NFL Roster Rankings: Have Packers Fallen Behind Bears?

The Green Bay Packers’ roster ranks 11th in the NFL overall but just third in the NFC North.

Bill Huber | May 19, 2024

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (29) breaks up a potential touchdown reception against Packers WR Romeo Doubs. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin /

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Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have the 11th-best roster in the NFL, according to rankings assembled by Pro Football Network. However, that’s only the third-best in the NFC North.

Dallas Robinson’s rankings take an interesting approach in taking the quarterbacks out of the equation because of that position’s outsized impact on games.

That the Packers ranked 11th makes sense based on last year’s results. The Packers barely made the 14-team playoff game field before they trounced the Dallas Cowboys and almost upset the San Francisco 49ers with a trip to the NFL’s version of the Final Four on the line.

With Jordan Love and an exciting group of young playmakers, there is untapped potential on offense entering the 2024 season.

The secret sauce on offense is the line, which Robinson said was the strength of the roster. The Packers got quality play from a seventh-round left tackle (Rasheed Walker) and tremendous results from a fourth-round right tackle (Zach Tom).

“The club has so much depth that 2024 first-round choice Jordan Morgan will likely either play guard or serve as a backup,” Robinson wrote.

The Packers’ weakness is at cornerback – a “position of concern,” as Robinson called it, and something we addressed after the draft.

Even assuming Jaire Alexander returns to elite form after the worst season of his career, who will man the other perimeter position?

Eric Stokes, a 2021 first-round pick, had a fabulous rookie season before a sophomore slump and a third season ruined by hamstring injuries. He hasn’t even broken up a pass since 2021.

Carrington Valentine, a 2023 seventh-round pick, had an up-and-down rookie season. On the whole, there was more good than bad with a 51.1 percent completion rate allowed, according to Sports Info Solutions. However, the Packers might have finished 7-10 had Quentin Johnston not dropped a 70-yard touchdown pass vs. Valentine in the waning moments against the Chargers or Valentine been flagged for pass interference after tackling Marquez Valdes-Scantling near the 5-yard line against the Chiefs.

The only player added at corner was Kalen King, a seventh-round pick.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the draft. “Through two weeks of the offseason, the guys are really getting after it, all those guys – Jaire. We’ve got Corey Ballentine back. Obviously, CV. Stokes looks great. We’ve got a lot of players that we’re confident in, in terms of going out there and playing at a high level.”

The Detroit Lions have the third-best roster. Offensive line is their strength and receiver is the weakness.

“It’s almost baffling that Detroit didn’t add a receiver in free agency or the draft, especially after losing Josh Reynolds, who played the second-most snaps among Lions WRs in 2023,” Robinson wrote. The Lions are putting a lot of eggs into the basket of former first-round pick Jameson Williams.

What’s noteworthy, not just for this season but the long-term outlook, is the Chicago Bears have the seventh-best roster, according to Robinson. Receiver is their strength and edge is their weakness.

Quarterback Caleb Wiliams, the No. 1 overall pick, is “walking into a luxurious” offense with a potentially star-studded receiver corps of D.J. Moore, veteran acquisition Keenan Allen and first-round pick Rome Odenze plus tight end Cole Kmet.

However, even after trading for productive Montez Sweat at last year’s deadline, the Bears still ranked 32nd in sack percentage. That lack of pass rush could be the X-factor when Love takes his two shots at Chicago.

Click here for the full rankings to see where the Minnesota Vikings are ranked and which NFC team is No. 1 overall.

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Published May 19, 2024

BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.