NFL 2018 Squad Preview: Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are used to being serious contenders in the NFC, but the 2017 season did not go as planned. The Packers franchise Quarterback Aaron Rodgers went down with a broken collarbone in week 6, causing him to miss the majority of the rest of the season.
With Rodgers missing, the Packers failed in their quest to make the playoffs. Furthermore, with their star QB out of action, the weaknesses in the Green Bay squad were clear to see. Without Rodgers putting consistent points on the board, more pressure was put on a depleted defense, with backup QB Brett Hundley unable to keep up with the opponents' scoring. There were a lot of holes in this team that needed to be addressed this offseason.
The Packers have strengthened some of their weaknesses through the Draft and a somewhat busier Free Agency, under the direction of new General Manager Brian Gutekunst.
Here, I break down the Packers roster to determine their strengths and weaknesses by position.
Quarterback - STRENGTH
The Quarterback position is obviously a strong one for the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best QBs that the league has ever seen. He is fully recovered from his collarbone injury that derailed his 2017 season. He is expected to once again be in the MVP talk come the end of this coming season.
Behind him, Brett Hundley showed he can play in the NFL, but nowhere near the standard the Green Bay faithful have become accustomed to over the last 25 years. Hundley’s play last year obviously made the Green Bay hierarchy think twice about the backup situation. So much so, the Packers traded their best CB from last year, Damarious Randall, to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for their starting QB Deshone Kizer.
Kizer was thrown into the deep end in his rookie season. He struggled in a poor team, failing to get a win during the whole season. Kizer did flash potential though, and the Packers obviously think he can progress his game sitting behind Rodgers for a few years. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top if Rodgers suffers another injury.