Matt LaFleur is back for his 8th season in Green Bay as the Packers look to get back into action after their devastating meltdown to the Chicago Bears in last year’s Wild Card round. Adam Stenavich is back for his 5th season as offensive coordinator. Jordan Love returns at quarterback. Running back Josh Jacobs has been placed on the commissioner’s exempt list for misdemeanor battery and criminal property damage. His availability remains uncertain as the league continues to investigate his legal case. The Packers will lean on Marshawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, and Kaleb Johnson to handle the workload, but it’s an understatement to say the running game suffers tremendously with Jacobs not on the field. Losing Emanuel Wilson hit especially hard. The Packers will miss Romeo Doubs, who is off to New England. Jacobs was also a threat in the passing game. Dontayvion Wicks is no longer with the team, as he now plays for the Eagles. The Packers return Matthew Golden, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Tucker Kraft at tight end. The offensive line returns Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Anthony Belton, and Zach Tom, who now goes by the last name Bako-Bewele.
The Packers will have a new-look defense under first-year defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who comes over from the Cardinals, where he served as head coach last year. Micah Parsons will start the season on the PUP list, leaving the Packers with just six of their top eleven tacklers from last year. Top tackler Quay Walker is now with the Raiders. Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Lukas Van Ness, Edgerrin Cooper, and Isaiah McDuffie return in the front seven that will wait patiently for Parsons to return. The Packers acquired Javon Hargrave from the Vikings and Zaire Franklin from the Colts. Green Bay fans are excited to get their first look at Missouri rookie Chris McClellan, who will compete for a starting job immediately—the secondary returns Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard.
Cam Achord is the new special teams coordinator. The Packers break in a new placekicker in Florida rookie Trey Smack. Daniel Whelan returns as the punter after averaging an exceptional 51.7 yards per punt last year. Skyy Moore is expected to play a major role in the return game. It will be interesting to see if the Packers can find a balanced attack with their running game to keep defenses honest. If they can get that worked out, they will be another tough out this year in the NFC North.