Where Do Packers’ Skill Players Rank? Here’s What ESPN Says

   

Where Do Packers’ Skill Players Rank? Here’s What ESPN Says

Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur loves to deflect the attention off quarterback Jordan Love.

“His job is going to be affected by everybody around him,” LaFleur said during OTAs. “That’s just the game of football. We always talk about all 11 and doing your one-eleventh.”

So, what about the skill-position players surrounding Love with the start of training camp almost two weeks away? ESPN.com’s Bill Barnwell ranked the receivers, running backs and tight ends who will line up alongside Love. After improving from 28th in 2023 to 17th in 2024, the Packers remain 17th entering 2025.

“With so many promising young receivers, it seemed inevitable that at least one of Green Bay’s primary pass catchers would take a step forward in 2024,” Barnwell wrote. “Somehow, they went 0-for-5.”

One: Jayden Reed had three big games during the first half of the season before falling off a cliff during the second half of the season due to drops and an accumulation of bumps and bruises. He needs to play from the slot more often, Barnwell said.

Two: Romeo Doubs had two big-time performances in the 2023 playoffs but had only two games of more than four catches and just two games of more than 62 yards in 2024. Following a season marred by one suspension and two concussions, Doubs enters Year 4 with zero 100-yard games in regular-season play.

Three: Dontayvion Wicks excelled at getting open but his yards per catch tumbled and his drops soared. He ranked last among receivers in ESPN’s catch score.

 

Four: Christian Watson caught only 29 passes before a torn ACL.

At tight end, Tucker Kraft did take an anticipated Year 2 jump but …

Five: Luke Musgrave missed a big chunk of the season due to an ankle injury and had only one catch of more than 6 yards.

It all led to a passing attack that believed it had multiple No. 1 receivers entering the season but instead used this year’s first-round pick on receiver Matthew Golden and their third-round pick on receiver Savion Williams.

“I’m still reasonably optimistic about all of these guys – and Golden should give Green Bay a much-needed burst of downfield speed while Watson is unavailable – but last season was a reminder of how tough it is to project steps forward for even promising young receivers in a healthy offense,” Barnwell wrote.

With Love hobbled and the receivers dropping passes, Green Bay relied heavily on the hard-charging, leg-churning runs of Josh Jacobs, who finished sixth in the NFL in rushing and third in rushing touchdowns. He did much of the work on his own, with his ability to squeeze every inch out of every run.

Barnwell referenced Jacobs ranking 15th out of 23 backs with a success rate of 39.5 percent. (Success Rate matches Green Bay’s win/loss grading. A “success” is a first-and-10 play that gains 4 yards, a second-down play that gains at least half the remaining yardage and a third-down play that picks up a first down.) According to Stathead, of 23 backs with at least 200 carries, Jacobs instead ranked 11th at 52.2 percent. Eagles star Saquon Barkley was ninth at 52.5 percent.

Barnwell also said the “Packers were better when he was off the field than when he was on it, something that wasn't true for Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry, other NFL free agent additions.” In fact, according to league data, the running game was 0.17 yards per play better when Jacobs was on the field and the passing game was 0.44 yards better with Jacobs in the lineup.

Focusing on the NFC North, the Detroit Lions were second – they’d be first had offensive coordinator Ben Johnson not taken the head job with Chicago – and the Minnesota Vikings were fifth.

In conclusion about the Vikings, Barnwell, wrote, “I’d expect this offense to keep humming, but a lot of the players around Justin Jefferson have something to prove.”

The Chicago Bears plunged from sixth to 25th.

Wrote Barnwell: “The arrival of new coach Ben Johnson suggests the offense will be put in much better positions to succeed, and indeed, it will hardly be a shock if the Bears go from one of the league's worst schemes to one of its best.”

The Packers will play five of the top eight teams in Barnwell’s rankings for a total of seven games.