The Green Bay Packers are set to have a good season—depending on how you view it. However, there are some potential red flags that could negatively impact the team. These concerns stem from a lack of depth and the threat of injuries plaguing the season.
“It was one thing for Jordan Love to battle multiple injuries in 2024; it was another for the quarterback to lose practically his entire receiving corps to various ailments by year’s end,” CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin wrote. “The Packers did their best to bolster their depth this offseason, spending not one but two early draft picks on receiver help, but at the end of the day, Matt LaFleur needs his arsenal to stay on the field to ensure his steady rate of postseason bids continues. That includes on defense, where Nate Hobbs will be tasked with filling the shoes of the also-oft-banged-up Jaire Alexander.”
However, this could be Matt LaFleur’s last season as head coach if the team fails to make the playoffs, which they have reached for the last two years.
In Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder’s re-draft of every team over the last five years, he believes the Packers should have gone a different route than selecting cornerback Eric Stokes. Instead, Holder suggests the Packers should have picked defensive end Gregory Rousseau, who was selected by the Buffalo Bills immediately after Stokes.
“To be fair, Rousseau wasn’t a scheme fit for then-defensive coordinator Joe Barry. But he would be a good fit with current DC Jeff Hafley, and the defense could use the Miami product’s 25 career sacks and 46 TFLs. Those numbers helped him earn a four-year, $80 million contract extension with the Bills in the spring,” Holder wrote.
“Using a first-round pick on Stokes should haunt Packers fans because he hasn’t even been the best Georgia cornerback selected in that range,” Holder added.
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Stokes is now playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. The Packers were unwilling to offer him another deal after his rookie contract expired. Rousseau has proven himself and has been instrumental in helping the Bills in many ways. If the Packers had chosen Rousseau instead of Stokes, they might not be as concerned about their lack of depth this season.
