What NFL.com’s ‘Bold’ Prediction May(e) Mean for Packers

NFL.com's Adam Schein forecasts a long season for the Jordan Love-led Green Bay Packers. If true, a dreadful season would come with a silver lining.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jun 5, 2023 4:02 PM EDT

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – In his “100 bold predictions” story for Sports Illustrated, Conor Orr predicted surprising levels of success for the 2023 edition of the Green Bay Packers.

In his “bold predictions” story for NFL.com, Adam Schein predicted surprising levels of failure.

The Packers will finish with the second-worst record in the NFL, Schein said. Hey, it could be worse: He thought the Arizona Cardinals would go 0-17.

But not much worse. The Packers haven’t had the second pick in the draft since 1989, when they took Tony Mandarich rather than rather than Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders – Hall of Famers who went third, fourth and fifth overall. They’ve picked in the top five only once the past 30 years: linebacker A.J. Hawk with the fifth pick in 2006.

The Packers willingly parted ways with four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers for a few reasons, not the least of which was the belief of general manager Brian Gutekunst and coach Matt LaFleur that quarterback Jordan Love was ready to take command.

Noting the 2022 trade of Davante Adams to the Raiders and the 2023 trade of Rodgers to the Jets, the “all-time talent drain” will lead to a “long” season in Titletown, Schein said. It will be an even longer season if Rodgers leads the Jets to the Super Bowl.

“Packers coach Matt LaFleur is already preaching patience with Jordan Love. That underscores my worst fears about a quarterback who seemed like a reach as a first-round pick,” Schein wrote. “At best, Love is green; at worst, he's inept.”

Amplifying the potential problems are a “fragile” offensive line and the return of defensive coordinator Joe Barry, whose defense regressed in 2022.

If the doom-and-gloom forecast is correct, the Packers could be out of the playoff race by November and staring at their first last-place finish in the NFC North 2005.

On the bright side, if Love really is inept, two potential franchise quarterbacks could await in the 2024 NFL Draft. Finishing with the second-worst record would put the Packers in position to grab one.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the favorite to win again at FanDuel Sportsbook, is a huge favorite at FanDuel to be the No. 1 pick in 2024. He’s so good that teams might want to consider tanking to get him.

North Carolina’s Drake Maye also is considered a tank-worthy prospect. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler compared Maye to Chargers star Justin Herbert and would have ranked him ahead of Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud, the quarterbacks who went first and second in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Maye is coming off a season in which he completed 66.2 percent of his passes for 4,321 yards with 38 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. Plus, he added 698 rushing yards and seven more touchdowns.

“Part of my game is making plays and extending plays,” Maye told Pro Football Focus recently.

So, that sets the stage for a win-win case of extremes. Either Love is as good as the Packers hope and they’ll have a winning quarterback for the next decade. Or Love is terrible and the Packers will be in position to draft a winning quarterback for the next decade.

Picking second, plus getting the Jets’ first-rounder in the Rodgers trade, could put Green Bay on the fast track to returning to contender status. Or, if Love’s a hit, the young playmakers flourish and Barry’s defense parlays a strong finish to last season into a strong performance for this season, maybe the Packers will be contenders this year and even better in 2024 with the Rodgers pick.