How do the Green Bay Packers look after this offseason?
The Green Bay Packers have made a variety of moves to the roster this offseason. They lost a few veteran names such as Bryan Bulaga, Blake Martinez, Truman Williams, Kyler Fackrell, and Geronimo Allison.
What did the Green Bay Packers offseason look like as a whole, and what does this mean for the Chicago Bears?
Offense
We all know the drama of the Jordan Love pick by now. Through the lens of how this affects the Packers in 2020, this was a good pick for the Bears Love is unlikely to contribute, and the Packers traded up with their first-round pick to add him.
At running back, the team added A.J. Dillon next. A bit of a surprise to some, Matt LeFleur is drawn to his power and speed combination. When LeFleur was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee, he had a duo of Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis. In Aaron Jones and Dillon, he likely sees a similar one-two punch.
Patrick Taylor was also added as a UDFA to compete with Jamal Williams as depth. They also drafted Josiah Deguard, who LeFleur has compared to Kyle Juscyzk after working with Kyle Shanahan.
The biggest questions in all these picks were that they came at the expense of receiver. Devin Funchess was signed but was injured last year and has less than 600 yards in the past two seasons combined. If anything, he fills in for Geronimo Allison. The Packers are relying heavily on Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdez-Scantling, Jake Kumerow, and Equanimeous St. Brown to take a step forward to assure the team of depth.
On the offensive line, they swapped out Bulaga for former Lion Ricky Wagner. Over the past three years, the move could be considered a wash, but Bulaga was better and healthier in 2019 than Wagner. They drafted Simon Stepniak, Jake Hanson, and Jon Runyan to boost up some of the depth but are going to look to bring back David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Corey Linsley, and Billy Turner as four starters, and Lane Taylor as depth as well.
Defense
Tramon Williams and Blake Martinez are out, and while the team did add Christian Kirksey, but Kirksey has played just 586 snaps over the past two seasons. They also did not replace Williams, who had 539 snaps in coverage in 2019. They are betting on Josh Jackson, Chandon Sullivan, Stanford Samuels, or Ka’Dar Hollman to step up in the slot. They are also betting a lot on Kevin King.
Kamal Martin will replace Fackrell, and since Fackrell did not bring much it is not a huge drop-off. Jonathan Garvin and Vernon Scott were drafted for depth as well. Still, this is a team that is clearly betting on steps forward from players on their roster much more than they are the players added.
Questions at receiver, cornerback, linebacker, and even a few questions on the offensive line still linger from the team that won the division in 2019. Can Aaron Rodgers keep the Packers in the hunt this year without upgrading at any position?