Packers Among PFF’s ‘Overlooked’ Teams

Pro Football Focus highlighted five teams that are being overlooked.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jun 18, 2023 9:17 AM EDT

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – If the Green Bay Packers are going to return to the playoffs, Jordan Love is going to need a strong first season as the starting quarterback.

Right?

In a story highlighting five “overlooked” teams heading into the 2023 NFL season, Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus noted the Packers fell one win short of last year’s playoffs even with Aaron Rodgers having his second-worst season by PFF grade.

So, from that perspective, the bar’s not incredibly high for Love.

“If Love can even be a top-16 starting quarterback in the NFL,” McGuinness wrote, “the Packers are absolutely good enough to contend in the NFC North.”

He’s correct. While the entire passing game is one giant question mark, the rest of the roster is strong.

The Packers have a dynamic one-two punch in the backfield with Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, a strong offensive line anchored by the healthy left side of David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins, and proven playmakers at every level of the defense with defensive tackle Kenny Clark, outside linebackers Rashan Gary and Preston Smith, inside linebackers De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker and cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Rasul Douglas in the secondary.

If Love can avoid killer mistakes, if Christian Watson can even approach the massive expectations, if the offensive line can stay healthy, if the run defense can show some teeth and if Anders Carlson kicks like he did at minicamp, the Packers are good enough to challenge the Lions in the NFC North.

That’s obviously a lot of “Ifs” but that’s just about every team. There’s a lot upside, especially if Love is as good as the team believes.

“I think we got a great team,” Love said. “I think we have a good offense, a young offense. We have a lot of work to keep putting in, keep building together, and I think we have a really good defense. Once we get everybody back and healthy, we’ll be really good.”