Packer Central

Packers Fifth in First Consensus NFL Power Rankings

What’s better than NFL power rankings? Seven national rankings, all combined into one Consensus NFL Power Ranking. Here’s where you’ll find the Packers and Eagles.

Bill Huber

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) takes a snap from offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins (74) at training camp.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) takes a snap from offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins (74) at training camp. / Tork Mason/USA Today NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – In the season-opening edition of our Consensus NFL Power Rankings, the Green Bay Packers are ranked fifth.

Our rankings take seven national media entities and combine them into one consensus ranking.

There’s really no consensus with the Packers, though. Entering their season-opening showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles, they range from No. 2 by CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco to No. 13 by ESPN’s Mike Clay.

CBS Sports: 2nd

Pete Prisco has the Packers beating the Bills in the Super Bowl.

“I love the mix of veterans and young rising players on this roster,” Prisco wrote. “Jordan Love is the real deal, which is why this is a Super Bowl pick for me.”

Sports Illustrated: 3rd

Conor Orr is bullish on the Packers because of their complementary parts at receiver, the power of the running game and the “fresh set of eyes” on defense with new coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Mostly, though, Orr’s confidence lies in quarterback Jordan Love, who could be “special.”

“It’s always dangerous to assume a quarterback is going to progress in a linear fashion and, the truth is, we don’t know whether Jordan Love was just riding a heater toward the end of last year or if he truly is an elite, top-10-caliber starting quarterback in the NFL.” 

Pro Football Talk: 3rd

Wrote Mike Florio: “How good can Jordan Love be? We’re about to find out.”

The Athletic: 6th

Jordan Love will pilot an offense that is “stacked” with young skill-position playmakers.

Wrote Josh Kendall: “If Hafley can boost a defense that was 23rd in the league in EPA per snap last season, the Packers could go deep into the playoffs. The potential pitfall? The NFC North is daunting.

NFL.com: 9th

Eric Edholm loves how Jordan Love was allowed to work through last year’s early-season issues and led the team to the playoffs. Will Green Bay’s perennial shortcomings on defense and special teams be solved, though?

Wrote Edholm: “The Lions are Super Bowl contenders, the Bears are nipping at the Packers' heels and the Vikings aren't too far off the pace, so this division's certainly no walk in the park. But if Green Bay's defense and special teams are marginally better, and the offense keeps its November-through-January pace up, this could be a special season.”

Yahoo: 10th

Wrote Frank Schwab, noting the injuries to AJ Dillon (injured reserve) and MarShawn Lloyd (hamstring; didn’t practice on Tuesday): “Matt LaFleur likes to use multiple backs, but he might not have a great option for a committee this season.”

ESPN: 13th

Wrote Mike Clay: “The Packers have an excellent coach in Matt LaFleur, are above average on both sides of the ball and appear to have another quarterback gem in Jordan Love. They certainly could unseat Detroit in the NFC North.”

This Week’s Opponent: Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are ninth in the Consensus NFL Power Rankings.

SI.com’s Orr has the Eagles ranked No. 8. He is interested to see how it shakes out with the hiring of Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator.

“I don’t see an average season on par here in either direction,” wrote Orr at the end of his summary. “This experiment either works and the Eagles win the division, or it looks like the complicated chaos of the end of Doug Pederson’s regime where too many cooks in the kitchen thwarted the team’s post–Super Bowl LII rebuild.”

The Consensus Top 10

1, Kansas City Chiefs; 2, San Francisco 49ers; 3, Detroit Lions; 4, Baltimore Ravens; 5, Green Bay Packers; 6, Cincinnati Bengals; 7, Buffalo Bills; 8, Houston Texans; 9, Philadelphia Eagles; 10, Dallas Cowboys.

More Green Bay Packers News

Stokes healthy, smiling | Another new running back | Packers-Eagles Tuesday injury report | Watson “ready to rock” | NFL.com’s Super Bowl poll | Malik Willis progress report | Coordinator changes for both teams add to intrigue | 5,000 yards for Love? | Packers-Eagles matchups | Love vs. Eagles, the sequel | New kicker has GOAT goals | Grading every position group | Youngest roster again

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Bill Huber
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.