Top Needs
Need #1 - Outside Wide Receiver (who can separate vertically)
The Christian Watson injury is nothing short of a disaster for the plans of the Packers in 2025. He is truly the only outside man beater. Also shows vast improvements in getting off the line of scrimmage; beats press and is the only player the Packers have that can vertically stretch the field (especially against zone). Jayden Reed is limited and is a true slot receiver. I do question his agility as he does not possess ability to get open vs man. One aspect of his game that is overlooked is ability to track the ball in the air. Dontayvian Wicks was a disappointment in 2024. Obvious set-back was drops. He does possess wiggle and excellent body control to beat man/zone horizontally. His lack of deep speed was on full effect when asked to play the Y wide receiver position. He could not separate vertically palying on the outside. Romeo Doubs is the most steady of all of the receivers. Possesses good hands, body control, and is a nuanced route runner. His drawback his is athleticism. He has good size, but does not possess burst or speed to be a great player. Bottom line on this, if the Packers do not get a vertical receiver they are screwed. LeFluer will not be able to gameplan around this. Teams will challenge our receivers and put too much stress on short/intermediate areas of field.
Need #2 - Outside Cornerback
Note the overall philosophy for the Packers is to play variations of many zone defenses. The most common is cover 2 with one safety coming down in the robber position. The outside cornerbacks are asked to play outside tech funneling receivers to the middle of the field. I do feel like Keisan Nixon is an adequate number 2 cornerback in this defense. He possess long speed with solid burst to break on receivers. Exceptional at diagnosing wide receiver screens and stopping the run. He does lack overall agility to stick with smaller receivers. Carrington Valentine has a good combination of size of speed for the position. However, he does not possess enough stickyness for my liking. He has trouble with in-breaking routes which allows receivers to get a ton of separation. His feel for the Hafley's zone scheme did get better as the year progressed. I do feel like he will get better at anticipating routes which will lead to more interceptions.
Need #3 - Edge (Designated Pass Rusher)
The Packers philosophy at edge is to maintain gap integrity and not allow quarterbacks to break outside contain. First off I love this philsophy as it prevents big plays from the running quarterback. However, it does limit freedom of the edges to get after the quarterback. Also, they do not line their edges up in the wide 9 tech to change their angle to get at the quarterback; again their philosophy is containment. I do feel like Rashan Gary is the most undervalued player on the roster. Against the run, I am not sure I have seen a better defensive end. He is the focus on opposing defensives as he continually gets chipped by tight end or picked up by running back. Even being how great he is against the run I would like to see him removed on early downs and inserted on later downs as he only plays roughly 59% of snaps (due to Packer's philosophy). He was the only edge that in my opinion consistenly got after the quarterback. I want to see another year out of Lucas Van Ness before I can really get a feel for the player he will become. There is a speed to power component to his game that is obviously poorly utilized. Has excepetional power in his hands that really jolts back offensive tackles. This part of his game really shows up in the run. However, there is absolutely no pass rush plan to his game. At point of attack everything looks good and then he stalls. I do question if he has enough bend to ever be a truly great pass rusher. Brenton Cox to me was the surprise of the season. He kept getting better and better with experience. He has some power to his game that just fits what the Packers need out of their ends (true case of round peg, round hole). Kingsley Enagbare to me is the most over-rated Packer. He is ok at point of attack due to length. His quickness is ok and can win with it at times. He just does not possess the athleticism or size to ever be a difference maker.
*** Note expect contracts to be higher than anticipated due to dramatic increase in salary cap number ***
Expiring Contracts in 2024
Josh Myers
If the Packers do not bring him back it poses two problems: 1) you have to probably shuffle the line with Rhyan having to play center (something I do not want) and 2) creates a further depth issue at this position. If the price is right (say under 4 years 50 million) I would do it. I do not think his talent justifies to go over that number.
TJ Slayton
Let him walk. He is a nice rotational player who gets a ton of single teams. Draft is too good at the position to give any money to.
Erik Stokes
Let him walk. Not close to the player he was as rookie. Not good in man or zone at this point. I really do not see him as a zone cornerback.
Robert Rochell/Corey Bellantine - expiring contracts in 2024
Sign one of them for depth pieces. This will be a basement level deal. I lean towards Bellantine as I feel he is a touch better player.
Other Players To Note
Zac Tom is turning into a premier right tackle in the league. Needs to be a priority this summer to get signed to an extension. Note this extension will be bigger than we are anticipating.
Christian Watson/Romeo Doubs - Expiring contracts in 2025. I would take the wait and see approach with both of them. If the Packers feel confident that Watson can heal of knee injury, he is who I would prioritize.
Rasheed Walker - Expiring contract in 2025. I have questions around his game. He was a tackle coming out of Penn State with solid length and good feet. How does he make it to the 7th round? I do question some of his recognition skills, especially early in the season...gets better as season goes on. I could see this one going both ways. With the Jordan Morgan pick I he could be expendable as he will probably be in that 80 million plus range for a contract.
Sean Rhyan - Expiring contract in 2025. Continues to get better. I would get this deal done prior to the start of the season
Kingsley Enagbare - Let him walk. Not a good enough fit for defense.
Devonte Wyatt - 5th Year Option Looming. Accept 5th year option. Expected to be about $13-$14 million.
Quay Walker - 5th Year Option Looming. Decline 5th year option. Expected to be about $14-$15 million. This is too much for off-ball linebacker. Work on an extension.
What to do in Free Agency
Number 2 need is outside cornerback. Sign a top end free agent cornerback. Players to look at are Bryon Murphy and Paulson Adebo. I really like Murphy as he can play inside and outside and would fit nicely into Packer's defense.
Nothing else of importance
I would love to see them do something about this wide receiver position. But the receiver pool just does not have what they need. One player that the Packers could target is DJ Chark. A vertical receiver that would not break the bank.
I could see them going after an edge. A lot of the free agent edges are a bit older. Also, the rookie draft class is really good at edge. I do hear some rumors around Chase Young. He would work as he is an above average pass rusher and below average run stopper. Would be ideal to come in on later downs. I would NOT go past the 2 year mark. If he gets a 3 or 4 year contract I would not be interested. Also hearing buzz about Dayo Odeyinbo. He really fits their size and weight requirements (6'6", 287 lbs). A lot of length. Similar to Young he is a much better pass rusher than run defender.
What do in the Draft
The buzz/strength of this draft is around the defensive line/edge. At pick #23 there will be someone there. A few names that really fit are: Mykell Williams, Shemar Stewart, Walter Nolan, Nic Scourton, Derrick Harmon, and Landon Jackson.
Assuming the Packers pick at #23 I cannot see them sticking at #54 in the 2nd round. Looking at the draft I feel like they would need to move up to get one of these bigger outside receivers who can stretch the field vertically. If they package their 2nd round pick (54) and 3rd round pick (87), they can move up to about pick #39. If they package their 2nd round pick (54) and 4th round pick (123), they can move up to about pick #46. Guys of interest are Jayden Higgens and Tre Harris.
After that it is all best player available. Need depth at OL. This draft is littered with zone offensive tackles with versatility. Also need depth at cornerback.