The Green Bay Packers entered the offseason with some big perceived positions of need.
As free agency progressed, some big names were thought to be available either as free agents or on the trade market.
As it turns out, no trade was swung for DK Metcalf. They did not land Josh Sweat.
They did not land DJ Reed.
They were able to add an offensive lineman and a cornerback.
Aaron Banks was given $77 million over four seasons to take over as their starting left guard.
Nate Hobbs was given $48 million to be the team’s starter at cornerback in base but with a skillset versatile enough to move all over the field.
Despite their shopping in the offseason, there are more needs to be filled in April’s draft. There could also be a trade swung during the draft to add a proven veteran.
Brian Gutekunst has never given up a premium pick for a veteran player, but this could be the year something changes with a Super Bowl drought that has now reached 15 years in Green Bay.
Here’s a look at what Green Bay’s biggest needs are going into draft day.
Defensive End
Gutekunst made his feelings clear as day following the season.
Matt LaFleur echoed the same sentiments.
The Packers want to be able to rush the passer with four guys.
They’re likely envious of the Philadelphia Eagles’ ability to do just that against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
The Eagles pummeled Mahomes en route to a 40-22 victory.
The Packers likely came out of training camp thinking they had similar possibilities on the defensive line. Their front wrecked two different offensive lines during joint practice sessions and consistently won the day against Green Bay’s offensive line during training camp as well.
That did not translate to the regular season. Green Bay’s pass rush ran hot and cold for most of the year.
Lukas Van Ness did not take the jump that most of the team was hoping he would.
Preston Smith looked like an old player, and he was traded at the deadline for a seventh-round pick.
Rashan Gary was the team’s best pass rusher but only had 7.5 sacks on the year. He’s a good player but not a great one at this stage of his career. The Packers are paying him to be great.
This could be a spot where the Packers look for their first-round pick. Texas A&M’s Shemar Stewart, Tennessee’s James Pearce Jr. and Georgia’s Mykel Williams have all been in Green Bay on predraft visits.
If they do not draft a defensive end early, the likelihood is the Packers will be banking heavily on internal development from the guys that were considered disappointing and inconsistent a season ago.
Wide Receiver
A yearly tradition unlike any other – a debate about the Green Bay Packers’ wide receiver corps.
Coming into last season, the Packers thought they had four options they could feasibly rely on at any given moment.
That did not include the uptick they expected in production from tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, along with some help from Josh Jacobs in the passing game as well.
As the season went along, the passing game regressed. By the end of the season, it looked like an utter disaster.
Jordan Love was picked off three times in the team’s 22-10 Wild Card loss in Philadelphia, and they found little success attacking the Eagles’ defense through the air.
This could have been passed off as being shut down by a really good defense, if it were just a one-game issue.
It was not.
Green Bay’s offense struggled with an identity crisis through the end of the season, and none of their top four receivers got appreciably better from 2023 to 2024.
Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are both in contract years, and both suffered injuries a season ago, making their futures uncertain.
Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed both struggled with drops.
The Packers did not make any notable outside additions in free agency. Davante Adams and Metcalf never appeared to be serious considerations.
Green Bay has made its hay with receivers in the second round in the past. They may have to do that again with the issues with injuries and inconsistency surrounding their current crop.
Defensive Tackle
Kenny Clark was thought to be a long-term fixture when he signed a rare third contract in Green Bay just before training camp began a season ago.
Clark responded by having his least productive season since he was a rookie.
Was it the new scheme? Was he starting to age? That question will be answered in 2025.
The primary starter next to Clark last season was T.J. Slaton, who left this offseason for Cincinnati.
Devonte Wyatt has struggled with inconsistency, but Brian Gutekunst called him the team’s best interior rusher in his end-of-season press conference.
Wyatt is entering a contract year, and with the conversations surrounding Clark, the Packers could use some help in the middle of their defensive line.
The good news, most experts agree., is that the interior defensive line is where the draft is at its best.
There are multiple players who fit what the Packers typically like from their defensive tackles, and this could be a spot where the Packers use their first-round selection.
Offensive Line Depth
Depth on the offensive line is a rarity around the NFL. There just aren’t a lot of quality offensive linemen in the NFL, let alone enough to support entire teams.
The Packers have typically been spoiled in that regard.
Last year, that was not the case.
Their depth on the interior of the offensive line was perilously thin. That was exasperated when Jordan Morgan, the team’s primary backup at both guard spots, went on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.
The lack of depth on the interior did not show up for Green Bay until the biggest moment of the season.
Elgton Jenkins left the team’s playoff loss to the Eagles, and the offensive line crumbled.
Travis Glover and KaDeem Telfort both struggled against Philadelphia’s ferocious front.
As of now, the Packers likely feel good about their top six guys on the offensive line.
Behind that? It’s the same lack of depth they had a season ago.
None of their young offensive linemen took a step to where the Packers would have to feel good if they had to play in a game tomorrow.
There will be competition added for the back end of the offensive line room. Gutekunst has taken three offensive linemen three separate times in the draft. He probably does not have enough picks to do that, but it’s a safe bet he will take at least one.
Cornerback
Perhaps the biggest need on the roster is the last one listed here.
The Packers have lost three cornerbacks this offseason.
Corey Ballentine, Robert Rochell and Eric Stokes are all officially out the door. Jaire Alexander’s future is tenuous to say the very least.
The only addition they’ve made thus far is Nate Hobbs, who is going to be one of their starters.
Who else plays with him remains to be seen.
Keisean Nixon said he wanted to be the team’s top cornerback in 2025. He’s the likely favorite to start across from Hobbs if the season were to start tomorrow.
Carrington Valentine had some nice moments but has been up and down during his brief NFL career.
The Packers could be in the market to take another defensive back in the first round. If Alexander is not going to be in the picture, there are some question marks about how good this group can truly be.
At the same time, the Packers’ secondary is not why they lost to the Eagles in the playoffs.
Perhaps the Packers feel they can get by at that position without a premium investment?
Even if that is true, they need to add numbers to the position.
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