People’s opinions about the Green Bay Packers have been changing throughout the offseason. When the team traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, many people wrote them off instantly. Moving on from a future Hall of Famer certainly will have an adjustment period, but totally writing a team off before seeing how the new pieces look is a rash decision.
His replacement, Jordan Love, looked good during training camp and the preseason. Some analysts, including Rich Eisen and Pat McAfee, believe that the Packers are now an overlooked team that will surprise some people in 2023.
While preseason records and stats don’t count, the Packers’ performance was encouraging. The first-team offense looked good and their weaknesses on defense, such as their pass rush, looked much improved as well.
Heading into the 2023 season, many believe the Packers could challenge for a playoff spot in the NFC. It isn’t as outlandish as it seems, as the NFC is wide open after the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. No one is expecting them to contend for a championship, but you can never say never.
Teams surprise every year and turn into unexpected contenders. Just two seasons ago the Cincinnati Bengals had the 29th best chance of making a Super Bowl run but ended up being the last team standing against the eventual champion Los Angeles Rams.
If the Packers were to make such a run in 2023, Bill Barnwell of ESPN has laid out what would need to happen. For starters, you need to believe Love can successfully replace Rodgers, which Barnwell does.
“Love will be playing behind an offensive line that is the healthiest it has been since LaFleur got into town in 2019, and no team in the league has younger receivers. There’s breakout potential throughout the offense, and Rodgers’ stunning transformation back into an MVP winner under LaFleur suggests the coach should be able to get the most out of Love in the 2020 first-round pick’s initial season as a starter.”
On top of that, the Packers’ defense needs to live up to expectations. This was a group that many thought would be the best of the Rodgers-era in 2022. They fell woefully short of that and the pressure is on defensive coordinator Joe Barry to turn things around this season.
Barry has adjusted some of his philosophies, which players have been happy about. The pass rush looks improved as well, which is also key to a unit finding success defensively. There could be as many as eight first-round picks on the field at the same time for Green Bay on defense and some maturation from those players would go a long way in Barnwell’s opinion.
“The defense is usually what holds back Green Bay, and for all the first-rounders on this unit, it’s on coordinator Joe Barry to turn it into something more than a few exciting individual players. Edge rusher Rashan Gary’s return from a torn ACL in his right knee should help, but the Packers need to see steps forward from linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt.”
There is a lot of young talent on the Packers roster. They are an inexperienced bunch, but if a few things fall their way throughout the season, a lot of success can be found.
This was a borderline playoff team with Rodgers performing at a bottom-of-the-barrel starting-caliber option. If Love can perform as a middle-of-the-pack quarterback, bordering on the top 12, the Packers are going to win a lot of football games in 2023.
