Packers Positional Grades Include Two D’s on Midterm Report Card

We are at the exact midway point of the NFL season, and it feels like the Green Bay Packers are right back to where they started.

Which team are they?

Are they the group that dominated the Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders to start the season? Are they the group that stepped all over themselves in losses to the Cleveland Browns and Carolina Panthers?

Is the answer somewhere in between? Is that going to be good enough as the weather turns colder and the temperature of each game turns warmer?

Before the Packers can look forward to the second half of the season, which will begin on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, we’re going to take a look back. Here are our grades for each position through the first half of the 2025 season.

Quarterback

The good news is Jordan Love appears to have answered some of the questions that surrounded him at the start of the season. Was he the quarterback who lit the league on fire to close his first season as a starter in 2023? Or was he the mistake-plagued, inconsistent version that we saw in 2024?

The answer through the first eight games this year is that Love is good, and last year’s injuries clearly hampered him.

With a rotating cast of characters around him, the one constant has been Love. When Matt LaFleur has put the ball in the hands of his franchise quarterback, he has delivered more often than not.

Love may have the reputation as a turnover-prone quarterback, but the evidence this season does not support that. His touchdown-to-interception ratio is 13 to 3 and his quarterback rating is a sixth-ranked 107.9.

He will still have occasional moments that make you wonder what he was trying to do with the football. His interception in Sunday’s loss to Carolina is a prime example.

Put those plays aside, and Love has played excellent football. With a struggling running game, the evidence suggests LaFleur should put more on Love’s shoulders.

The only question left for Love is how will he play when the stakes are at their highest? Love’s playoff debut was nearly perfect in a 48-32 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys. His two playoff games since then have included five interceptions.

That’s a question that cannot be answered now.

The questions he could answer, he has.

Grade: B-plus

Running Backs

One season ago, Josh Jacobs was the engine that made Green Bay’s offense run.

With Jordan Love hobbled or absent for most of the year, Matt LaFleur relied heavily on his prized free-agent running back. The result was one of the best seasons of Jacobs’ career.

To start this season, opposing defenses made it a point to limit Jacobs’ production. As the season has gone on, teams have been more prone to trying to stop Green Bay’s explosive passing attack with more two-high shell looks.

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs gets to the open field against the Bengals. | Wm. Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whatever defense the Packers have faced, they have not found a way to get their run game going.

Jacobs has 534 yards with a 3.8-yard average. He still has a nose for the end zone, piling up 10 scores in the first eight games.

It’s not really Jacobs’ fault. He’s been hobbled, sick or consistently hit in the backfield.

LaFleur has continued to say they need to go back to the drawing board to find a way to get Jacobs and the run game going, but it has not happened.

Emanuel Wilson has had some nice moments as a complement to the run game, with Chris Brooks’ role being inconsistent as a blocking back. Marshawn Lloyd was injured in the preseason and has spent the season on injured reserve; it’s unclear when he will begin practicing.

The grade reflects the run game as a whole, which we will touch on more when we get to the offensive line.

Grade: C

Receivers

The Packers drafted Matthew Golden in the first round, and expectations for him took off from there. So far, he’s been productive for a Packers rookie. He’s second among the team’s receivers with 23 receptions, but has only five catches for 13 yards the last two weeks.

Romeo Doubs has been the top target. He leads the team with 34 receptions and is second with 441 yards. He carried the passing attack for most of the game against Carolina.

The rest of the receiving corps has been in and out of the lineup. They recently got Christian Watson back from last year’s torn ACL, and he has six catches in his first two games, including a 52-yarder against Carolina.

Dontayvion Wicks has struggled with leg injuries dating to training camp and has been inactive the last two games with a calf injury. In six games, he has more than two catches in only one. Rookie Savion Williams has seven catches, mostly on manufactured touches, and eight rushes. Malik Heath, a dirty-work role player, has six catches.

The biggest blow so far has been the loss of Jayden Reed, who played five quarters before leaving the second game of the season with a broken collarbone. The team’s leader in receptions and receiving yards in each of his first two seasons, Reed should be back late in the season.

With the loss of the team’s best weapon, they’re going to need all the help they can get.

Grade: C

Tight Ends

This position is tough to grade because there is a giant question mark next to the rest of the season.

Tucker Kraft was one of the best tight ends in football. He was on his way to potentially becoming a first-team All-Pro. He led the team in receptions and yards, and was No. 1 among all NFL tight ends in yards per game, before sustaining a season-ending knee injury on Sunday.

Kraft alone would have given this group an A, because he was a constant.

Luke Musgrave is the next man up, and he’s been virtually silent since he was Wally Pipp’d by Kraft after he suffered a kidney injury as a rookie in 2023. John Fitzpatrick has been mostly a blocker.

Since this is a grade of the past and not the future, this group gets a high mark, but there are plenty of questions to be answered as Kraft will be an innocent bystander for the rest of the season.

Grade: A

Offensive Line

There may not be a bigger disappointment this season than the offensive line.

The unit started the season with a complete lack of continuity due largely to injuries and an insistence on rotating their blockers even when they’re healthy.

Lately, they’ve been mostly healthy, but still have not played well.

The interior offensive line is occupied by two high-priced players, left guard Aaron Banks and center Elgton Jenkins, with a first-round pick, Jordan Morgan, starting at right guard.

They’ve all struggled.

Green Bay Packers center Elgton Jenkins looks for someone to block against the Panthers. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Banks has rarely been healthy, playing barely 50 percent of the snaps. Jenkins does not look anything like the All-Pro player the Packers believed he’d become when he moved from left guard to center. Perhaps sitting out the offseason practices stunted his acclimation. Morgan’s superpower was supposed to be his versatility, but he looked much more comfortable at tackle in training camp and preseason games than he has at guard.

Incumbent starting right guard Sean Rhyan was replaced by Morgan and has struggled in a timeshare at right guard.

Ultimately, the quartet of Banks, Jenkins, Morgan, and Rhyan have been below-average run blockers. They’ve also allowed 41 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus.

The line as a whole has done a solid job in protecting Love, who has taken only 11 sacks, though some of that is due to his ability to escape the pocket and get the ball out of his hands. PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency measures sacks, hits and hurries allowed per pass-protecting snap. The Packers are 14th this season after finishing 11th last year and ninth in 2023.

This group has to be much better if the Packers are going to go anywhere. Their first test will be a recently reloaded Eagles defensive front led by Jalen Carter.

Grade: D

Defensive Line

This group has Micah Parsons.

You might have heard of him.

The Packers mortgaged their future to acquire the All-Pro defensive end from the Dallas Cowboys before Week 1, and he has not disappointed. In fact, he’s been a bit of a skeleton key. He unlocked Rashan Gary, who is off to the best start of his career, leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with 7.5 sacks.

Devonte Wyatt looks like a better player, and so did Lukas Van Ness before he missed the last three games with a foot injury.

Parsons has 6.5 sacks. Until getting skunked by Carolina, he was No. 1 in the NFL in pressures, according to Next Gen Stats.

The prowess of the front four has allowed Jeff Hafley to blitz less than he had to a season ago.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons takes a shot to the face against Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Yosh Nijman. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The concern when they acquired Parsons was whether or not they’d be able to hold up in the run game. Thanks to a jump in performance from Colby “The General” Wooden, the Packers have ranked near the top of the league against the run for most of the season.

The questions are depth at defensive tackle and whether they are starting to show cracks in their foundation against the run.

Rico Dowdle just bludgeoned them for 130 yards on 25 carries. That came after the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers started to have some success on the ground, as well.

Overall, it’s hard to argue the results from the first half of the season. Green Bay’s defensive line, specifically its pressure packages, are the strength of its defense.

Grade: B

Linebackers

Perhaps some eyebrows were raised when Jeff Hafley and Matt LaFleur said on different occasions that linebacker Quay Walker was playing at an “elite” level, but it’s been clear for a while how much the organization values him.

Walker has looked like a better player this year, especially in the run game. He’s grown as a pass rusher, as well, with a highlight-level blitz coming against the Cardinals for a sack.

Edgerrin Cooper has flanked Walker but has not been as productive as he was during his All-Rookie debut. He has a half-sack and just one tackle for loss. That’s a far cry from last year, when Cooper led all rookies with 13 TFLs and seemed destined for stardom.

There’s still time for that to happen, but they need more splash plays from their second-year linebacker.

Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper have both been solid as role players.

This group has been solid if unspectacular through the season, and it’s a key reason why the run defense has played so well.

Grade: B

Cornerbacks

Three cornerbacks have played all the snaps. The trio of Carrington Valentine, Keisean Nixon and Nate Hobbs have carried the load, which was to be expected.

Nixon has been the only constant, while Valentine and Hobbs have rotated due to injuries or performance issues.

Hobbs, the $48 million free-agent signing, has been injured and disappointing through eight games. After an excellent start against Washington and Cleveland, he gave up two touchdowns against Dallas and big plays against Arizona before being replaced in the starting lineup by Valentine the last two games.

Now, he’s set to miss the next two games at minimum with an MCL sprain.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine (24) breaks up a pass to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Valentine has had some nice moments and other plays he’d like to have back. He might be the best pure coverage player on the roster.

Nixon had a huge game against the Washington Commanders with five pass breakups. He ranks second in the NFL with 11 passes defensed but tied for first with nine penalties.

The Packers were bullish in the offseason that they had enough at cornerback to compete for a championship. Through nine games, that looks questionable at best due to performance issues and injuries to Hobbs.

As it sits, they’re one rolled ankle away from playing a converted receiver, Bo Melton, at cornerback. That’s not a situation championship teams often find themselves in.

This group has been better than what might have been expected, but it still feels like a potential Achilles heel. Perhaps they’ll add a high-profile player for the stretch run.

Grade: C-minus

Safeties

Xavier McKinney seemingly had one interception per week during the first half of his debut season in Green Bay last year. Now, he often jokes that he’s bored.

Due to Green Bay’s defensive style, the dominance of their front four and McKinney’s reputation, teams are looking to get the ball out of their hands quickly rather than push it downfield.

McKinney has two interceptions, but Jeff Hafley has remained steadfast in his belief that he’s the best safety in football.

He’s been flanked mostly by Evan Williams, who played every snap in three of the first five games while bumping Javon Bullard to full-time slot duty. That’s changed a bit the last few games, but Williams is still playing more than 80 percent of the safety snaps during that span.

This group is a big reason the Packers do not give up explosive plays. They just need to start making more big plays on the ball, as well.

Grade: B

Special Teams

Punter Daniel Whelan has been a constant. He is seventh in the league with a 43.2-yard net average, third with a 51.9-yard gross average and third in hangtime.

He’s about all there is that’s reliable about Green Bay’s special teams other than you know they’ll make at least one big mistake per game.

Green Bay Packers punter Daniel Whelan is having an outstanding season. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Lucas Havrisik was perfect as an understudy to Brandon McManus when McManus missed two games with a quad injury that he is still working through. Both kickers are still on the roster, but LaFleur has made it clear that McManus is their man. They’ve stuck by him despite him missing three kicks since returning from the injury.

Even before the injury, McManus was not the automatic kicker he was last season. He’s 11-of-16 on field goals, the 68.8 percent success rate ranking second-to-last in the league, and he had an extra point blocked at Dallas, which was a big momentum shift in the 40-40 tie.

The return game is also a mess.

Savion Williams has moments when he looks like he could have something figured out, but it remains a little befuddling that he’s been the only kickoff returner this season when the Packers have a two-time first-team All-Pro on the sideline in Keisean Nixon.

Punt returner has been a revolving door with Matthew Golden being the first man up after Jayden Reed was sidelined with an injury. He has since given way to Romeo Doubs, who at least is sure-handed, but the Packers are last in the NFL in punt-return average.

That’s not going to cut it. This group needs to get better at simply not being noticed by the end of every game.

Grade: D

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Quarterback

Running Backs

Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Line

Defensive Line

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Special Teams

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