Consensus NFL Power Rankings: Where Are Packers Before Week 1?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers are No. 6 in the Packers On SI Consensus NFL Power Rankings.

Our Consensus Power Rankings take eight sets of national power rankings and turn them into one turbocharged power ranking.

The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles received six first-place votes and are No. 1 to start the season. In our Top 12, the Packers will play the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings twice along with one matchup against the Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, Washington Commanders, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals. That’s nine of 17 games against the best teams in the league.

The Packers will kick off the season on Sunday against the Lions, who are No. 5.

Here are the preseason rankings, with full rankings and longer analysis of the Packers at the links.

The Athletic: 3rd

The Micah Parsons trade puts the Packers in the top tier of teams, Josh Kendall wrote.

“Green Bay was fourth in defensive expected points added (7.1 per 100 snaps) a year ago despite not having a player in the top 35 in sacks. Now, Matt LaFleur and company have Micah Parsons, who’s had at least 12 sacks every year he’s been in the league.”

CBS: 4th

Pete Prisco has the Packers representing the NFC in the Super Bowl.

“I had the Packers in the Super Bowl even before they made the move to acquire Micah Parsons from Dallas,” he wrote. “He now gives them a dynamic edge player who can wreck a game, which was something the Packers knew they had to have.”

Fox Sports: 4th

The Packers moved up five spots, due in large part to the Micah Parsons trade.

Wrote Ralph Vacchiano: “The Packers' run defense will be fine without Clark. And Parsons might just be enough to put them over the top considering how close they were in games against the Eagles, Lions and Vikings last year.

NFL.com: 6th

Eric Edholm noted moves like trading for Micah Parsons are done only “when the picture is nearing completion.” With a deep and talented roster, Parsons is a “singular” talent.

Wrote Edholm: “I was on Wisconsin radio this summer, and when they asked me about the Packers’ roster, I told them I liked it, that there was a good distribution of talent, but that it lacked true blue-chip players. Trading for Micah Parsons on the eve of the season is a pretty good way to shut me up.

ESPN: 6th

These rankings are based on ESPN’s Football Power Index.

Under biggest weakness, Packers beat writer Rob Demovsky wrote: “A few days ago, this would've been pass rusher, but then Micah Parsons entered the picture. There are still potential issues on defense, especially on the back end.”

He’s right about that. Keisean Nixon, Nate Hobbs and Carrington Valentine haven’t proven they can be a stopper against the high-profile quarterback-receiver combos on the schedule. And the depth is precarious with a former receiver (Bo Melton) and a season-long member of the practice squad (Kamal Hadden) behind the three veterans.

Yahoo: 6th

Frank Schwab dedicated a large chunk of his story to the Packers, who must navigate a brutal division in which he has the Lions at No. 3, the Vikings at No. 7 and the Bears at No. 16.

“But the Packers do look like a true Super Bowl contender now, and there aren't many in that group going into the season. Parsons changed Green Bay's ceiling. The Packers can win a championship with Parsons. They just have to navigate the NFC North first.”

Pro Football Talk: 6th

Wrote Mike Florio: “By giving the green light to the Micah Parsons trade, Ed Policy has quickly put his imprint on the team.”

Sports Illustrated: 11th

Conor Orr has the outlier rankings. The Packers are in the top six in all the rankings other than this one. Nonetheless, Micah Parsons changes the dynamics of a team that won 11 games last season but entered training camp with significant questions.

Wrote Orr: “The Packers surged up my rankings after securing Micah Parsons, a transformational pass rusher who answers some of the team’s questions on defense, albeit not the ones the team had with stopping the run. Still, he is a math changer, which was very much necessary for a team that finished 2024 with 11 wins but came into this season with more questions than the year prior.”

This Week’s Opponent: Detroit Lions

The Lions’ range in our panel of rankings is third (at Yahoo) to seventh (at CBS).

NFL.com’s Edholm has them at No. 5.

“I remembered watching the Lions’ playoff meltdown against the Commanders and wondering if they had missed their best chance to win a Super Bowl. Not that a Lombardi suddenly isn’t possible, but it feels like a farther reach. Detroit is breaking in two new coordinators and faces a monstrous schedule, including six games against dangerous NFC North teams.”

Latest Packers Odds

Not part of the power rankings, but the Packers are sixth in Super Bowl odds (+1300) at FanDuel Sportsbook. While Detroit has shorter odds to win the Super Bowl and the NFC (Philadelphia is +370, Detroit is +600 and Green Bay is +650), the Packers are a slight favorite to win the NFC North (Green Bay is +170 and Detroit is +185).

Packers On SI’s Consensus Dandy Dozen

1, Philadelphia Eagles (11 points; 6 first-place votes); 2, Baltimore Ravens (21; two first-place votes); 3, Buffalo Bills (26); 4, Kansas City Chiefs (28); 5, Detroit Lions (41); 6, Green Bay Packers (45); 7, Washington Commanders (67); 8, Denver Broncos (80); 9, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (83); 10, Cincinnati Bengals (84); 11, Los Angeles Rams (89); 12, Minnesota Vikings (93).

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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