The Green Bay Packers have more uncertainty surrounding them than any other team in the NFC North. Generally speaking, the prospects of them improving following the departure of their Hall of Fame quarterback are slim. That’s especially true when moving to a relatively unknown first-round pick who has spent years in the building without much time on the field.
That doesn’t mean the Packers are closed out of the NFL playoff race on Day 1 — it simply means we don’t know how good the team can be — but it’s prudent to be cautious.
Everything You Need Ahead of the Green Bay Packers 2023 NFL Season
The Packers’ offseason was a little bit tumultuous with some drama created by Aaron Rodgers, but Green Bay ultimately got the trade done — which allowed them not just to secure an extension for Jordan Love but also gave them the capital to really invest in offensive players during the draft.
The Packers’ offense will likely change simply because they have a different quarterback, but the development of the receivers will be fascinating to watch. As it stands, the turnover on offense will be the storyline, while the defense has largely stayed the same.
Packers Roster Changes
- Players Signed/Claimed
- QB Danny Etling
- WR Malik Heath
- WR Deuce Watts
- WR Jeff Cotton
- RB Tyler Goodson
- TE Nick Guggemos
- TE Camren McDonald
- TE Henry Pearson
- OT Jean DeLance
- OT Kadeem Telfort
- G Chuck Filiaga
- EDGE Keshawn Banks
- EDGE Brenton Cox Jr.
- DT Chris Slayton
- DT Kenneth Odumegwu
- DT Jason Lewan
- LB La’Darius Hamilton
- LB Jimmy Phillips Jr.
- CB Tyrell Ford
- CB Benjie Franklin
- CB Kiondre Thomas
- CB Benny Sapp III
- S James Wiggins
- S Christian Morgan
- S Tarvarius Moore
- K Parker Thomas
- LS Matt Orzech
- Players Drafted
- EDGE Lukas Van Ness
- TE Luke Musgrave
- WR Jayden Reed
- TE Tucker Kraft
- DT Colby Wooden
- QB Sean Clifford
- WR Dontayvion Wicks
- DT Karl Brooks
- K Anders Carlson
- CB Carrington Valentine
- RB Lew Nichols III
- S Anthony Johnson Jr.
- WR Grant DuBose
- Players cut/released
- S Vernon Scott
- Players with expired contracts
- WR Allen Lazard
- WR Randall Cobb
- TE Robert Tonyan
- TE Marcedes Lewis
- DT Dean Lowry
- DT Jarran Reed
- LB Krys Barnes
- S Adrian Amos
- K Mason Crosby
- Players traded away
- QB Aaron Rodgers
The Packers didn’t have as much roster churn as the Lions or Bears in the NFC North, but it may be more impactful than for either of those two franchises. Moving on from Rodgers and his preferred retinue of receivers means that we have a completely different-looking franchise, especially on offense.
Many of the impact receivers and tight ends are gone, along with the quarterback. Green Bay opted to replace them with a number of draft picks at the same positions, including three Day 2 picks.
Longtime mainstay Mason Crosby is gone, and the defense figures to look a little bit different, too, with Adrian Amos and Dean Lowry out of the building, but most of the difference will be on the offense.
The Packers chose to provide a low-cost extension to Jordan Love rather than provide him with a fifth-year option, signaling some lack of confidence in him. Generally, however, we’re just going to have to wait and see.
Packers Coaching Staff in 2023
- Head Coach: Matt LaFleur
- Offensive Coordinator: Adam Stenavich
- Quarterbacks: Tom Clements
- Assistant Quarterbacks: Connor Lewis
- Offensive Passing Game Coordinator/Wide Receivers: Jason Vrable
- Tight Ends: John Dunn
- Running Backs: Ben Sirmans
- Offensive Line: Luke Butkus
- Assistant Offensive Line: Ryan Mahaffey
- Quality Control: Ramsen Golpashin
- Quality Control: Rob Grosso
- Coaching Assistant (Minority Fellowship): Quinshom Odom
- Defensive Coordinator: Joe Barry
- Senior Defensive Analyst: Tim Lester
- Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line: Jerry Montgomery
- Defensive Pass Game Coordinator: Greg Williams
- Inside Linebackers: Kirk Olivadotti
- Pass Rush Specialist: Jason Rebrovich
- Defensive Backs: Ryan Downard
- Defensive Quality Control: Wendel Davis
- Defensive Quality Control: Justin Hood
- Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator: Rich Bisaccia
- Assistant Special Teams: Byron Storer
- Special Teams Quality Control: Kyle Wilber
- Strength and Conditioning: Chris Gizzi
- Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Thadeus Jackson
- Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Mark Lovat
- Assistant Strength and Conditioning: Grant Thorne
For all the instability on the Packers roster, the coaching staff has stayed consistent from 2022 to 2023, with the lone exception being Jerry Gray — last year’s defensive passing game coordinator and now the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the Atlanta Falcons.
This coaching consistency is probably necessary, given their aspirations and the turnover they have on offense — Love has the benefit of working with the same quarterbacks coach that has trained him up inside the same offense that he’s been developing in.
Nevertheless, we may still see schematic offensive changes just by virtue of changing quarterbacks, especially from someone with so much control over the offense.
Predicting the Green Bay Packers Depth Chart
- QB: Jordan Love, Sean Clifford, Danny Etling
- WR: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Grant DuBose, Samori Toure
- RB: Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, Patrick Taylor
- FB: Henry Pearson
- TE: Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Josiah Deguara
- LT: David Bakhtiari, Rasheed Walker
- LG: Elgton Jenkins, Sean Rhyan
- C: Josh Myers, Jake Hanson
- RG: Jon Runyan, Royce Newman
- RT: Zach Tom, Yosh Nijman
- Left EDGE: Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness
- NT: Kenny Clark, T.J. Slaton
- DT: Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks
- Right EDGE: Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare
- WLB: Quay Walker, Eric Wilson
- MLB: De’Vondre Campbell, Isaiah McDuffie
- RCB: Cameron Sutton, Saivion Smith
- LCB: Rasul Douglas, Corey Ballentine
- NCB: Shemar Jean-Charles, Keisean Nixon
- SS: Darnell Savage, Anthony Johnson Jr.
- FS: Tarvarius Moore, Rudy Ford
- P: Pat O’Donnell
- K: Anders Carlson
- LS: Matt Orzech
2022 Results and Standings
The Packers’ 2022 season started out just well enough to avoid questions about potentially benching a struggling Rodgers who had one foot out the door but not well enough to create confidence in the fans. An opening-week loss, followed by three lackluster wins, meant that there was a team who technically had a winning record but without much production to show for it.
A string of losses broken up with an overtime win meant that they entered Week 13 against the Bears with a 4-8 record. They didn’t turn around their season as quickly as the Lions did and, as a result, finished with an 8-9 record and third in the division for the first time since 2018, a year that got head coach Mike McCarthy fired.
They finished 14th in offensive points and 17th in points allowed, suggesting that they were as average as their record, but it nevertheless felt like a season with enormous missed opportunities.
2023 Power Ranking and Season Outlook
Pro Football Network’s 2023 Power Rankings place the Green Bay Packers at 25th overall, though their place can change pretty dramatically depending on how well Jordan Love has developed. They stocked the receiver and tight end rooms with new talent, but it’s difficult to count on them as immediate impact players.
And though the defense statistically was about average last year, it’s always a concerning sign when the defensive coordinator that fans have been railing against for years continues to run that side of the ball. Perhaps Joe Barry will get his redemption with the development of last year’s first-round picks, but it’s reasonable to be suspicious of that defense until then.