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Consensus NFL Power Rankings: Titletown? Packers Mired in Mediocreville

Our Consensus NFL Power Rankings combine eight sets of national power rankings into one elite ranking. Here’s where you’ll find the Packers.
Bill Huber|
There are low expectations for Matt LaFleur and the Packers, at least according to the national pundits.
There are low expectations for Matt LaFleur and the Packers, at least according to the national pundits. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are used to opening every season as a Super Bowl contender.

That is not the case this season.

In the preseason edition of the Packers On SI Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Packers are tied for 16th.

Yes, 16th.

Our Consensus Power Rankings take eight sets of the best national power rankings and turn them into one better-than-the-best power ranking.

The Los Angeles Rams are the No. 1 team by a wide margin. They are the top team in seven of our eight rankings. The Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks are second, the Buffalo Bills are third and the Denver Broncos are fourth.

There’s a big gap before the next tier of teams, which include the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, who are ninth and 11th, respectively. 

Here’s where you’ll find the Packers in each of the individual rankings, with more about the Packers and the rest of the teams available at the links.

ESPN Power Index: 6th

ESPN hasn’t published its writer-selected rankings. In its FPI, though, the Packers are sixth overall and first in the NFC North, ahead of Detroit (eighth), Chicago (16th) and Minnesota (19th).

Separately, it recently published its Future Power Rankings, which is the ranking for every team from 2027 through 2029. The Packers are seventh; Seattle, Philadelphia, Detroit, Denver, the Rams and New England are ahead.

The Packers are seventh in quarterback, overall roster (minus the quarterback) and front, office and 11th in coaching.

The story includes reason for hope, reason for concern and a bold prediction. The reason for hope?

“Green Bay's yearly investment in young starters always leaves the Packers well-positioned for the future,” Ben Solak wrote. “Jordan Love is emerging into a Tier 2 quarterback alongside guys such as Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert, and Love's pass catchers (Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden) look as dangerous as ever. With a couple of hits on young offensive linemen (Anthony Belton, Jordan Morgan), Green Bay's passing attack should, once again, be one of the league's most potent.”

NFL.com: 13th

Nick Shook sees a hungry team but also one with some questions.

“Micah Parsons, Devonte Wyatt, Tucker Kraft and Zach Bako-Bewele are all returning from significant injuries. Josh Jacobs' legal status remains undetermined at this time, and backup RB MarShawn Lloyd hasn't yet proven he can stay healthy enough to be counted on,” he wrote.

With “heightened expectations” for Matthew Golden, “this team is talented enough to make serious noise in 2026 -- and should carry some added motivation after falling victim to the rival Bears amid Chicago's rise to prominence last year.”

Bleacher Report: 14th

Brent Sobleski pointed out that the Packers under coach Matt LaFleur went to NFC Championship Games in 2019 and 2020, lost in the divisional round in 2021 and 2023, then lost in the wild-card round in 2024 and 2025.

Noting the team’s key injuries, he concluded: “An NFL season is a war of attrition, and the Packers must find ways to win the weekly battles.” 

USA Today: 14th

The Packers are third in the NFC North behind the Bears (fifth) and Lions (10th) in Nate Davis’ rankings.

Just like we wrote in our pre-training camp prediction, Davis said: “Where is the pass rush coming from until Micah Parsons returns (in mid-October)? Former first-rounder Lukas Van Ness has just 8 1/2 sacks, 56 pressures and two starts in three seasons but needs to step up now.”

The Athletic: 15th

Josh Kendall always has a theme. For these rankings, it’s what’s new; for the Packers, it’s “Matt LaFleur’s time clock” after they collapsed with five consecutive losses last season and then lost some key players this offseason. 

“Jordan Love can be really good, and he will need to be this year to help keep LaFleur off the hot seat,” Kendall concluded.

Yahoo: 15th

Frank Schwab sees the Packers as “stuck in a weird rut” as a perennial playoff team that has “stalled.”

“They haven't won more than 11 games in a season, made it past the divisional round or won a division title,” he wrote. “It's very hard to be critical of the Packers, who are having success at a rate better than all but a handful of teams.

“General manager Brian Gutekunst has done a remarkable job with roster building and while Packers fans are getting impatient with head coach Matt LaFleur, he has won 65.4 percent of his games. Yet, it's fair to wonder if this group is ever going to be a true Super Bowl contender.”

Pro Football Talk: 16th

Wrote Mike Florio: “Three straight No. 7 seeds falls short of the standard.”

Fox Sports: 16th

Ralph Vacchiano almost has the Packers pulling up the rear in the NFC North, with Chicago at No. 7, Detroit at No. 15 and Minnesota at No. 17.

“A domestic violence investigation is now hanging over RB Josh Jacobs, and that’s somehow not the worst offseason news for the Pack,” he explained. “They also now know that Micah Parsons (ACL) won’t be back until at least mid-October.”

Week 1 Opponent: Minnesota Vikings

The Packers will kick off the season at the Vikings on Sept. 13. Minnesota fell outside our Sweet 16; its average ranking was 18.8.

The Vikings are 18th at NFL.com. Wrote Shook: “The NFC North is the one division in which one could realistically make a Lombardi-contending case for any of its four members entering 2026. … The Vikings won nine games last year with zero reliability under center,” but signed Kyler Murray, who could improve “everything” about the team.

Latest Packers Odds

Sportsbook odds are not part of our Consensus Power Rankings but they do provide another way to look at the teams.

The Packers are +2000 to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel Sportsbook. They were +2200 before training camp. That’s tied for the 13th-shortest odds with the Denver Broncos, who the Packers will play in the preseason on Friday night.

The Broncos are 5.5-point favorites, in case you were wondering.

Packers On SI’s Consensus Sweet 16

1, Los Angeles Rams (9 points; seven first-place votes); 2, Seattle Seahawks (23 points; one first-place vote); 3, Buffalo Bills (32); 4, Denver Broncos (35); 5, Houston Texans (61); 6, New England Patriots (64); 7, Baltimore Ravens (71); 8, Philadelphia Eagles (73).

9, Chicago Bears (78); 10, San Francisco 49ers (81); 11, Detroit Lions (89); 12, Jacksonville Jaguars (94); 13, Los Angeles Chargers (98); 14, Cincinnati Bengals (99); 15, Dallas Cowboys (106); T-16, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs (109).

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.