Green Bay Packers

Projected Cap Space: -$3.4 million

Draft Picks: 8

• 2nd (No. 53)
• 3rd (No. 84)
• 4th (No. 120)
• 5th (No. 158)
• 6th (No. 199)
• 7th (No. 236)
• 7th (No. 254, comp)
• 7th (No. 257, comp)

Notable Free Agents: 

• WR Romeo Doubs
• LB Quay Walker
• LT Rasheed Walker
• QB Malik Willis
• OL Sean Rhyan
• OLB Kingsley Enagbare
• RB Emanuel Wilson (RFA)
• OL Darian Kinnard (RFA)
• RB Chris Brooks (RFA)
• DT Jonathan Ford (RFA)

Top Three Needs

1 – Cornerback

Overall, the Packers defense finished as a borderline top 10 unit in 2025, ranking 11th in scoring and 12th in total defense. But a deeper dive shows those two numbers don’t quite tell the whole story. Green Bay ranked just 24th in success rate allowed and 23rd in points per drive, suggesting the defense benefited from an offense that controlled the ball and slowed the game down. They had only 14 takeaways after stealing 31 the season before, and were also 21st in the league with 36 sacks even though they were seventh in pressure rate. There could be plenty of reasons for that, but it does imply the coverage may have let the pass rush down by not making quarterbacks hold the ball that extra beat or two longer for the rush to convert pressure into a sack. 

That leaves plenty of opportunities for improvement on defense for a Packers team looking to jump from good to great. Last year, GM Brian Gutekunst made a strategic gamble at cornerback. He added CB Nate Hobbs in free agency, a former slot corner with the Raiders, with the idea of pairing him with Keisean Nixon as the starting outside duo. If 2024 second-round DB Javon Bullard didn’t progress, Hobbs would move inside to nickel and the Packers would rely on Carrington Valentine across from Nixon.

Veteran CB Jaire Alexander was cut in June after Gutekunst held out all offseason in the hopes of finding a trade partner. That proved to be the right move, but in hindsight, the Packers should have added another veteran at some point, perhaps a reunion with former CB Rasul Douglas who didn’t sign until the end of August. Bullard did improve from a poor rookie season but Hobbs was a disaster, playing just 11 games and never looking comfortable no matter where the Packers put him. That left them heavily reliant on Valentine, who saw 70 percent of the snaps. He finished with no interceptions and four pass breakups last year, though PFF ranked him No. 55 out of 112 qualifying cornerbacks. 

This year, Hobbs is a likely cut. While Valentine has dramatically exceeded expectations for a former seventh-round pick, it’s fair to question whether a team with Super Bowl aspirations should be leaning on him and Nixon as its top two corners.

2 – Defensive Tackle

The good but not great critiques of the Packers’ defense can apply to a couple of other areas: the run defense and the pass rush. Green Bay was 18th in rushing yards allowed at just over 2,000. They were better in some of the efficiency stats but still just borderline top 10, not elite. That bit of softness against the run likely contributed to the below-average efficiency overall on defense. 

Packers DT Devonte Wyatt had four sacks to rank third on the team, but Green Bay missed him when he was lost for the season in Week 10. Every other defensive tackle on the roster combined for just one sack. Wyatt’s also in a contract year, so the Packers could give a little bit of attention to this group, which is deep in terms of contributors but shallow when it comes to real difference-makers. 

3 – Offensive Line

The Packers are expected to have some turnover with the starting five up front on offense. Walker and Rhyan are both pending free agents, and Walker will almost certainly sign for more than the Packers are willing to pony up. If Green Bay moves on from longtime OL Elgton Jenkins, it might put more of an emphasis on keeping Rhyan to maintain a little bit of continuity. He should be a lot more affordable than either Walker or Jenkins. There’s also still an outside chance the Packers cut G Aaron Banks after an uneven first year.

Green Bay has been stocking the pipeline up front and isn’t unprepared. Former first-rounder Jordan Morgan will get the first crack at left tackle, 2025 second-rounder Anthony Belton got some run at guard after Jenkins was injured and Rhyan shifted to center late last season, and 2024 fifth-rounder Jacob Monk gives the Packers a third option at center. But if things shake out a certain way, the Packers could be going into next year with RT Zach Tom as the only proven commodity up front, and he’s coming off a partially torn patellar tendon. With the depth set to be depleted, it feels like another round of investments in the front five need to be seeded to make sure the Packers aren’t caught shorthanded here. 

One Big Question

Can the Packers break through, and is HC Matt LaFleur’s job on the line if they don’t?

There has been some restlessness brewing in Green Bay in the last couple of years. There are some franchises where the expectations are just higher, and the hot start to LaFleur’s tenure (39 wins and two NFC title game appearances in three years) is getting further and further in the rearview mirror.

LaFleur helped steer a smooth transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love, and the Packers have made the playoffs in all three seasons since Love took over. But they have just one playoff win in that span, with a much less impressive overall record of 29-21-1. There are signs that people on the team are feeling more pressure. LaFleur and Gutekunst entered this season without contract extensions, sparking speculation about their long-term standing should the results in 2025 not improve. The Packers swung a huge trade for OLB Micah Parsons on the eve of the season, an out-of-character move that screamed “we’re going for gold or bust.” 

Parsons tore his ACL in Week 15 against the Broncos and Green Bay lost five games straight to end the year, including in the wildcard round against the Bears after surrendering an 18-point lead. The team was inconsistent even with a full-strength Parsons, though. Amidst a crazy NFL coaching cycle with 10 total vacancies and teams like the Ravens, Steelers and Bills parting ways with longtime coaches, there was serious buzz that the Packers could join the fray. 

Instead, LaFleur got an extension, one that appears to have brought his salary more in line with his peers given his overall body of work. He had a little bit of leverage given he would have been in high, high demand as an available candidate. After the deal was done, first-year team president Ed Policy tried his best to douse all the embers of speculation smoldering from his decision not to extend LaFleur in the summer. 

Like buried coals in a campfire, though, the questions about the Packers and LaFleur will spring up again if given some fuel — like another disappointing season. The standard for the Packers is clear: Super Bowl or bust. Teams don’t make trades like they did for Parsons without that as a legitimate goal, and Green Bay has come achingly close in the last several years. The Packers should be a solid team once again in 2026. They need to be great, though, or bigger changes could be down the line.