Packers Need Internal Development From These Returning Players on Offense

The NFL offseason has begun, and the Green Bay Packers are getting to work on trying to catch the Seattle Seahawks.

Surely, the Packers will add players from outside their organization. Brian Gutekunst has said he feels good about their ability to be active in free agency. Perhaps there will be other chances on the trade market and, of course, the NFL Draft will provide them opportunities to add to the roster.

For a draft-and-develop franchise like the Packers, internal growth from players already in the organization is perhaps even more important.

General managers in Major League Baseball like to quip that getting a player back from the injured list is just like making an acquisition at the trade deadline. Acquisitions like those are the ones the Packers need this offseason. With that in mind, here are the most important internal acquisitions the Packers can make at every position on offense. (We’ll focus on defense on Sunday.)

Quarterback: Backup Emerges

Starting quarterback Jordan Love has missed four full games due to injuries the past two seasons. His backup during that period, Malik Willis, will be playing elsewhere when the 2026 season begins, as he’s earned a chance to be a starter.

The other quarterbacks on the roster are two late-season additions: veteran Desmond Ridder and first-year player Kyle McCord.

Ridder, a third-round pick by Atlanta, has started 18 games in his career, including 13 for the Falcons in 2023. If the Packers go the veteran route, Ridder has been around after handling the third-quarterback duties when Clayton Tune was released after the regular-season finale.

The Packers would be asking for a lot for any backup to play as well as Willis did in Love’s absence over the last two years. Finding someone who can play solid enough to get the team to 2-2 in a theoretical four-game absence is what they’re looking for.

Maybe that’s Ridder. Maybe they can develop McCord, a sixth-round pick by the Eagles in 2025 who didn’t play in a game as a rookie. Maybe they look at the trade or free-agent market to try and find a diamond in the rough, like they did with Willis at the end of camp two years ago.

Either way, the Packers need to find some depth at the game’s most important position.

Running Back: Marshawn Lloyd’s Health

Josh Jacobs presumably got a vote of confidence to return next season from Brian Gutekunst. Of course, Gutekunst has said things in the press before, only to go back on them shortly thereafter. That’s how Jacobs got to Green Bay in the first place.

Assuming that Jacobs is back, the Packers still need more juice in their running game. Jacobs is good at a lot of things, but he’s not a home-run hitter. His longest run in two seasons with the Packers was a 40-yard touchdown last season in Denver. Plays like that have been few and far between. He has 10 runs of 20-plus yards the past two seasons. Baltimore’s Derrick Henry has a league-high 36 with nine touchdowns.

Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Marshawn Lloyd, a third-round pick in 2024, has always had buzz surrounding him whenever he’s been on the field. Getting on the field, of course, has been the problem. He’s played in one game over two seasons due to a litany of lower-body injuries.

If he’s able to get healthy and stay healthy, he can add a lot to the team. If he can’t, the Packers will need to find someone to fill that role.

Receiver: Matthew Golden’s Breakout

Romeo Doubs is slated to be a free agent when the new league-year begins next month. While ESPN reported the door wasn’t closed on a reunion between Doubs and the Packers, it feels unlikely considering the state of the roster and other needs elsewhere.

That leaves Matthew Golden as the most likely man to step in and fill Doubs’ shoes as the primary outside receiver across from Christian Watson.

While Dontayvion Wicks has done some nice things in Green Bay and is bigger than Golden, which could serve him well in an offense that values blocking, Golden is more explosive.

The Packers drafted Golden in the first round for a reason, and it was on full display in the team’s final game against the Chicago Bears. Golden had 84 yards receiving and an impressive touchdown on four catches. Whenever Golden got opportunities, he usually made the most of them.

Now, the opportunities should be there. Golden, Watson and Jayden Reed could form a dynamic trio in the passing game if LaFleur is willing to put two small receivers on the field at the same time for the majority of snaps.

Tight End: Tucker Kraft’s Knee

This position was obvious. Getting Tucker Kraft back really is like adding an impact player. Kraft may have been on pace for an All-Pro type of season when he tore his ACL in early November.

It took the Packers two full games to adjust to his absence, and their tight end production essentially vanished from there. Luke Musgrave was a talented prospect when the Packers drafted him in the second round in 2023 but has yet to realize anything close to that potential since being surpassed by Kraft on the depth chart going into their second seasons.

Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft (85) celebrates a touchdown against the Washington Commanders. | William Glasheen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kraft gives the Packers a physical presence in the passing game as someone who would like to go through a defender as opposed to around them. Even if Kraft loses some athleticism while coming back from his ACL injury, his play style makes it less prevalent.

Getting Kraft back is like adding an easy button to the offense that certainly missed an option like that during their collapse against Chicago that ended their season.

Offensive Tackle: Jordan Morgan Plays to First-Round Expectations

The Packers are going to have a new left tackle, and Jordan Morgan will be first in line to win the job.

Brian Gutekunst said Morgan did enough to earn the left tackle job after competing for it in training camp with Rasheed Walker but was forced elsewhere due to injuries. Gutekunst also noted that cross training remained a possibility for the former first-round pick.

“I think it would be ideal,” Gutekunst said of letting him focus on left tackle. “I think it’s unrealistic. I think we’ll probably have to cross-train all these guys. I do sometimes think if you can keep a guy on a side, left or right, it’s helpful for him a little bit. But his versatility certainly has helped us, and it was one of the reasons that drew us to him in the draft, and his ability to play all those spots has been a benefit to us.

“But, certainly, he’s going to get a lot of opportunity. I thought he played really well in the preseason at that spot, probably did enough to win that job, but then we had some injuries and had to do what was best for the team. So, we’ll kind of see how it goes, but I think he’s excited probably to hunker down in one spot as well, but that’s not always the case in the National Football League.”

While Gutekunst is right that moving guys around is part of the business in the NFL, the Packers would be foolish to play musical chairs with their presumed starter at left tackle, who only has one start under his belt at the position, before throwing him into the fire in the regular season.

Rasheed Walker was not asked to move around during training camp last year, focusing only on left tackle. Morgan should be afforded the same luxury.

We’ve talked about the issues of playing musical chairs on the offensive line, but continuing to do so with who they hope is the left tackle of the future would be a dangerous, and foolish exercise.

Guard: Belton and Banks Find Consistency

When the Packers signed Aaron Banks last offseason, they were hoping to level up on their offensive line that struggled to finish the 2024 season. Instead, Banks was injured for most of training camp, and those injuries lingered as the season progressed.

By the end of the season, Banks was healthy and played well, including a strong game against Chicago to end the season.

Banks is likely to be back for Season 2, and the other guard will likely be Anthony Belton, a second-round pick last year who started every game from Thanksgiving until the season ended.

The Packers need Anthony Belton, left, and Jordan Morgan, right to step up in 2026. | Kayla Wolf-Imagn Images

Between the two, the Packers have nearly 700 pounds of guards. That sounds great on paper, but they need to play better. Green Bay’s run game stunk last year, and most run games are run through guard play.

Belton needs to take a jump in his second season, and Banks needs to prove Gutekunst right on the $77 million investment he made one offseason ago.

Center: Jacob Monk Fills In Seamlessly

The reality of this position on the roster is there is not really a realistic internal option outside of Jacob Monk.

Could the Packers, who are in the middle of a championship window, hand their center job to someone who has started one game at the position? They could. With other pressing needs on the roster, it’s possible that center gets pushed to the back burner.

Internally, that’s the only option. Sean Rhyan is a free agent. Elgton Jenkins is a potential salary cap casualty. If neither are back, there’s a big hole in the middle of Green Bay’s offensive line.

Monk being able to step in ably would help for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, they could focus their limited resources on other parts of the team instead of potentially having to shoehorn someone into play center. Monk has experience in the offens and could bypass some of the growing pains that could be had if a rookie were inserted into the lineup.

Secondly, he’d be playing for minimal money. In a salary-capped sport, that certainly matters when a team is paying out mega contracts to Jordan Love and Micah Parsons.

The guess here is the Packers would prefer a veteran or someone with more upside than Monk, but if they like what they saw in his one start against Minnesota, Monk’s emergence could be a big development.

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