100 Days Until Packers Kickoff, 100 Things to Know Before Week 1

89: It took Matt LaFleur until Game 89 to win his 60th game, second-fastest among active coaches behind the Steelers’ Mike Tomlin (88 games) and second-fastest among Packers coaches behind Vince Lombardi (82).

88: All-Pro Xavier McKinney had eight interceptions last season. He also had 88 tackles. Dating to 1987, when tackle numbers became official, he’s one of only eight players with eight-plus interceptions and 88-plus tackles in a season and the first since Brian Russell in 2003.

87: As a fourth-round pick in 2022, Romeo Doubs was the 19th receiver selected. In total, 28 receivers from that draft class have caught at least one pass. From that group, Doubs ranks sixth with 147 receptions, sixth with 1,700 yards and tied for first with No. 8 overall pick Drake London with 15 touchdowns.

That makes Doubs a quality player, even though he hasn’t had 60 receptions or 700 yards in any season.

86: As a starter, Jordan Love’s record is 16-5 with a passer rating of better than 86. He is 2-10 when it’s less than 86.

85: Tucker Kraft was the seventh tight end selected in 2023 and the 81st overall selection. Despite barely playing during the first half of his rookie season, he trails only the Lions’ Sam LaPorta (No. 34) and the Bills’ Dalton Kincaid (No. 25) in receptions (81) and yards (1,062). Kraft is No. 1 with 13.1 yards per catch, and only LaPorta (17) has more touchdowns than Kraft (nine); nobody else has more than four.

84: This has nothing at all to do with No. 84 but, in case you were wondering, Luke Musgrave was the fourth tight end selected at No. 42 overall. He is sixth in the class with 41 receptions and 397 yards. He has one touchdown. A nonfactor even when he was healthy last season, the offense needs much more than last year’s seven receptions for 45 yards in seven games.

83: Third-round pick Savion Williams, who is wearing No. 83, should quickly grab hold of a role with jet sweeps and screens. At TCU last season, he averaged 6.9 yards after the catch per catch and forced 18 missed tackles in the passing game and averaged 4.2 yards after contact and forced 22 missed tackles in just 51 attempts as a runner, according to PFF.

82: Not counting strike-replacement games, the Packers have played in front of 382 consecutive capacity crowds at Lambeau Field. This will be the team’s 69th season at the famed stadium; only Boston’s Fenway Park (1912) and Chicago’s Wrigley Field (1914) have been used for a longer duration.

81: Tucker Kraft has 81 career catches. Of his 1,062 career receiving yards, 699 have come after the catch. In 2024, he was tied for 18th among tight ends with 50 receptions but was seventh with 707 yards, fourth with seven touchdowns and first with 9.3 YAC per catch.

80: Of 90 edge rushers with at least 215 pass-rushing opportunities last season, Kingsley Enagbare ranked 80th in PFF’s pass-rush win rate.

79: In 43 career regular-season games, Romeo Doubs has only one game of 79-plus receiving yards and one touchdown. That came against Carolina in 2023, when he caught four passes for 79 yards and scored a fourth-quarter touchdown.

78: Josh Jacobs delivered 78.2 percent of his yards after contact. Among the top 10 in rushing yards, that was by far the highest percentage.

77: Last year’s first-round pick, No. 77 Jordan Morgan, is competing for the starting job at left tackle and right guard.

76: Kenny Clark has 76 quarterback hits in nine seasons but only five of those came last season. For Green Bay’s defense to reach the next gear, Clark needs a rebound season.

75: Green Bay drafted three linemen in 2022, with No. 75 Sean Rhyan at right guard and tackles Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker. They started all 17 games together last season. The last time a team had three linemen from the same draft class start every game was the 1981 Chiefs. Those three will be free agents at the end of the season.

74: Josh Jacobs ran for 81 yards against the Eagles in the playoffs. Of those, 74 came after contact.

73. The number for this one isn’t 73 but 173. That’s the number of passes without an interception to end the regular season by Jordan Love. He’ll enter the season with the second-longest streak behind Patrick Mahomes (237).

72: The Packers’ top two edge rushers last season, Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare, combined for 72 pressures, according to PFF. Four individuals had more. Whether it’s Gary or one of the rookies, that’s got to be fixed.

71: Days until the preseason kicks off at Lambeau Field against the Jets.

70: The Packers ranked fifth with 70 runs of 10-plus yards.

69: Jordan Love threw 69 passes at least 20 yards downfield. Despite missing about three games due to injuries, that was the fourth-highest total in the league and just six behind Caleb Williams’ league-high total. So, Love loves to air it out, making Matthew Golden a good fit in the first round. Of 33 quarterbacks to throw at least 30 deep passes, Love ranked 18th with a 39.1 percent completion rate.

68: When Jordan Love has completed at least 68 percent of his passes as a starter, the Packers are 10-1.

67: Matt LaFleur’s 67 wins are the second-most in NFL history by a coach in his first six seasons behind only George Seifert’s 75.

66: The NFC North won 66.2 percent of its games last season. Since the advent of the eight-division format in 2002, the North was No. 1 in winning percentage, scoring differential (plus-384), touchdown differential (plus-55) and turnover differential (plus-41). That’s why Green Bay became the fourth team in NFL history to finish in third place or worse while winning 11 games and going 1-5 in division games.

65: New left guard Aaron Banks, who wore No. 65 with the 49ers and will again for the Packers, allowed a total of one sack the past two seasons, according to Sports Info Solutions.

64: Days until Packers Family Night.

63: Rasheed Walker entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick in 2022. Of the 32 projected starting left tackles, 20 were taken in the first two rounds and 28 in the first three rounds.

62: Jacob Monk played zero snaps on offense as a rookie fifth-round pick last year. With Elgton Jenkins’ absence, he was the No. 1 center at OTAs on Wednesday. It’s early, obviously, but there’s an enormous opportunity for Monk to grab hold of a key backup spot.

61: The franchise record for most receptions by a tight end was Jermichael Finley’s 61. There’s a lot of mouths to feed, so to speak, on offense, but the Packers at least have to do better than Tucker Kraft’s 50 from last season.

60: For as good as Green Bay’s defense played last season en route to finishing fifth in total defense and sixth in points allowed, it finished 20th in the red zone with an opponent touchdown rate of 60.0 percent.

59: The Packers were a solid 10th in red-zone offense, scoring touchdowns on 59.4 percent of those possessions. That’s an improvement over 51.6 percent in 2023 and 51.9 percent in 2022 but a far cry from their astounding 80.0 percent in 2020, which was one of the best marks of all-time. If Jordan Love can provide more of a running element, they should move into the 60s percentage-wise. Sticking with this number, they were fourth in the NFL with 59 completions of 20-plus yards.

58: Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 29-21 on the road – a winning percentage of .580 that ranks seventh in the NFL.

57: Who will fix the Packers’ inconsistent pass rush? Don’t forget about Brenton Cox. In 160 snaps in seven games, No. 57 had four sacks. According to PFF, there were 131 edge rushers with at least Cox’s number of pass-rushing opportunities (97). He finished 12th in pass-rush win rate and second behind only Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson in pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

56: Edgerrin Cooper looked like a budding star during the second half of last season. According to Stathead, Cooper joined Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher and DeMeco Ryans as the only off-the-ball linebackers since at least 1999 with 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 tackles for losses and four passes defensed during their rookie seasons. He led all rookies in TFLs as well as all off-the-ball linebackers.

Cooper has bulked up to 240 pounds to better withstand the rigors of the season. Don’t be surprised if he earns the first of a string of All-Pro honors this season.

55: The Packers finished fourth with 55 explosive runs, defined as a running play of 12-plus yards. It was their most since 2000. An improved offensive line and a healthy Jordan Love could bring that total past 60.

54: Not only is it 100 days until the Packers kick off the season, it is 54 days until the first practice of training camp.

53: The Titans finished last in the NFL with 53 passes defensed. The Packers had the next-fewest with 56.

52: The Packers scored 52 touchdowns, tied for eighth in the league in 2024 and tied for 10th in franchise history. It wouldn’t take much improvement to score 55 touchdowns, which would rank fifth.

51: Romeo Doubs had 151 receiving yards in the playoff win at Dallas. That remains the only 100-yard game of his career.

50: Zach Tom finished third in All-Pro voting among right tackles. He allowed three sacks last season, according to Pro Football Focus, and, despite his lack of pure brute strength, is one of the best run-blocking tackles in the league.

49: Josh Jacobs had a career-long 49-yard catch against the Dolphins last season.

48: One of Green Bay’s undrafted rookies is linebacker Jamon Johnson, who is No. 48 on the roster. He was an All-American at Georgia in 2023, so don’t be surprised if he joins Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie and Ty’Ron Hopper as the linebackers on the 53-man roster.

47: Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 47-4 when winning the turnover battle. That includes 9-1 last season.

46: Maybe the offense wasn’t so bad last season. The Packers scored 460 points, fifth-most in franchise history.

45: Rookie fifth-round pick Collin Oliver is wearing No. 45. He’s listed at 240 pounds. A big-time playmaker in college, can he help fix the Packers’ pass rush? Over the past decade, the only pass rushers with more than five sacks as a rookie at 240 pounds or less were Azeez Ojulari (eight with the Giants in 2021) and Leonard Floyd (seven with the Bears in 2016).

44: The Packers don’t have a No. 44 on the roster, having apparently retired it for Brayden Narveson.

43: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow led the NFL with 43 touchdown passes. The Packers will face him in Week 6.

42: Only seven rookie receivers in Packers history had 42-plus receptions, including Jayden Reed’s franchise-record 64 in 2023 and Romeo Doubs’ 42 in 2022. Packers first-round pick Matthew Golden will join the club with at least 50 catches.

41: The Packers allowed only 41 points in the first quarter, tied for second-fewest.

40: Incredibly, the Packers allowed one play of 40-plus yards all season – the Week 1 touchdown by the Eagles’ A.J. Brown. No other team allowed fewer than six.

39: Rashan Gary leads all active Packers defenders with 39 career sacks. A first-round pick in 2019, he ranked No. 1 on the team but No. 36 in the league with 7.5 sacks in 2024. He is looking for his first season of 10-plus.

38: Who says the Packers don’t have a homefield advantage? Under coach Matt LaFleur, the Packers are 38-12 at Lambeau. Only the Bills (39) have more home wins over that span.

37: One of the most famous of the Packers’ undrafted free agents is cornerback Sam Shields, who wore jersey No. 37. This year’s undrafted class includes Johnathan Baldwin, another cornerback in No. 37. The Packers have had at least one undrafted rookie on their Week 1 roster for 20 consecutive years. Baldwin, who played slot and safety at UNLV, will extend the streak.

36: There were 36 tight ends targeted at least 40 times last season. Kraft’s 9.3 yards after the catch per catch ranked No. 1 by a relative mile, with 49ers star George Kittle a distant second at 6.6.

35: Jayden Reed led the Packers with 857 receiving yards, which ranked 35th in the NFL.

34: Two days after the start of training camp, kicker Brandon McManus will turn 34. He is the oldest player on a roster in which he and long snapper Matt Orzech (30) are the only players who are 30-plus years old.

33: The Packers drafted two safeties last season, Javon Bullard in the second round and Evan Williams in the fourth round. Williams, who wears No. 33, will win the starting job alongside Xavier McKinney.

32: No. 32, MarShawn Lloyd, had a brutal rookie season. Of the 34 players selected in the third round, only Steelers receiver Roman Wilson played fewer snaps than Lloyd’s 10.

31: The Packers forced 31 turnovers last season after producing 18 in 2023. The 13-takeaway improvement was the best in franchise history.

30: The Packers scored 30-plus points in eight games last season, tied for fourth-most in the league. They went 7-1 in those games. With the additions on offense, they’ll win at least 10 games in that fashion this season.

29: Last year, Jordan Love became the 29th quarterback during the last 45 years of playoffs to throw zero touchdown passes and three-plus interceptions in a game. All 29 quarterbacks lost.

28: The last two seasons, Jordan Love ranks second with a 110.7 passer rating from Week 11 through Week 18. He threw 28 touchdowns during that span with only two interceptions.

27: Of 340 quarterbacks to throw at least 250 passes last season, Jordan Love ranked 27th in completion percentage.

26: The Packers finished 10th in sack percentage but just 26th in pass-rush win rate, according to ESPN.

25: According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Packers were the second-youngest playoff team over the last 45 years with a weighted age of 25.72. The youngest was the 2023 team, with a weighted age of 25.58.

24: The Packers scored at least 24 points in 13 games last season. Only the Lions and Buccaneers (14 each) had more.

23: Will No. 23 be back for the upcoming season? Among the Packers’ cornerbacks, Jaire Alexander and Keisean Nixon were tied for No. 1 with seven passes defensed. Nixon played 419 more coverage snaps than Alexander.

22: First-round pick Matthew Golden is wearing jersey No. 22, an unusual number for a receiver. The best No. 22 at the position was Hall of Famer Bob Hayes. In 11 seasons, he averaged 674 yards and about 6.5 touchdowns. He started his career with back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons and four consecutive seasons of 900-plus receiving yards and 10-plus touchdowns.

21: There’s a new No. 21, cornerback Nate Hobbs. According to Sports Info Solutions, of cornerbacks who played in at least 11 games and were targeted at least 25 times, Hobbs ranked sixth with a catch rate allowed of only 42.9 percent.

20: This one will take a bit of rounding, with the Packers finishing fifth with 19.8 points allowed per game last season. They were seventh with nine games of 20 or fewer points allowed, going 9-0 in those games.

19: No. 19 is punter Daniel Whelan. What a difference one play can make. Last year, 30 punters punted at least 30 times. Through Week 17, Whelan was a solid 13th with a 42.1-yard net average. Because of Chicago’s trick-play touchdown in Week 18, Whelan finished 28th with a 40.2 net.

18: From 2016 through 2024, there were 18 receivers selected in the first round between Pick 18 and Pick 28 – or directly around where the Packers selected Matthew Golden. Last year, the Chiefs selected speedster Xavier Worthy. His 59 receptions for 638 yards represented the median rookie-year production.

17: Brandon McManus is back. The savior at kicker ranked second in the NFL in field-goal accuracy last season, going 20-of-21 in the regular season for 95.2 percent. Only Mason Crosby, who went 16-for-16 in 2020, had a better season in franchise history.

16: Sean Clifford wore No. 8 as a rookie in 2023, No. 6 in 2024 and is No. 16 this year. It’s been a bad number in Packers history. The other quarterbacks to wear it were Scott Tolzien, Craig Nall, Randy Wright, Dennis Sproul, Randy Johnson and Scott Hunter.

15: The Packers finished 15th on third down last season. That just can’t happen with a top-tier running back like Josh Jacobs keeping the team in good down-and-distance situations.

14: As public-address announcer Bill Jartz has said for too long during pregame introductions, the Packers are 13-time world champions. Will this be the year they break a 14-year drought and add a 14th championship? Only if the Packers have a healthy and engaged Jaire Alexander in the lineup.

13: Of 84 receivers who were targeted at least 50 times last season, Dontayvion Wicks had the second-highest drop percentage. Of his eight drops in the regular season, only one came during the final five games, when he caught 18 passes.  

12: Aaron Rodgers won’t wear No. 12 for the Steelers but, still, it’ll be No. 12 vs. No. 10 in Week 8 in what will be the highest-rated Sunday Night Football game of all-time. Rodgers might be 41 and a million years past his MVP days, but look for him to dice up his former team to help the Steelers win a shootout.

11: This time of year, the rookies get the love. The Packers drafted Matthew Golden and Savion Williams in hopes of jump-starting the passing game. They’ll help, but No 11, Jayden Reed, was and is the team’s best receiver. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards each of his first two seasons. In the draft class, he’s sixth in receptions and fifth in yards.

Reed is the only player in NFL history to start his career with back-to-back seasons of at least 55 receptions, 750 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 100 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

The addition of Williams should take some of the physical toll off Reed, allowing him to threaten 1,000 yards.

10: Now’s the time for Jordan Love. No, not to be a great quarterback. Not to win MVP, or even be in the top five of the MVP voting. It’s time to be a consistently good quarterback.

In his two seasons as a starter, 32 quarterbacks have thrown at least 500 passes. He’s 13th in passer rating, 24th in completion percentage and 19th in interception percentage. The “young” quarterback excuse doesn’t hold any water, not with two years of starting experience and five years in the league.

Love’s shown it in flashes. He was dominant down the stretch in 2023 and had five consecutive 100-rating games in 2024. Last year’s injuries, obviously, didn’t help. Nor did the dropped passes – though it’s not as if he’s the only quarterback plagued by drops. On the other hand, few passers were supported by a better running game. For Love, it’s time to make better decisions and throw with better accuracy.

9: Christian Watson is doing “outstanding,” coach Matt LaFleur said on Wednesday. While noting he’s not a doctor, he added, “I would say he’s ahead of schedule.” Watson won’t be ready for Week 1, but how’s this for a scenario: Watson potentially could return to practice after the Week 5 bye and make his debut in Week 9 against the Panthers.

8: The Packers signed two big-time free agents last offseason with Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs.

McKinney tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions. It was the most by a Packers defender since Charles Woodson had nine in 2009 to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year. He was the fourth player since the 1970 merger with a takeaway in each of the first five games.

Wearing No. 8, Jacobs had the second-best rushing total of his career, doing it alone for the most part with absurd percentage of his yards coming after contact. Look for Jacobs to surpass last year’s 1,329 rushing yards but on a lot fewer than 301 carries.

7: Quay Walker might not be the most important player on the roster to get a contract extension – that would be Zach Tom – but he’ll be the first to sign one.

6: Mecole Hardman, who is wearing jersey No. 6, will face an uphill battle to make the roster after the Packers drafted two receivers to add to their returning core of six receivers. However, he averaged 10.2 yards per punt return with zero muffs last season. If he can be a trustworthy returner, he’ll make the roster.

5: Jordan Love averaged 5.5 rushing yards per game last season. Even in 2023, he averaged only 14.5. He is too good an athlete and leaves too many easy yards on the table.

4: This will be a fourth consecutive season without an NFC North championship, meaning another long playoff road to get to the Super Bowl. The Packers haven’t gone four consecutive years without winning the division since 1998 through 2001.

3: In Jordan Love’s third season as a starter, he’ll threaten his 2023 production of 4,159 yards and 32 touchdown passes. It won’t be because he’s throwing the ball more frequently. Rather, he’ll find that sought-after efficiency, which has been evasive.

2: Name a better backup quarterback in the NFL than No. 2, Malik Willis. Last season, 49 quarterbacks attempted at least 50 passes. Willis was No. 1 with a 124.8 passer rating.

1: After winning only one NFC North game last season, the Packers will win three this season – one against each of their division rivals.