GOOD NEWS : The Green Bay Packers’ most gifted quarterback has rejoined the squad after a lengthy absence.
Green Bay, Wisconsin —
The Green Bay Packers’ offseason is fully underway. The NFL Scouting Combine has concluded, and all attention now shifts to free agency and the NFL Draft.
The Packers are coming off a season that stunned many analysts, going 9-8 and nearly defeating the San Francisco 49ers, who represented the NFC in the Super Bowl.
The days of low expectations in Green Bay are passed. It’s Super Bowl or bust time in Titletown again.
To return to the Super Bowl, Brian Gutekunst and Matt LaFleur must examine the roster.
Despite all of the positive things that happened in Green Bay last season, they finished 9-8 and earned a playoff seed that did not exist until 2021.
The issue they’ll have to answer is whether they’re more like the squad that blasted the doors off the Dallas Cowboys and almost beat the 49ers, or the team who fell to Tommy DeVito.
Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah recently conducted an experiment on their Move the Sticks podcast that classified players into four groups.
Blue chip: One of the league’s top players in their position.
Building Block: Someone who isn’t quite exceptional but still a competent player, or who is too young to make that decision.
Backup: Can start in a pinch, but is best suited as a reserve.
Easily Upgraded: Someone the team should be looking to replace.
One of the most serious risks in roster building is incorrectly appraising players on their roster.
Sometimes this means underestimating Casey Hayward’s effect or overestimating Damarious Randall’s progress.
Both appraisals proved to be mistakes for the Packers, setting them back in the secondary.
These evaluations will inform how the Packers plan to strengthen their roster, with the shared goal of increasing competition on the team.
“We have a really good nucleus of players coming back,” Gutekunst said.
“We need to load each room with enough competition so that those guys feel it and can improve the same way our offense did last year. It will be our responsibility to do so. But I believe we’re in good hands right now.
