Packers Must Address These Five Needs to Contend for Championship

Regardless of who’s coaching the team next season, the Green Bay Packers must improve these five weaknesses in free agency and the draft.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon is tackled on a kickoff return against the Bears. | Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Green Bay Packers’ season is over and, for the 15th consecutive season, it ended without Super Bowl confetti.

In Saturday’s NFC wild-card loss to the Bears, Jordan Love and the offense sprinted out to a 21-3 lead in the first half and led 27-16 midway through the fourth quarter. Instead of putting the game away, the Packers collapsed at Soldier Field again. In three matchups, the Bears didn’t run a single snap on offense with the lead yet won two of three games.

So, instead of a trip to Seattle for a divisional-round playoff game, the Packers are left to wonder about what might have been.

This offseason is unlike most in Green Bay. The Packers do not have a first-round pick, having traded it for defensive end Micah Parsons prior to the start of the regular season. The salary cap situation is less than ideal, as well, thanks in part to contract extensions given to Love and Parsons.

If the Packers are going to get back to the Super Bowl, and ultimately win it, they’re going to need to be better than they were in 2025.

Some of that will require organic growth from players on the roster. Some of it will require adding some reinforcements. How they’ll do that will likely cause some sweat from the brows of general manager Brian Gutekunst and executive vice president Russ Ball.

With that in mind, here are the spots the Packers need to address this offseason.

Defensive Tackle

Green Bay’s trade for Micah Parsons was one it would make 100 times out of 100. Parsons was worth every pick, player and penny spent to acquire him.

The reality, however, is trading Kenny Clark to help acquire Parsons did leave the Packers thin in the middle. After losing two-year starter TJ Slaton in free agency, their biggest addition to the group was Warren Brinson in the sixth round.

Things got worse when Devonte Wyatt sustained a season-ending injury on Thanksgiving in Detroit.

Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks were the two primary starters. Both were fine in the middle, but neither is an impact player and likely are better suited to be key role players rather than starters.

The Packers likely cannot re-make their defensive tackle room in one offseason, so they will need some growth internally from returning players. Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse, an undrafted rookie, will be expected to take jumps in their second season.

Getting Wyatt back will help, but this is a position that needs some juice added to it. The Packers have not spent a top-100 pick on a defensive tackle since Brian Gutekunst became general manager aside from Wyatt, their first-round pick in 2022.

This group needs to affect games much more than it did in 2025. The pass rush cannot simply be the Micah Parsons Show, and the run defense cratered by the end of the season.

Cornerback With Ball Skills

The cornerback position was a point of contention all season, and the Packers continued to insist that they liked their guys, citing their experience. The returning duo of Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine and free-agent addition Nate Hobbs were experienced starters.

Valentine being the first man off the bench behind Hobbs had the Packers feeling like they had some depth at the position, even if they didn’t have a true stopper like they once had with Jaire Alexander.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine celebrates his interception during the second quarter against the Bears. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ultimately, Hobbs was in and out of the lineup with injuries. Valentine was benched several times during the season and Nixon, while he ranked among the league leaders in passes defensed, was up-and-down for most of the year. Nixon’s interception in the end zone against Chicago on Dec. 7 was the only interception by a cornerback during the regular season.

Perhaps they’ll bring Trevon Diggs back on a revised deal for another run after claiming him off waivers prior to the end of the regular season.

The interior of Green Bay’s secondary is in good shape. Nickel Javon Bullard was probably the most improved player from 2024 to 2025. Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney form an excellent safety duo. Hobbs even played well when given chances in the slot. They have depth there.

The boundary cornerback situation, however, needs some reinforcements. Nixon and Valentine are entering contract years. Nixon and Diggs could be salary-cap casualties.

Regardless of what they do from a cap standpoint, they need playmaking cornerbacks.

Pass Rusher

Green Bay’s pass rush was supposed to be its biggest strength after acquiring Micah Parsons. It turned out to be a detriment once Parsons went down for the season. Devonte Wyatt was a big part of the pass rush, as well, until his season-ending injury.

Rashan Gary led the league in sacks at one point but, after sacking the Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers twice in late October, he finished the season with a streak of 10 consecutive games without a sack. He could be a salary cap casualty.

Lukas Van Ness missed eight games due to a foot injury and wound up playing less than one-fourth of the defensive snaps. He is likely the single most important player to give Green Bay’s pass rush a jolt. 

Van Ness played well in the playoff loss to Chicago, which included him coming up with a strip-sack of Caleb Williams to force the Bears to kick a field goal. He’ll be entering his fourth season, and the Packers will likely have him penciled in as a starter if they move on from Gary.

Perhaps they’ll get added contributions from a pair of Day 2 draft picks this year. Fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell showed well in the regular-season finale. Fifth-round pick Collin Oliver, who was drafted to give the pass rush some speed on the edge, should be healthy going into next year.

The Packers may not be able to add anyone with free agent money or a high draft pick. They’ll likely need their returning players to step up before Parsons gets back to full strength.

Offensive Line

Green Bay spent last offseason re-tooling its offensive line by signing Aaron Banks to an enormous contract in free agency, drafting Anthony Belton in the second round and shifting Elgton Jenkins to center.

The moves did not work, capped off by a poor performance, especially in the second half, of their loss to the Bears in the playoffs. Love was only sacked once but was under siege for most of the second half, and the Packers had only 6 rushing yards after halftime.

Green Bay Packers guard Jordan Morgan throws a block for Josh Jacobs against the Bears. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, the Packers are likely to be re-tooling their offensive line again. Jordan Morgan, the team’s first-round pick in 2024, got the first start of his career at left tackle in the regular-season finale against Minnesota. He’ll likely be the left tackle in 2026.

The other big question comes at center, where Jenkins could be released for salary-cap purposes and Sean Rhyan, who replaced Jenkins and was inconsistent while learning a new position, will be a free agent. The Packers do not have an heir apparent on the roster, unless they like what Jacob Monk showed in his lone start of the season against Minnesota.

Backup Quarterback

What a find Malik Willis turned out to be for Brian Gutekunst.

Willis was brought in to stabilize the backup quarterback situation after Sean Clifford and Michael Pratt failed to take hold of the job in the preseason of 2024.

All Willis did was perform whenever Jordan Love had to miss time.

If the Packers had any hope of keeping Willis, that likely went out the window when he lit up the Baltimore Ravens for one touchdown through the air and two on the ground. He almost certainly will get a chance to start in free agency.

Clayton Tune spent the season on the practice squad but was released after his one start against the Vikings. Desmond Ridder, a third-round pick in 2022 with 17 career starts, finished the season as the team’s third quarterback. Could they bring him back? Will they use a draft choice? Will they try and find a cheap veteran on the market?

The only thing that seems like a certainty at the position is that Willis will not be the backup in 2026. 

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