NFL Power Rankings: Where Are Packers Following Draft?
GREEN BAY, Wis. – While the 2023 NFL season won’t start for about four months, rosters essentially are set with free agency mostly in the rear-view mirror and the draft complete.
Following the trade of Aaron Rodgers, new Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Jordan Love will be lining up with an incredibly young group of targets in the passing game. Just how young? The Packers have 27 career starts from all their receivers and tight ends combined.
Perhaps that reality will be offset by the return of running back Aaron Jones and a defense that got another first-round pick added to its ranks with the addition of Lukas Van Ness.
Those facts are reflected in a fresh batch of NFL power rankings.
SI.com: 15th. Conor Orr wrote that he’s more bullish on the Packers than most pundits, a statement backed up in this set of power rankings. Rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft will help create some easier throws for Love, and rookie receiver Jayden Reed is a “nightmare” with the ball in his hands.
Pro Football Focus: 18th. Coming off an 8-9 season, the Packers traded Aaron Rodgers and let Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb depart in free agency. That’s a lot of offensive firepower out the door, putting the pressure on Love and Musgrave, the player projected to make the largest impact among the rookies, to deliver.
NFL.com: 19th. With a first-year starting quarterback and three rookies added with premium picks on offense, this has the “feel of a developmental year” on offense, Dan Hanzus said. Thus, the pressure isn’t only on Love. It’s also on the defense to play at a much higher level than it did with Rodgers.
Fox Sports: 20th. David Helman isn’t writing off the Packers just yet. Bringing back Jones was important, and the three passing-game targets selected in the first three rounds should help Love’s ascension into the starting lineup. Including Van Ness, the defense has an “absurd” amount of talent.
NBC’s Peter King: 21st. Remember: Rodgers went 6-10 in his first season as the starter in 2008. So, to expect Love to lead an eight-win team to the playoffs might be asking a bit much. A “rocky season for Love won’t rock the Packers’ future with him,” King wrote, so long as 2023 isn’t a total disaster.
The Sporting News: 22nd. The Packers’ roster is “pretty loaded,” Vinnie Iyer wrote. Now, it’s time for a defense that counts eight first-round picks on the depth chart to play up to its talent.
The ultimate Super Bowl odds are created by sportsbooks. Among the national sportsbooks, the Packers range from +3300 at PointsBet (15th-shortest) to +6500 at DraftKings (23rd-shortest).
The shortest odds for exact NFC North finish at DraftKings: Detroit with the win, followed by Minnesota in second, Chicago in third and Green Bay in the cellar.
If you like those odds, here is a great offer from DraftKings (assuming you live in an area where sports gambling is legal). Click here to sign up at DraftKings for a guaranteed $150 worth of bet credits with a $5+ bet on any sporting event.
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