Packers Power Ranking of 10 Most Important Players Against Panthers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will look to extend their winning streak to four consecutive games when they host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

The Panthers are a team on the rise with a 4-4 record. They’re also a team that’s hungry after getting blown out at home last week by Buffalo.

For Green Bay to stay hot before hosting the Philadelphia Eagles next week, these 10 players step to the forefront.

No. 10: KR Savion Williams

Carolina has the best kickoff unit in the league. It’s led by rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald.

“The kicker’s done a tremendous job with what everybody’s calling those dirty kicks and the ability to put it on the ground,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said this week.

It won’t be necessary for rookie returner Savion Williams to break a long return. He’s just got to field the ball cleanly to prevent a disastrous turnover and give the offense at least decent field position against a quality defense.

No. 9: K Brandon McManus

It’s interesting that the Packers are hanging onto kicker Lucas Havrisik.

This will be kicker Brandon McManus’ second game back from an injured quad. He missed two field goals last week at Pittsburgh, including a relatively easy one just before halftime, before making two extra points and two shorter-than-extra-point field goals in the second half.

It will be a challenging day at Lambeau for the kickers, with winds gusting to 30 mph, according to WBAY-TV. McManus needs to return to form to not only help the Packers win but prevent a kicking controversy.

No. 8: DT Colby Wooden

This week, Micah Parsons mentioned that defensive tackle Colby Wooden’s nickname is “The General.” It was given to him by assistant defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase.

“He said because the nose is the general of the defense,” Wooden explained. “The nose, everything starts with the nose, like the run game, the pass, like everything starts with the nose. So, for me to be the nose, it’s kind of looked at like the general of the defense, hold it down.”

He’ll have to hold it down this week. The Panthers rank fifth in the NFL in rushing and running back Rico Dowdle is third in yards per carry. According to league data, 81 of the Panthers’ rushes have come up the middle, the most in the league. That means they’ll be running it right at Wooden.

“I feel like I’ve played smooth,” Wooden said. “I definitely want to keep improving, for sure. It’s a lot of stuff I can work on, lot of stuff I can get better at, but right now, we’re in a good place. We’re winning. That’s the most important thing, so we got to focus on Carolina, go stop their run. We know what they want to do – come in here and run the ball – and so we just got to stop it.”

No. 7: WR Romeo Doubs

Romeo Doubs has been the team’s most consistent receiver. He’ll be challenged by Carolina’s 11th-ranked pass defense, which features premier cornerback Jaycee Horn, who has three interceptions and has allowed a 47.9 passer rating, according to PFF, and cornerback Michael Jackson, who is fourth in the league with nine passes defensed.

“It’s definitely something that we’ve put a lot of work in since Romeo got here,” quarterback Jordan Love said of his connection with Doubs. “I remember when Aaron (Rodgers) was still here and we’re doing work on the side together, and I’m taking some of these reps with Rome in the offseason together.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs celebrates after scoring a touchdown at Carolina in 2023. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

“So, it’s something that has been building. I know what he’s capable of and I’m happy to see him go out there and balling lately and making some big-time plays. I think he’s in a great place right now. Rome puts a lot of work in on the side on his own, catching JUGS and doing different things and just staying locked into the play, knowing where he needs to be. So, it’s just a testament to all the work.”

He’s also taken over as the punt returner. Carolina’s kickoff coverage has been great; its punt coverage has been terrible. Fielding the ball on a windy day could be difficult. If Doubs handles that first important mission, there could be opportunities to make a play.

“I think he’s a work in progress,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said of Doubs, who was thrust into the role because of Matthew Golden’s struggles. “After every practice rep and after every game rep, he’s getting a little bit better, he sees it a little bit differently, and I thought that was his best look coming in [against Pittsburgh]. He’s done a really good job in the red zone and continually getting better, and I know he’s enjoying doing it.”

No. 6: TE Tucker Kraft

Who cares about No. 1 receivers when there’s a No. 1 tight end?

After getting only two targets in the win against Cincinnati in Week 6, Kraft was targeted 10 times in the win at Arizona and nine times in the win at Pittsburgh. He caught 12-of-19 for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Kraft is coming off the best game by any tight end this season. He is No. 1 among tight ends in yards after the catch per catch by a huge margin. The Packers’ record for most yards by a tight end was Paul Coffman’s 814 in 1983. Kraft is on pace for 1,139.

“Usually, most teams have a receiver as a top threat, but Kraft, he's a good player, and they like to get the ball to him,” star Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn said this week. “But you can't let that fool you because they got receivers who can go, too, so we've just got to be locked in on everybody who's out there.”

Carolina’s defense has allowed the sixth-most yards to tight ends.

No. 5: DEs Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary

Rashan Gary is fifth in the NFL with 7.5 sacks. Micah Parsons is sixth with 6.5 sacks. According to Next Gen Stats, Parsons leads the NFL with 44 pressures.

They are great pass rushers, and the Packers will need that to continue. This week, however, the challenge will be the running game. Carolina has one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL. It will be up to Gary and Parsons to set the edge and funnel everything to the linebackers, like they’ve done for most of the season.

If they can do that, they can get after quarterback Bryce Young.

“We’ve got to get him to the point he’s looking at his O-line. We’ve got to get him instead of looking downfield to looking in front of him,” Parsons said. “If you can make any quarterback do that, you have a good chance.

“When he’s constantly like, ‘Oh, my God, I keep getting hit or they’re getting back here,’ those are the things that throw a quarterback off. It’s impossible for him to look at his second read or his first read if he’s worrying about the front, so that’s how we’ve got to affect him.

No. 4: LB Edgerrin Cooper

Edgerrin Cooper and Quay Walker are one of the top linebacker tandems in the NFL, but Walker is questionable with a calf injury. Regardless of whether Walker plays – he practiced on Friday – Green Bay’s linebackers will be tested by Carolina’s potent rushing attack.

Cooper hasn’t had the breakout second season that so many expected but he’s been effective. Among all linebackers with at least 30 tackles, he is first with an average depth of tackle of 0.8 yards on running plays.

No. 3: RG Sean Rhyan/Jordan Morgan

Carolina’s Derrick Brown is one of the most underrated defensive linemen in the NFL. The seventh pick of the 2020 draft, Brown was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2023, when he had an astounding 101 tackles, but missed almost all of last season with a knee injury.

In eight games this season, Brown only has 27 tackles but he’s already matched his career high with three sacks. Mostly, he lines up at left defensive tackle. That means he’ll line up across from Green Bay’s rotating right guards.

No. 2: CB Carrington Valentine

The Panthers have a bit of a one-man passing game. Rookie first-round pick Tetairoa McMillan has 37 receptions for 512 yards. No. 2 in those categories is former first-round receiver Xavier Legette with 19 receptions for 159 yards. In fact, if you take the next three players on Carolina’s receiving list, they’d still have fewer yards than McMillan.

“He’s going to be a really good player for a long time,” coach Matt LaFleur said.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Carrington Valentine (24) breaks up a pass intended for Pittsburgh Steelers receiver DK Metcalf. | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

McMillan lines up across the formation, but the plurality of his snaps have come as the left wide receiver. That would mean a matchup against Carrington Valentine, who replaced high-priced free-agent addition Nate Hobbs last week at Pittsburgh and played well against Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf.

“This league’s hard,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said. “Every game’s hard, and that’s one of the hardest positions to play. You’re going to have adversity, and he had adversity and he wasn’t playing a lot. But he didn’t sit there and sulk and he didn’t complain. All he did was work, and he practiced harder and he got better and he earned the opportunity to go back on the field.

“And then what did he do? He took advantage of the opportunity and he played really good against a really good wideout and (a) Hall of Fame quarterback. Metcalf didn’t do much in the game.

No. 1: QB Jordan Love

Coming off Player of the Week honors and a team-record 20 consecutive completions, what can Jordan Love do for an encore?

It will be a challenging game from the standpoint of Carolina has good cornerbacks and the wind could make throwing the ball a challenge. On the other hand, Love has been scorching hot from a clean pocket and the Panthers have one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL.

Love is fourth in the NFL in passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt. As noted in the Packers Dope Sheet, he’s just the fifth quarterback in NFL history – and the first since Matt Ryan and Drew Brees in 2018 – to have at least 1,750 passing yards, 13 touchdowns, a 70 percent completion rate and 8 yards per attempt with two or fewer interceptions in the first seven games of a season.

Love’s success is tied to his playmakers, as he ranks No. 1 in yards after the catch per completion.

“He’s being smart with the ball,” Panthers linebacker Christian Rozeboom said this week. “He's getting it to his playmakers and they're making plays after the catch, and so getting them down as soon as we can will be huge and force them into longer [down-and-distance situations]. Winning first down (and) get them down once they do catch it [will be important].”