draft process

Paul Bretl | 1/27/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — It’s Senior Bowl week, an event that has played an important role in the pre-draft process for the Packers under general manager Brian Gutekunst. In fact, if history continues, there’s a good chance that not just one, but multiple future Packers are in Mobile, Alabama this week.

“It’s very important for us,” said Brian Gutekunst following the 2024 draft about the Senior Bowl. “We put a lot of time into it, and like I said, their staff down there in Mobile, they do such a good job getting us to spots where we can really evaluate these guys. We’re very appreciative of that. It’s certainly not by design, but I know we’ve taken a lot of Senior Bowl guys over the years.”

The Senior Bowl is an All-Star college football event held each year in Mobile, Alabama, and is invitation only. At the Senior Bowl, top draft prospects are able to showcase their talents against high-level competition during a week of practices followed by an All-Star game, which this year takes place on Saturday, February 1st.

The event attracts general managers and scouts from all 32 NFL teams and has traditionally been for seniors or fourth-year juniors who have graduated. However, for the first time in 2024, underclassmen were eligible to participate if they received an invite.

Beyond the on-field component of the event, the Senior Bowl provides the opportunity for teams to meet with prospects as well, perhaps providing the organizations their first chance to get to know each player.

“Certainly, for some of us, it’s the first time we get the chance to set our eyes on some of these players,” Gutekunst said of the Senior Bowl. “Seeing them physically move around and compete, it’s such a big deal to see the competition live. 

“And to meet them, in the beginning phase of getting to know these guys as people, I think is just a huge part of our process. Then, having it in Mobile and the professional way that they roll that thing out for us, and make it so easy, it’s a very, very important part of our process.”

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘The Paul Bretl Show’ for more Packers coverage.

Since 2022, so over the last three draft classes, the Packers have made 35 selections in total. Of those picks, 18 of them–so over half–have participated in the Senior Bowl.

Some of the members of the Packers’ 2022 draft class who were apart of the Senior Bowl include Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, JJ Enagbare, and Devote Wyatt. From the 2023 class are Karl Brooks, Jayden Reed, Luke Musgrave, and Dontayvion Wicks. Also of note, Jordan Love was a participant in the 2020 Senior Bowl as well.

Altogether, there were 10 Packers’ draft picks between 2022 and 2023 that were Senior Bowl invitees. This past draft, however, blew even those impressive numbers out of the water. Of Green Bay’s 11 selections in 2024, a whopping eight of them played in the Senior Bowl. At that rate, it’s easier to list the draftees who didn’t participate in the event, which were Ty’Ron Hopper, Jacob Monk, and Edgerrin Cooper.

“Not by design,” said Gutekunst about selecting so many Senior Bowl participants, “but I will say that Jim Nagy and his staff do such an amazing job of access and allowing us to scout those guys that go there. And it’s a such a really positive experience for the players. Not only the competition on the field, seeing really good players go against really good players in drills, but our ability to talk to them, interview them and be around them in that competitive environment, there’s really not a much better evaluation phase for us.”

With the Senior Bowl being an All-Star game, it’s going to attract the top draft talent, but in addition to that, Gutekunst is a fan of the willingness of these prospects to compete throughout the week and also the unscripted nature of the event. The week of practices isn’t about game-planning for the big game on Saturday that concludes the week. Instead, it’s a lot of one-on-one reps and good-on-good competition with a lot of eyes on them.

Throughout the draft, Gutekunst and other members of the personnel department will meet with local media members to discuss the Packers’ selections. Last year specifically, the Senior Bowl was referenced on a few occasions as having an important role in the Packers evaluation process.

Last April, Gutekunst would say that Travis Glover’s performance at the Senior Bowl against Power-5 opponents helped put him on the Packers’ radar. VP of Player Personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan mentioned that seeing how Evan Williams moved in space at the Senior Bowl gave the Packers confidence that he could play in the nickel as they looked to fill that do-it-all safety role.

Also of note, Williams was voted the Defensive Specialist of the Week for the American Team and Javon Bullard was the Defensive Specialist of the Week for the National Team.

“Absolutely,” said Gutekunst about the unscripted environment at the Senior Bowl, “and I also think the willingness to compete and put themselves in that environment. That’s not an easy thing to walk out onto that Senior Bowl practice field with all these NFL people judging you. That’s not an easy thing to a) choose to do that and b) compete at a high level when you’re out there. None of that’s going to phase you, that says something to me.”

While that’s a look back at the Packers’ recent past with the Senior Bowl, what about this year’s event?

To help us out in that regard with players to watch as this week unfolds, Brennen Rupp of Packers Wire was kind enough to provide us with some prospects to keep our eyes on at the 2025 Senior Bowl. Rupp has a particularly keen eye for not only evaluating draft talent, but which prospects in particular may have the Packers’ attention.

A few members of the Packers’ coaching staff will also get an up-close look at a number of these prospects. Passing game coordinator Jason Vrable will be the National Team’s offensive coordinator, while defensive quality control coach Wendel Davis will coach the linebackers on the American Team.

Cornerbacks
● Trey Amos, Ole Miss
● Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State
● Tommi Hill, Nebraska
● Darien Porter, Iowa State
● Quincy Riley, Louisville
● Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
● Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech
● Bilhal Kone, Western Michigan

“It would not be shocking to see Brian Gutekunst snag two players from this group,” wrote Rupp. “Amos and Thomas are potential targets when the Packers are on the clock for the first time during the 2025 NFL Draft.”

Edge rushers
● Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
● Landon Jackson, Arkansas
● Barryn Sorrell, Texas
● Jah Joyner, Minnesota
● Princely Umanmielen, Edge, Ole Miss
● Jordan Burch, Oregon
● Shemar Stewart, Texas A&M
● David Walker, Central Arkansas

“Scourton, Stewart and Jackson are potential targets with the 23rd overall pick,” said Rupp. “If the Packers miss out on the top-end talent, Barryn Sorrell and Jah Joyner could be high on Green Bay’s board when Day 3 kicks off on April 26th.”

Defensive tackles
● Joshua Farmer, Florida State
● T.J. Sanders, South Carolina
● Alfred Collins, Texas
● Darius Alexander, Toledo
● Walter Nolen, Ole Miss
● Ty Hamilton, Ohio State
● Yahya Black, Iowa
● Vernon Broughton, Texas
● Shemar Turner, Texas A&M

“The talent at defensive tackle down in Mobile is outstanding,” Rupp said. “The Packers may need to find a replacement for TJ Slaton, that’s where players like Sanders, Collins, Hamilton, Black and Broughton come in. If they want an explosive, quick-twitch type player, that’s where Alexander, Nolen and Turner enter the chat.”

Linebacker
● Cody Lindenberg, Minnesota
● Carson Schwesinger, UCLA
● Demetrius Knight Jr, South Carolina
● Shemar James, Florida
● Smael Mondon, Georgia

“How early will the Packers take a linebacker after using a pair of Top 100 picks on the position last year? Lindenberg is a player who could be high on Green Bay’s board when Day 3 of the draft rolls around,” said Rupp.

Offensive line
● Caleb Rogers, OL, Texas Tech
● Josh Conerly Jr, OT, Oregon
● Ozzy Trapilo, OL, Boston College
● Armand Membou, OL, Missouri
● Charles Grant, OT, William & Mary
● Jack Nelson, OT, Wisconsin
● Marcus Mbow, OL, Purdue
● Grey Zabel, OL, NDSU
● Jared Wilson, C, Georgia
● Wyatt Milum, OL, West Virginia
● Garrett Dellinger, OL, LSU
● Jackson Slater, OL, Sacramento State
● Jonah Monheim, OL, USC

“After using three picks on the offensive line last year, how many picks will Gutekunst use on the offensive line this year as he looks to bolster the depth of that group? As always, he’s going to put a value on versatility and this year’s group down in Mobile has a ton of players who can play multiple positions across the offensive line,” Rupp said.

Wide receiver
● Jalen Royals, Utah State
● Pat Bryant, Illinois
● Elic Ayomanor, Stanford
● Jayden Higgins, Iowa State
● Bru McCoy, Tennessee
● Jack Bech, TDCU
● Chimere Dike, Florida
● Da’Quan Felton, Virginia Tech
● Kyle Williams, Washington State

“Gutekunst has drafted 10 wide receivers since 2018 and seven of them competed at the Senior Bowl. With the Packers likely in the market for another wide receiver, it’s a safe bet that he’ll take one of the players from this group,” Rupp wrote.

Coming off his ‘best year,’ Packers face free agency decision on Josh Myers

Paul Bretl | 1/24/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Among the free agent decisions that the Packers will have to make this offseason will be whether or not to re-sign center Josh Myers.

“I would love to be here,” said Myers. “I love it here. I love the people. It’s a wonderful team, a wonderful organization. I’d absolutely love to be here.”

After Myers was responsible for giving up eight combined sacks during the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he allowed only one this past year. In the run game, Josh Jacobs would average 4.3 yards per rush when running directly to Myers’ right or left, according to PFF’s metrics.

“I thought he had his best year. I thought he dealt with some things during this year that were tough, and I thought he fought through it like a champion, and certain an asset to our football team,” said Brian Gutekunst. “I know Jordan trusts him very much as his center.”

How a player performs once the ball is snapped is ultimately what matters most and, admittedly, if you search through the stat sheet, Myers isn’t going to be among the best in pressures allowed, win rate, or run-blocking grade.

However, there is a stabilizing force his presence provides in the middle of the offense and on this Packers’ team as a whole. During the season, Matt LaFleur would say that Myers is the guy “driving the ship up front,” and added that he is a “heart and soul of the team” type of player. Those players are not easily replaced.

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘The Paul Bretl Show’ for more Packers coverage.

When it comes to playing the center position, there is also a lot more that goes into it than just after the ball is snapped. The center’s job begins pre-snap with identifying defensive personnel, alignments, along with any potential blitzers and then communicating that effectively to the rest of the blockers so everyone is on the same page with their responsibilities. A mix up here, and the play can have almost no chance of success before it even begins.

Myers has rarely missed a snap in his NFL career, let alone a game. This past season, he fought through several injuries to make sure he was on the field on Sundays. That availability and reliability are key components to the continuity of the offensive line unit and has helped build trust, as Gutekunst mentioned, and a rapport with Jordan Love.

“I can’t say enough good things about Josh Myers, not only as a player but as a leader,” added Gutekunst. “He really does embody kind of a Green Bay Packer and what we’re looking for and how they’re wired. Again, I thought he had a really good year, fought through some things. . . “I look back at that one, and I’m really glad we’ve had him for the last four years.”

When it comes to Myers’ future with the team, Gutekunst mentioned that he wished the roster was 150 players so he could bring back everyone, adding about Myers specifically that, “we’ll see where all that goes.”

In my opinion, for many of the reasons mentioned, I do think the Packers would like to have Myers back–but at the right price. This feels like one of those situations, not unlike last offseason with Jon Runyan, where the Packers have their line in the sand on what they’ll offer contract-wise.

Myers will hit free agency and see what’s out there for him and if the Packers can match, I think they attempt to do that. But if Myers can earn more elsewhere, my thought is that Green Bay lets him walk.

If that’s the case, the question then becomes, who will be the Packers’ starting center?

Perhaps the obvious choice is 2024 rookie Jacob Monk–although it’s worth mentioning that Monk was a healthy scratch in numerous games last season, showing that growth and development are still very much needed.

One other name I’ll throw out there is Sean Rhyan. The Packers had Rhyan taking snaps at center during training camp and the preseason, and in the few instances when Myers had to exit a game this season, Rhyan took over at center. Elgton Jenkins could be an option as well, and in either instance, it would allow Jenkins, Rhyan, and Jordan Morgan to all get on the field.

Regardless of whether or not Myers is returns, the Packers will address the offensive line, whether that be in free agency, the draft or both, as they do every offseason. That is just in Gutekunst’s DNA as a roster-builder, with oftentimes multiple draft picks being devoted to the trenches.

“Those big guys are hard to find, so that’s never something we’re not going to address,” said Gutekunst. “Like we’ve been pretty consistent in our time here. We very much believe that, with the exception of quarterback, winning in the trenches is how we need to get it done.

“And so, we’ve got some decisions to make as we move forward on the offensive line, and as we go through that, there could be some shuffling around.”

Packers’ offseason to-do list: Pick up or decline Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt’s 5th-year options

Paul Bretl | 1/23/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — One of the many decisions that Packers’ general manager Brian Gutekunst will have to make this offseason is whether or not to pick up the fifth-year options for the 2026 season for linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.

Every player selected in the first round of the NFL draft comes with a fifth year option that the team can either pick up or decline. With Walker and Wyatt–first round picks in the 2022 draft–entering the final year of their rookie deals, that is a decision Gutekunst will have to make by May 1st.

When it comes to making these decisions, sometimes they can be really easy. When Jaire Alexander was eligible for his fifth-year option to be picked up that was a no-brainer. Or on the other side of the spectrum, last offseason, declining Eric Stokes’ fifth-year option given his injury history was the expected move.

However, when it comes to Wyatt and Walker, those are two future decisions that could have come with some unknowns. The key word there is ‘could‘ because Gutekunst ended up making his intentions pretty clear when it comes to those two players: he wants them back beyond 2025.

“We’re super fired about both those guys seasons this year,” Gutekunst said during his season ending press conference. “Both of them dealt with some injuries and was really proud of how they attacked those and played through some things this year. But I think both those guys had their best years as pros so far.”

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

Coming out of the bye week, things really started to click for Walker, who was not only learning a new defensive scheme like everyone else but was the Mike linebacker for the first time in his career, which comes with massive responsibilities. Beyond just relaying the play-call to the rest of the defenders, the Mike linebacker has to make sure everyone is set, calls out any adjustments the offense is making pre-snap, and then has to adjust the defense accordingly.

But as he got more reps and experience, Walker’s confidence grew, and that resulted in fast and physical play. Before suffering an ankle injury in Week 15 that kept Walker sidelined until the playoffs, he was playing arguably the best football of his career, shedding blocks, shooting gaps, getting sideline-to-sideline to cut off ball carriers, and limiting yards after the catch over the middle.

Quay continued to make a leap, and another guy who had struggled through injuries at the end of the year, but he was really impactful for us this year. Continues to be a great leader for us. Certainly think we would love to have him around here for longer than just a couple years. He’s that kind of guy.

From Weeks 12-14, he was doing a bit of everything for this Packers’ defense. During that span of three games, Walker generated the second most quarterback pressures of any linebacker in the NFL. He would also rank 13th, surrendering just 6.9 yards per catch.

In addition to that, his 20 tackles were tied for the fifth-most, and while tackles can sometimes be a misleading stat, the 11 stops that he generated on those tackles–the seventh-most among linebackers during those three games–shows the quality of those plays.

“I think he was progressing at that point also and playing some good football, right about the time he got hurt,” said linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. “I thought it was a steady progression for him, he made a jump I would say at that point in the year. I think he was just starting to see it really well. In the room, I think he’s done everything he can do. He’s all over it. Answering questions, totally immersed and locked into the game plan.

“That’s something that kind of speaks to the character of the guy, too. Even the games he hasn’t played in, he’s in the room, answering questions, calling it out, playing the plays through on the screen just like he’s out there as he normally would be.”

Wyatt, meanwhile, on a defensive front that struggled to generate steady pressure on the quarterback, he was, as Gutekunst put it, the Packers most consistent pass rusher from the defensive tackle position. To help illustrate that sentiment, out of all the Packers’ defensive tackles and defensive ends, Wyatt had the highest-pass rush win rate this season, according to PFF.

Among all defensive tackles in the NFL, Wyatt ranked 11th in that category and third in pass-rush productivity, which is an efficiency metric, measuring how often a pass rusher generates pressure relative to the number of snaps they play and it’s more heavily weighted towards sacks.

This past season we also saw Wyatt make a big jump as a run defender, where he ranked sixth among his position group in run-stop rate after ranking 48th in that same category a year ago.

“He’s a 300-pound man that runs extremely fast,” said former defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich. “He’s got great quickness. He’s got great awareness. He can be a factor against quarterbacks, I don’t care who it is in the National Football League, and we’ve got to continue to grow with that. He knows that. So, yeah, statistically, I guess he has had some opportunities to pressure the quarterback and knock him down, and it’s been great success for him and for us.”

If exercised, the fifth-year option essentially works as a one-year, fully guaranteed deal. The contract amount is not negotiated, but instead is a pre-determined amount based on the player’s position, their playing time during their rookie career, and any accolades they might have received.

As of now, Over the Cap is projecting that Walker’s fifth-year option will pay him $16.06 million in 2026 and Wyatt would earn $13.09 million. Since those are one-year deals, those amounts are what each player’s cap hit would be as well, since there aren’t additional years to push any cap charges to.

The Packers won’t be hurting for salary cap space in 2026 and could likely absorb those amounts. However, similarly to what we saw Green Bay do with Jordan Love, I could see the Packers signing either or both players to a short extension that pays Walker and Wyatt what they’ve earned, along with some added earning potential through incentives, and gives them security beyond 2025. But this would allow the Packers some cap flexibility as well.

As Packers search for more pass rush consistency, who has interviewed for DL coach role?

Paul Bretl | 1/22/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Packers on the search for a new defensive line coach and have reportedly had multiple candidates in for interviews to fill that role as they look to get more production out of their pass rush in 2025.

“Sometimes that’s just the way the NFL season goes,” said Brian Gutekunst. “I think, again, there was some transition to a new scheme, but I think we didn’t grow into that consistent front like we had hoped, but there were times that we showed it, so I know it’s capable. I think we’ve got the right guys. They’re workers in there, I think they’re all passionate about the game, they’re unselfish team guys so I expect us to get better there.”

Following the end of the Packers’ 2024 season, the team announced that they were moving on from Jason Rebrovich after an inconsistent season from the pass rush unit. Rebrovich joined the Packers in 2022 as their outside linebackers coach while in a 3-4 scheme under then defensive coordinator Joe Barry.

As the team transitioned to Jeff Hafley in 2024, Rebrovich was one of two defensive position coaches, along with defensive backs coach Ryan Downard, who remained on the coaching staff despite the team moving on from Barry. Now in a 4-3 defense, Rebrovich became the defensive line coach.

Throughout the season, the Packers’ inconsistency when it came to pressuring the quarterback with just a four-man rush was a regular hurdle that the defense had to overcome. Particularly in games against the NFC’s best–Detroit, Minnesota, and Philadelphia–the lack of pressure on the quarterback was a lot for the defense to overcome.

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

In the most recent matchups against these teams, Jalen Hurts was pressured on 33% of his dropbacks, according to PFF’s metrics. Sam Darnold, meanwhile, was pressured on only 31% of his dropbacks, and Jared Goff 28% of his.

For some context around those figures, Justin Herbert was pressured on 33.8% of his dropbacks for the entire NFL season and that ranked 25th out of 42 quarterbacks. A pressure rate of 31% ranked 32nd and a 28% pressure rate ranked 38th.

Darnold and Goff in particular, would pick a part the Green Bay defense with that time in the pocket. Darnold was 26-of-30 passing for 315 yards with three scores. Goff would 26-for-30 as well, for 215 passing yards when kept clean with one touchdown and one interception.

“I would say in those known passing situations, get back on track, third and medium plus, guys got to be able to win one on ones and there’s certain things you can do structurally to help create some one-on-one opportunities for our guys,” Matt LaFleur said. Typically, if you put a linebacker on the ball and you space it out so that each lineman is covered, you’re going to get a 5-0, and you’ll have five one-on-ones, but somebody’s gotta win.”

Overall, the Packers defense would finish top-10 in sacks and their pressure numbers ranked around the middle of the NFL. However, it’s now those pressures were generated that illustrated the issue at hand. Oftentimes, pressures weren’t created by the four-man front winning their matchups. Rather it was Hafley drawing up blitzes or simulated pressures to throw some eye-candy at the offensive line that helped create that disruption.

When it came to the defensive front winning its one-on-one matchups, the Packers ranked 26th in ESPN’s pass-rush win rate metric.

The trickle-down effect of Hafley have to help bolster a lack-luster pass-rush was that for much of the season, we didn’t really even see the true version of Hafley’s defensive scheme in Green Bay. In one respect, it’s a credit to Hafley for his willingness and ability to adapt and adjust on the fly, while still orchestrating a top 10 defensive unit in scoring. On the other hand, this also speaks to the lack of impact plays from the front.

“I envisioned rushing four and playing three deep/four under a heck of a lot more and we ended up doing a lot of simulated blitzes and different pressures and playing a bunch of cover-2,” said LaFleur.

“But I think, again, you always evolve throughout the course of the season, through the offseason, but that was the foundation, I would say, of the defense. But I thought our guys did a great job of adjusting. I thought we were playing some pretty good football at the end.”

While the pass rush faltered, the defensive front did make massive strides against the run. After years of struggling to limit opponents on the ground, the Packers ranked top-five in yards per rush allowed this season.

However, in order for this Packers’ defense to take another step forward in 2025, the pass rush has to improve, specifically, the four man front has to win more regularly. For one, whether it be salary cap dollars or draft capital, the Packers have invested heavily into that position group and would like to see the on-field results of that.

But in addition to that, when the four-man front is getting home, every other defender benefits from it, and their job becomes much easier. Conversely, when there is time in the pocket for the quarterback, the job of the second and third-level defenders becomes exponentially more difficult.

As of Wednesday morning, here is who the Packers have reportedly interviewed for their defensive line opening as they look to get more juice out of this group in 2025.

Kacy Rodgers

Rodgers has been the Buccaneers run game coordinator and defensive line coach since the 2022 season. Before that, he was the Bucs’ defensive line coach from 2019-2021 and has defensive coordinator experience as well, holding that title with the New York Jets from 2015-2018.

Throughout Rodgers’ tenure with the Bucs, the Tampa Bay defense has found success both against the run and getting after the quarterback. In this most recent 2024 season, the Bucs ranked ninth in pressure rate and 11th in yards per rush, but were particularly dominant down the stretch against the run, holding their final nine opponents to under 4.0 yards per carry.

In 2023, the Bucs were seventh in yards per rush allowed. In 2021, Tampa Bay was second in quarterback pressure rate, seventh in sacks, and second in hits. In 2020, the Bucs were again extremely disruptive in the trenches, finishing fourth in sacks, third in pressure rate and third in hits. Along with winning the Super Bowl that year, Rodgers would win the John Teerlinck Defensive Line Coach of the Year award.

In 2019, the Bucs’ had the top run defense in football in both yards per carry and total rushing yards per game surrendered.

“Kacy Rodgers was really the driving force behind us being able to have so much success early in our pro careers, and a big reason why some of us were able to have sustained success in the NFL,” former NFL defensive lineman Chris Canty said.

“He taught us offensive line protections, he taught us formations, he taught us basic offensive systems. So being able to learn the game from that perspective, learning how to break down the tape – that’s really what allowed us to get our football IQ caught up to our physical abilities.”

Aaron Whitecotton

Whitecotton had been the New York Jets defensive line coach for the previous four seasons under then head coach Robert Saleh. Given Saleh’s relationship with Matt LaFleur, one can assume that this interview was a recommendation from Saleh, who obviously knows Whitecotton well.

During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Jets’ defensive front was one of the more disruptive units in football. In 2023, that unit ranked fourth in pressure rate and seventh in sacks. The year prior, in 2022, New York ranked third in pressure rate and again was seventh in sacks. Quinnen Williams was also a first-team All-Pro that season as well.

“There are things on that play-by-play grade sheet that aren’t necessarily big, fancy, flashy stats, but are they helping our team win? Boom,” said Whitecotton recently. “That’s a factor. It’s not a hit, it’s not a hurry, it’s not a sack fumble. But if we didn’t get this done, then this result wouldn’t have happened. So that’s another thing that I take into account with that. It’s are the guys being a consistent factor?”

In this most recent 2024 season, once Saleh was fired, the Jets’ defense as a whole took a step back. However, 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald continued to progress under Whitecotton, with his pass-rush production taking a big step forward. On the Packers’ side of things, that progression from Lukas Van Ness in his second season was a key element that was missing in 2024.

Eric Washington

Washington was most recently the Chicago Bears’ defensive coordinator during the 2024 season, but his coaching background is rooted in the defensive line. From 2020-2023, Washington held various coaching roles along the Buffalo Bills defensive line.

The Bears defense this past season was one of the better units at getting after the quarterback. They finished the regular season seventh in pressure rate, although they were 16th in sacks. However, while finishing the play is obviously important, there is something to be said for the impact steady pressure can have on a quarterback.

In Washington’s final season with the Bills, Buffalo was sixth in pressure, fourth in sacks, and 10th in tackles for loss. Throughout his tenure with Buffalo, the Bills often boasted one of the more disruptive defensive fronts in football.

Washington’s time as the defensive coordinator with the Bears was his second stint in that role. Before joining the Bills, he was the Panthers’ defensive coordinator for two seasons.

“He is a great communicator with elite leadership skills and he will enhance our current defensive staff,” Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “His track record speaks for itself with coordinator experience as well as expertise in the area of defensive line.”

One other name I’ll put out there as perhaps an under-the-radar option is Vince Oghobaase, who was the Packers’ assistant defensive line coach this past season. Oghobaase previously coached with Jeff Hafley at Boston College as the team’s defensive line coach.

Under Oghobaase at Boston college, defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku was a second-team All-ACC member in 2022, with defensive tackle Chibueze Onwuka earning Honorable Mention honors that same season. In 2021, Marcus Valdez was also an All-ACC Honorable Mention.

“I had the opportunity to work with Vince in San Francisco and his knowledge of the game, energy and commitment to the players jumped out to me,” said Hafley when Oghobaase joined his staff in 2020. “At Ohio State, he trained under one of the best defensive line coaches in all of football in Larry Johnson and he gained excellent experience the last two seasons at the defensive line coach at UCLA.”

There are no reports at this time that suggest the Packers are considering or even if they will interview Oghobaase for the role.

Can more QB movement add a different element to Packers’ passing game?

Paul Bretl | 1/21/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — As Matt LaFleur and the Packers’ coaching staff dissects the offense this offseason in an effort to continue leveraging what went well and to correct what went wrong–particularly down the stretch–one potential area of opportunity for this unit lies with Jordan Love and getting him on the move more often.

Compared to the rest of the NFL, Love ranked 30th in rush attempts this season, according to PFF, out of 45 eligible quarterbacks. Perhaps not coincidentally, three of the top four quarterbacks in rush attempts this season–Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, and Josh Allen–are all playing on Championship weekend.

Love dealing with injuries during the first half of the season didn’t help his mobility and even hindered what he could do in the pocket and from under center. But even as we saw during the second half of the year, there is an opportunity for the Packers to add another dimension to their offense.

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

“Every game’s a little bit different,” said Matt LaFleur on more quarterback movement. “It depends who you’re playing again in terms of how wide are the edges. I don’t want to say too much for all our opposition out there, but there’s some looks that I absolutely do not like to run keepers into just because a play-caller, to me, everything is about probability of a play working.

“Obviously, if you get the right look, the probability of that play working is going to be exponentially higher than if you get a bad look. The way some teams play with a lot of these shell looks, they’re not always great.”

Now, none of this is to say that Love should all of a sudden be carrying the ball 7-10 times per game or that he should be utilized in the same fashion as Hurts, Allen, or Daniels. Love’s best ability is his arm and talent as a passer, which is what LaFleur should want to leverage, but the movement element at the quarterback position can help open up opportunities through the air for Love to then exploit.

One of the stressors that comes for a defense when there is the threat of the quarterback getting outside of the pocket is that it gives the offense a numbers advantage. If the defense is defending against the pass, the offense has the advantage up front on a running play. If the defense brings a defender closer to the line of scrimmage to help out against the run, now the offense has the numbers advantage on the back end. If anything, that can tip the defense’s hand to a degree.

All it takes at the NFL level is a split-second of hesitation for a running lane to take shape or a passing window to open and by introducing quarterback movement to the offense, there’s now more for a defense to account for. Who has the ball–the quarterback or the running back? Is it a run or is it a pass? With the defense forced to defend the entire field, this can stress them horizontally, creating space for an offense to attack.

There is also something to be said for getting the quarterback on the move and outside of the pocket. For one, this can open throwing lanes and change the dynamic of the defense’s coverage responsibilities, with the play flowing to one side of the field versus the quarterback being static in the middle. This can also create extra time for longer developing routes to unfold.

“I think so,” said Jordan Love when asked about more quarterback movement, “especially when we run the ball the way we do, I think that’s a good counter to play off some of that stuff and play off some of the run game. Like I said before, I think we didn’t do as much of that stuff when I got back just because of the injury and movement, things like that, but I definitely think there’s an area we can dial some more of that stuff up. We have some good plays in; it’s just a matter of having the right time to dial those things up.”

The introduction of more quarterback movement into the Packers’ offense wouldn’t be done to change Love’s game and make him something he’s not, and no team is looking to take the ball out of Josh Jacobs’ hands. However, that element could help enhance the Packers’ passing game for the reasons mentioned, and if anything, gives the defense something else to prepare for.

Quite a few of the more successful offenses out there have quarterback movement paired with their passing game, and that component–the marrying of those two elements–is what can truly make things challenging for a defense with it becoming difficult to decipher what’s coming. And, generally speaking, the marrying of the run and the pass is one of the core principles of the LaFleur offense.

During the Packers’ final three games of the season, the offense grew a bit stale. The passing game, in particular, was disjointed out and out of sync. Getting Love on the move a few times per game is in no way a cure-all for that, but it could be another tool in this offense’s tool belt and it then becomes something else that defenses have to account for.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of time to take a deep dive into how are other teams running some of these plays and how are they being effective,” LaFleur said.

Brandon McManus provides stability at kicker; Packers would like the free agent back

Paul Bretl | 1/20/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — There was no GM-speak from Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst when asked about the future of kicker Brandon McManus, who is a free agent this offseason. Instead, he was straight to the point when asked if the team would like McManus back for next season.

“We would,” said Gutekunst in response. “Had a good conversation with him before he left and obviously, and you guys know this, how he solidified that journey we were going on.”

The Packers signed McManus in late-October and he suited up immediately that week to face the Houston Texans in Week 7 at Lambeau Field, a game that ended with McManus putting a game-winning kick through the uprights, followed by a Lambeau Leap.

McManus finished the season making all 31 of his extra point attempts, and he was 21-for-23 on field goal attempts, including going 6-for-7 from 40-plus yards. Among qualified kickers this season who had at least nine field goal attempts, McManus’ 91.3% hit-rate was the eighth-best mark in football. He was also 1-of-14 kickers to make all of his extra point attempts.

“Obviously he’s a veteran guy,” Gutekunst added. “I think the thing that was so neat about being around him is not only his confidence but his ability to adjust no matter where we were. Really our specialists group with Matt (Orzech) and Daniel (Whelan) and if we were able to get Brandon back, I think certainly that would make me feel very, very, very good about that group.”

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

That ‘journey’ that Gutekunst referred to was the Packers’ search for a reliable kicker. Prior to McManus joining the team, the Packers had six different kickers on the roster in some capacity since January of 2024. While the Packers turned over just about every rock that they could in search of an answer at the kicker position, the results they were looking for were nowhere to be found until McManus arrived.

Looking at McManus’ career kicking numbers, those figures probably aren’t going to leap off the page as he’s made 82.6% of his total attempts. However, where he’s thrived is one those kicks you expect your kicker to make. On field goal attempts from under 50 yards, McManus has made 91.2% of his career attempts.

He also has big game experience as well. During the Denver Broncos 2015 playoff run to a Super Bowl, McManus was a part of that team and went 10-for-10 on field goal attempts in the postseason.

There’s a confidence that this Packers team has in him when he’s on the field. So much so that, at one point, LaFleur mentioned not even paying much attention anymore to the field goal attempts, knowing that they would be made.

“You can definitely feel it,” said McManus of the confidence the team has in him. “The coaches, too. They have to put me in that situation to attempt it, and obviously the players are comfortable with me doing that, too. A coach might not put me out there if he knows the players don’t have faith in me. Each and every day I’m out there at practice, I’m there to prove myself to them. Consistency is key in this league and you don’t have a job long if you’re not consistent. I just go at it every day to improve my consistency.”

Having been in the NFL since 2014, there probably aren’t many who were better prepared than McManus to come in off the street midseason and be asked to make a game-winner a few days later, as he did against Houston. However, while he did everything he could to stay ready while he was unsigned, there is still a learning curve that comes for the entire field goal operation when a new kicker arrives.

One thing we’ve learned about McManus is that he’s very particular in how he wants the ball placed. That not only includes which way the laces are facing but also the tilt of the ball, and both of those aspects can change based on where on the field the field goal attempt is coming from. And then there is the timing component to with Whelan as the holder that factors in as well.

But because of the experience McManus had under his belt before joining Green Bay, he knew exactly how he wanted things done. This then helped make things easier for Whelan and long-snapper Matt Orzech since there was no grey area in how they went about their jobs. The two knew exactly what was needed and what McManus wanted. From there, it was just all about repetition and getting comfortable as a unit.

“It’s been great from the beginning,” said McManus of the field goal operation. “They just had to learn me. Matt’s job doesn’t necessarily change, but certainly Danny’s does. But they’ve both been phenomenal, understanding what I like. It’s not the most favorable conditions here, so learning the winds and where the ball is leaning and where the laces need to be pointed because I’m trying to hit that back seam of the ball so it holds that line to fight the winds, stuff like that, he’s been great learning that.”

The Packers will enter the 2025 offseason in good salary cap shape, with over $40 million in available cap space, which ranks in the top half of the NFL. For what it’s worth, the contract that McManus had signed with Washington earlier this offseason was for $3.6 million. By average annual value, that would rank right around the middle of the NFL compared to other kickers.

Replacing Mason Crosby has proven to be quite a challenge for the Packers, especailly as they tried to go with younger options at a position that often takes time for players to hit their stride. But the experienced McManus provided that stabilizing force and better aligns with where this Packers team is right now, which is ready to compete for championships rather than willing to endure the growing pains that comes with inexperience.

A reunion this offseason between the Packers and McManus would seem inevitable. I mean, Gutekunst told us exactly what the team’s intentions are.

“When I got the call to come here to Green Bay, I was super excited,” McManus said. “It’s been 10 years since I’ve been back in the playoffs so I would love to help with some unfinished business here with this team and whatever happens after that, I’m excited for the next chapter. It’s been great. My wife and kids enjoyed coming up here and experiencing it. I keep saying how nostalgic this city is and this area is, so it’s been awesome being part of it.”

Uncertainty ahead for Jaire Alexander and Packers entering 2025 offseason

Paul Bretl | 1/18/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — As the Packers enter the 2025 NFL offseason, there are some unknowns around what the future holds for former All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander in regards to his status with the team.

“I think we’ll work through that,” said GM Brian Gutekunst on Thursday. “Sure we can. I know it’s been really, really frustrating for not only him as a player, but us as a club. Just when you have a player, who’s done what he’s done for us in the past, and then not being able to get him out on the field consistently, that’s tough.”

Alexander suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) in his right knee late in the Packers’ Week 8 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, on a play in the end zone where he attempted to make a play on the football but came down awkwardly and injured his knee in the process.

Following Green Bay’s Week 10 bye, Alexander made an attempt to return to the field against Chicago in Week 11. However, he would reinjure his knee in that game and played only 10 snaps before exiting.

For several weeks, it seemed like Alexander was trending in the right direction. Prior to the Detroit game in Week 14, he returned to practice in a limited capacity for two days before missing the third day. The following week against Seattle, Alexander was a full participant for two days of practice before missing the third day, with LaFleur saying that he was not hitting the needed speeds in practice to play effectively that week.

A week later against New Orleans, Alexander returned to practice as a full participant all three days and was listed as questionable for that game. All of that seemed to be positive news up to this point, with Alexander’s workload in practice increasing each week.

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

However, when the inactives were announced prior to kickoff of that Saints’ game, Alexander was on that list. Then, most recently, in the week leading up to the Minnesota game, Alexander went from being a full participant to a limited participant to not practicing at all on that Friday, with an apparent setback taking place.

“It’s been tough,” said Xavier McKinney when news broke that Alexander would be getting surgery. “Obviously, he’s dealt with this injury pretty much all year. Obviously, we wanted him to be back out there, but injuries are part of the game. So we understand that. We know that he was working to try to get back, but it’s like every time he was trying to, he would tweak it again.”

Alexander would undergo surgery on December 31st, prior to the Packers’ regular-season finale against Chicago, ending his 2024 season. Of course, the big question, with hindsight always being 20/20, is, should the Packers and Alexander have orchestrated surgery right away when the injury occurred with the hope of him being able to return late in the season?

On Monday this past week, when players were cleaning out their lockers following the loss to Philadelphia, Alexander was asked by local media members to speak, but he declined, adding that he doesn’t know if he will be in Green Bay next season and that he doesn’t have anything good to say.

When Gutekunst was asked if there was any disconnect between Alexander and the team following this season, he was adamant that wasn’t the case, but instead, there was natural frustration that comes with missing time.

“No, no, no,” Gutekunst said. “I mean, again, there’s frustration, I think, on both sides, from the fact that he can’t get out there, you know? And that’s tough, you know. I mean, I feel for him because he wants to be out there and he wants to play. But no disconnect.”

When on the field, Alexander continues to operate at a high level. This includes this past season allowing a completion rate of just 56% on 25 targets with a pick-six and three pass breakups. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Alexander often hasn’t been available.

Since the 2021 season, he has appeared in only 34 our of a possible 68 games. This includes playing only four games in 2021, and seven games in 2023 and 2024. During the 2022 season, when he made 16 starts, Alexander was a second-team All-Pro.

Alexander still has two years remaining on his contract. In 2025, he has a base salary of $16.15 million and a cap hit just shy of $25 million, according to Over the Cap. If the team were to release or trade him, a dead cap hit–or money still on the 2025 salary cap–of $18.11 million would be left behind, but it would free up $6.83 million in cap space for the 2025 season.

“It’s tough on the player, tough on the organization,” Gutekunst said of the injuries. “So we’ll kind of, as we start, we’re at the beginning stages of just kind of gathering information as a whole before we start looking at next year and how we’re going to lay this thing out. But we could. I mean, obviously, when he’s healthy and he’s ready to play, he’s a pretty good player.”

Packers head into offseason with cap space and ready to ‘attack it aggressively’

Paul Bretl | 1/17/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — “It’s time we started competing for championships,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst on Thursday. That response was sparked by a question about what disappointed him about the 2024 season. In short, Gutekunst wants more urgency from this team–which he knows they can deliver on–because the time to win is now.

However, while all that may be true, at the same time, Gutekunst said he’s not a big believer in there being a “championship window” for a team and letting that dictate how an offseason unfolds.

Instead, and as we’ve seen the Packers operate for years, even beyond Gutekunst’s tenure, this is a process-driven organization, and the output from those various processes, whether it comes to free agency, the draft, or how to navigate the salary cap, will determine how the Packers’ proceed rather than a gut feeling because of some hypothetical window.

That approach may not sound aggressive, but Gutekunst believes that the team does operate aggressively each offseason. As we saw in 2024, if the right player or players are available–like a Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney–the Packers will make those additions and pay either top of market or near top of market value to do so.

But what I believe is a big difference from the outside perspective of an aggressive offseason versus how the Packers view it is that with those aforementioned processes that Green Bay has in place, if from an age, production, locker room fit, and salary cap perspective a signing makes sense, they’ll make an attempt to do so. However, for many outside of the organization, aggressive means getting the best free agent at a position of need regardless of what those other elements that are a part of the equation have to say.

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

“I think I view every offseason that we have to attack it aggressively,” said Gutekunst. “The opportunities that present themselves, whether that be free agency or trade, are different every year. Every year there’s not going to be a Josh Jacobs or an Xavier McKinney out there to go get.

“So we’ll see kinda what transpires through the free agency class – who gets re-signed, who doesn’t, if there’s salary cap casualties, if there’s trade opportunities, all those. But I think we always operate under the aggressive mindset, but we have a process that we go through and we’ll see what’s available. If it’s right for us, then we’re going to attack it. If they’re not there, it’s not there.”

On paper, the Packers will have the ability to be somewhat aggressive in free agency this offseason. With a large number of players still on inexpensive rookie deals, Green Bay currently has $50.33 million in available cap space, according to Over the Cap, which in terms of spending power, ranks as the 10th-most among the NFL.

In addition to exploring outside free agent options, which could include bolstering the cornerback, pass rusher, and wide receiver positions, some of that cap space is going to have to be utilized on retaining some of their own pending free agents. A few notable names for the Packers are Josh Myers, Eric Stokes, Brandon McManus, and TJ Slaton among others.

“I feel really good,” said Gutekunst about the Packers’ salary cap situation. “Russ (Ball) does a fantastic job with our cap and all the decisions we’ve made over the past few years has put us in the situation where we’re in pretty good shape right now. Again, we’ve got to keep making good decisions, and it’s never a one-year thing. You’re looking at two, three years down the road as far as how these things impact things.

“We have a lot of good players that are under rookie contracts right now, and we’ve got to make sure we’re able to extend those guys when that time comes, but I feel really good our ability to go do what we need to do to field a championship-level team.”

During the end of the Aaron Rodgers-era in Green Bay, with a number of veteran contracts on that roster, the Packers routinely borrowed from the future salary cap–like a credit card–by restructuring numerous contracts and even utilizing void years, which pushed some of the current year’s salary cap charges to future seasons. This was done in an effort to run it back and make another Super Bowl push.

Going back to the ‘aggressive’ conversation, aggressiveness in an NFL offseason can come in a few different forms. It’s not only who teams bring in or what they spend but in how they manipulate the salary cap. The Packers during those two offseason in 2021 and 2022 were operating aggressively from a salary cap perspective, pushing hefty amounts of cap chargers to future seasons.

That approach was very much against the norm for the Packers organization, but Gutekunst believed those were necessary moves at the time in order to field the best team. Gutekunst prefers where the team is currently cap-wise compared to those years and, ideally, things will stay this way. But for the right player–because they don’t come along very often–or if in a certain situation, he’s willing to go down that less-flexible salary cap road again if needed.

“Certainly we’d love to be in that situation every year where you have a lot of flexibility to do what you need to do,” Gutekunst added. “I think depending on the opportunities that are out there and your football team or where you’re at can dictate some of that. Again, I think whenever there are players like X or Josh that are out there, which isn’t very often, I think even if you don’t have great flexibility, you have to really consider adding those kind of players because there’s just not that many of ’em.

“So again, I feel really good where we’re at right now, would love to stay in that kind of flexibility year to year. We’ll certainly try to do that, but at the same time if we kinda have to do some different things because we have an opportunity to acquire a player that can impact our team like these two guys did, we’ll do it.”

The draft is always going to be the Packers preferred avenue for adding talent to the roster and free agency is a supplemental tool. If teams are able to regularly hit on picks and get early contributions, the benefit of getting that type of production from a player on a rookie deal, who has a long runway with his entire career ahead of him, can often out-weigh the hefty contract given to a veteran already in their prime.

In a salary cap league, building out your roster through big free-agent acquisitions just is not a prudent long-term answer–there just isn’t enough cap space to go around. Good organizations are good in the draft.

The Packers will utilize some of that cap space to add free agents this offseason and bring back some of their own as well. Now, does that mean Tee Higgins is on their radar? We will find out. But what goes into determining that is far greater than the team recognizing that they need receiver help and him being the top receiver on the market.

“We’ve always been draft-and-develop, we believe in that,” said Gutekunst. “The development of our own players will always be a high priority for us. We, I think it’s one of the benefits we have in working here in Green Bay is we’re allowed to give guys time to really develop, and that’s certainly something that we’ll continue to do.”

‘Urgency’ crucial element for Packers to maximize championship opportunity

Paul Bretl | 1/16/2025

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With a Wildcard round loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the 2024 season for the Packers–who had Super Bowl aspirations coming into it–didn’t end as they had hoped. There will be plenty to improve upon over the offseason into 2025, but there is plenty to build upon as well, as the time to compete for Championships has arrived.

During the Packers’ bye week, the last time Brian Gutekunst spoke with the media, he mentioned the importance of teams peaking at the right time at the end of the season. Gutekunst again reiterated the importance of that element on Thursday. We saw the value this can have for the 2023 Packers, who found themselves on the cusp of the NFC Championship Game. However, the 2024 version of the Packers were not able to bottle up that mojo, or at least not in all aspects of the game.

“Same way now,” said Brian Gutekunst when asked how he feels now compared to the San Francisco loss last season. “I think obviously, you try not to live too much right in the moment. But whenever you lose the last game, no different than last season, you’re pretty disappointed, because there’s an opportunity in front of you that you lose.

“But at the same time, I think this team had a lot of growth during the year, particularly individual players. I thought we added some new players into this group and a new defensive coordinator. And I thought there were some really, really good things. As we take more steps together, I’m excited about it.”

Hit like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel ‘Paul Bretl’ for more Packers coverage.

The offense, in particular struggled over the final three weeks of the season behind a disjointed passing game. To end the regular season, Jordan Love in that three game stretch against New Orleans, Minnesota, and Chicago was completing just 60% of his throws, which ranked 28th out of 36 eligible quarterbacks. His 6.2 yards per attempt during that span also ranks 28th, and Love is 22nd in passer rating. Those woes, unfortunately, carried over into the playoffs against a very stingy Eagles’ defense.

As Matt LaFleur pointed out on Tuesday, while the quarterback is quick to get the praise when all goes well and get the blame when things go wrong, the Packers’ struggles over the last month went beyond any one player. It was one everyone. In the Philadelphia game specifically, LaFleur would note the steady pressure that the Eagles’ front generated against the offensive line, and that lack of attention to detail by the receivers that played a role in two of Love’s interceptions.

“I think it’s, and this is really more for our football team and an offense as a whole, but just consistency, being able to control the game whenever we need to control the game. I think there was times we were exceptionally explosive this year, but I want to see us be able to control the game however we need to, whether that’s through the run game, the pass game, you always wanna be explosive because, as Matt says, that leads to points. But at the same time, situational football and being more consistent as an offense I think is something we can be better at and I think we will.”

However, despite the disappointing end to the season, there is still plenty of optimism within the organization that the Packers are on the right track.

The defense under first-year defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley took a major step forward in 2024, ranking in the top 10 in scoring, yards per rush, yards per pass, and takeaways. Not to mention that while the offense faltered down the stretch, the Green Bay defense was playing some its best ball of the season in the playoffs.

The continuity of being in the same system for a second year and the added comfort that comes with that, along with Hafley having a full year of experience under his belt as an NFL defensive coordinator and the experience gained by several rookies who were key contributors are all reasons that the arrow is still pointing upward for this unit.

“I thought Jeff Hafley did an amazing job coming in here in year one,” Gutekunst said. “Those guys really grew together, and they were a unit, and I thought we were playing our best football on defense at the end of the year. So I’m big believer that every year is a different year, but I do think some of the things we went through this year, we had a number of rookies play a lot of snaps for us, and so along with ‘X’ coming in from another team. So I think as those guys grow together, that communication will consistently get better and better. And so really excited about where the defense is right now.”

The offense, meanwhile, even with those late-season ups-and-downs, still finished the year top 10 in scoring and top-10 in yards per play–showcasing their efficiency and big play abilities. There’s a lot of talent on that side of the ball, and as Gutekunst said, many of those players grew individually during the season, including Love.

“I think we’re very, very excited about his growth, not only as a player, but what he’s doing in our locker room as a leader,” Gutekunst said. “I’ve talked many times about how even keel he is, and I think his growth and the way he manages our football team has been pretty impressive.”

Obviously, improvements have to be made, but the Packers, internally, believe that the majority of the pieces are already in place to be a true contender. However, while that’s clearly a big part of the championship equation, it’s also about capitalizing on these opportunities when they’re available because success one year isn’t guaranteed the next in the NFL, and with the group of players that make up this Packers team, the time to compete is now.

“You always have some disappointments in the year,” Gutekunst added. “I think for me, the thing that’s been on my mind as we concluded this season is we need to continue to ramp up our sense of urgency. These opportunities don’t come, the life of a player in the National Football League is not very long. We’ve got a bunch of good guys in that locker room, we’ve got a bunch of talented guys in that locker room, and I think it’s time we started competing for championships.”

A young roster in the NFL is great for a number of reasons–speed, athleticism, inexpensive contracts, hungry players with something to prove–but there’s a learning curve that comes with that as well. While, at the end of the day, youth isn’t an excuse and the Packers won’t use it as one, it has been a part of their reality the last two seasons.

But there’s a difference between being young in age and young in experience. The Packers may be the former, but they are no longer the latter. The early success this team had unexpectedly in 2023 is gone. What they’re left with is the pain of a disappointing end to a 2024 season. That failure needs to create a heightened sense of urgency.

Potential is great–and the Packers absolutely have it–but now it’s time to maximize it.

“I think they’re ready. Like I said, I think they are wired right,” Gutekunst said. “I think that group is the kind of guys that can do that. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to go do it. We fell short in some areas this year, like they always are every year, a little frustrating. But at the same time, I didn’t think the blinked.

“So I’m excited about the group, but the sense of urgency, not getting complacent, some of these guys have now proven themselves to be NFL football players and have attained that, but what’s out there for us as a team that we’re willing to commit to and sacrifice for. If I’m looking at one thing, that would be it.”

Powered By SoCast