The Four Most Important Packers: Jordan Love No. 1

In the 16th and final story in our 90-to-1 countdown of the Green Bay Packers’ roster, it’s the players ranked No. 4 through No. 1. Jordan Love is the easy and obvious selection as the team’s most important player.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love leaves the field after beating the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will take a 90-man roster to the field for the first practice of training camp on July 22.

Here is Part 16 of our ranking of the most important players on the Packers’ roster. This isn’t just a listing of the team’s best players. These rankings consider talent, importance of the position, depth at the position, salary and draft history. More than anything, we hope you learn something about each player.

No. 4: DE Rashan Gary

Players are defined by numbers. 100 receptions. 1,000 rushing yards. 4,000 passing yards.

Ten sacks.

Gary is entering Year 6 of his career still chasing his first 10-sack season. He might have gotten there in 2022 if not for a torn ACL. Now that he’s a year beyond the injury, maybe this will be the year when Gary finally hits the statistical mark.

“I said it before, I’ll say it again: He’s the best leader on our team,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. “Every day he comes to work. Every day he’s encouraging. Any of you guys that have seen pre-practice when he’s out there, he’s constantly pulling somebody aside to talk to them.

“He’s the engine. He drives it. It’s what he does. So, from a mentality standpoint, I don’t see any difference. Now the good thing is, he’s had a full year of his injury that he’s come back from. Hopefully, we’re wishing for the best for him this upcoming season.”

Gary doesn’t have the glitzy sack numbers, but he’s consistently applied pressure. He ranked third in pass-rush win rate in 2021, eighth in 2022 and 14th in 2023, according to PFF. Perhaps the attack-driven defense being installed by new coordinator Jeff Hafley will help Gary not just get 10 sacks but 12 or 14.

“Attack, attack, attack. Aggressive and I’m loving it. Just pin your ears back and relax and play,” he said. “Get off the ball and playing with effort. That’s what this defense is and that’s all about me.”

No. 3: S Xavier McKinney

X marks the spot of the biggest upgrade on the roster.

The Packers reached the playoffs last season despite arguably the worst safety corps in the NFL. This offseason, general manager Brian Gutekunst signed McKinney, the best veteran on the free-agent market.

In 17 games and 1,128 snaps on defense with the Giants last season, McKinney had 116 tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Compare that to Green Bay’s safety duo for the stretch run, Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens. In 21 starts and 1,333 snaps on defense, they combined for 124 tackles, zero interceptions, four passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Moreover, of 74 safeties who played at least 500 snaps last year, McKinney missed seven tackles and ranked fourth with a missed-tackle rate of 5.7 percent, according to PFF. Savage missed 12 and ranked 69th with a missed-tackle rate of 18.5 percent and Owens missed seven and ranked 24th at 9.2 percent.

In coverage, McKinney ranked sixth in passer rating (52.1), Savage was 40th (96.1) and Owens was 61st (115.8).

“What a pro,” Hafley said before the start of OTAs. “How hard he works, the communication, the way he is in the meeting rooms, the way he looks out for the younger guys – that’s the stuff you don’t see. All the stuff I explained to you in my first meeting, yeah, we think he can do all those things – and he’s shown that he can – but the coolest part about him is, and I told him this the other day, you don’t find out about somebody and who they are and how hard they work until they get here.

“That’s been the thing that’s probably made us the happiest. Great pro, great attitude, great effort. He’s done a great job so far, so really excited to have him here, continue to have him grow in the scheme and really understand the scheme. I think it’s our job to put him in position to make a lot of things happen. It’s been fun to see everything that he can do and how quickly he can learn. I’m really glad we have him.”

No. 2: CB Jaire Alexander

Even in an offseason filled with one mega-contract after another, the $21 million average of the contract extension Alexander signed in May 2022 remains the largest ever at the position.

Alexander didn’t play like that kind of player last year. Injuries sidelined him for nine games; a suspension kept him out for a 10th. When he did play, he wasn’t close to meeting his usual standard. Whether it was the pain of the injuries or the pain of playing in Joe Barry’s scheme, Alexander was practically an uninterested observer.

In 17 games in 2022, Alexander intercepted five passes to earn All-Pro honors. In 2023, he intercepted zero passes. In 2020, according to PFF, Alexander in 16 games allowed 37 completions and a 48.7 percent catch rate. In 2023, he allowed 28 completions and a 71.8 percent catch rate. Only six corners allowed a passer rating worse than Alexander’s 127.4.  

The season officially went in the ditch when he appointed himself a captain at Carolina and nearly botched the coin toss. The next week, Alexander was suspended for a must-win game at Minnesota and against premier receiver Justin Jefferson. However, in a playoff win at Dallas, he made a key interception. In the two playoff games, he delivered Alexander-esque coverage despite a sprained ankle.

“The reflection? I just had to go out there and ball, show them that I was still me regardless of the adversity,” he said last month. “That’s all behind us know and we’re just going to move forward.”

The Packers need Alexander to return to his usual standard. Whether he plays a side or a specific man, how he’ll be used by Hafley remains a mystery. Regardless, seemingly every team on the schedule has a premier receiver. That includes all three NFC North teams, the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 and the San Francisco 49ers, who are the biggest obstacle in the way of the Super Bowl

“I think the biggest thing,” Alexander said, “is just understanding that although I am on an island all the time and all day, it’s the culmination of everybody being around and the culmination of the chemistry that we’re building now that’s going to matter later on in the season. You’ll see it.”

No. 1: QB Jordan Love

Wherever a quarterback is on the experience or salary spectrum, he is the most important player on the field for every game on the schedule. No, he is the most important player on the field every day of the week, whether it’s a Sunday playoff game or a typical Wednesday practice.

Love faced a Mission Impossible type of debut season as Green Bay’s starter. Or so it seemed. Aaron Rodgers left behind some impossibly big shoes to fill when he was traded to the New York Jets last year, just like Brett Favre did when he was traded to the Jets in 2008.

Who knows if Love is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but the second half of the season showed a sky’s-the-limit sort of player. During the final eight games of the regular season, he lifted the team from the abyss by throwing 18 touchdowns vs. one interception. In his playoff debut, he destroyed the powerhouse Cowboys with three touchdowns and a near-perfect passer rating.

In the first nine games, Love was last in interceptions and close to last in completion percentage and passer rating. In the final eight games, he was first in interceptions, second in touchdowns, third in completion percentage and second in passer rating.

Brock Purdy might be the perfect fit for how the 49ers want to play under Kyle Shanahan. Love might be the perfect fit for how the Packers want to play under LaFleur, but Love has top-tier talent. He’s got a big-time arm, more than enough mobility and now a full season’s worth of starting experience.

The Packers are in good hands, so long as the killer interception at San Francisco is nothing more than the type of mistake an inexperienced player makes in the biggest moment of his career.

“I think it’s just excitement,” Love said at the end of minicamp. “Everyone, I think, from when the season ended last year, the way it ended for us, I think everybody was hungry and ready to just get back to it, get back to training camp and get the new season rolling.”

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With the first practice of #Packers training camp set for Monday, here is the depth chart, key battle and big question at cornerback. ⬇️https://t.co/K4r9IOz5Xd

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 18, 2024

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Hot Reads: Five veterans on hot seat | Love will report to training camp | Consensus QB rankings | PFN’s Top 100 | Five ceiling raisers for 2024 | Five breakout players for 2024 | Who will win big training camp battles? | Training Camp Schedule

Most Important Packers: 5-8 | 9-12 | 13-16 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 25-29 | 30-34 | 35-39 | 40-44 | 45-49 | 50-54 | 55-59 | 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-79 | 80-90

Best/worst case for rookies: Jordan Morgan | Edgerrin Cooper | Javon Bullard | MarShawn Lloyd | Ty’Ron Hopper