Green Bay Packers 2026 NFL Season Preview

But those still come with pressure, and while pressure may be a privilege, expectations for the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth in a decade and a half are unavoidable.

Having lost far too many winnable games and admitted that some players were disgruntled about their roles last season, LaFleur knows that better than anyone.

“You’ve got to capitalize on the opportunities. If you look back at last season, there were multiple instances where we didn’t get it done,” LaFleur said. “If a play goes differently, you get a different result. But it didn’t, so you’ve got to own it, and you’ve got to try to learn from it and just move forward. But it’s going to take a consistent approach, and the buy-in is going to be absolutely critical.”

Offense

LaFleur said during the offseason that he would take the approach that it’s “Year 1 all over again,” rebuilding the offense from the ground up. That starts with Jordan Love, who took another step in his development as a franchise quarterback (101.2 passer rating, sixth in the league) but did not make it to the Super Bowl in his age-27 season the way predecessors Brett Favre and Rodgers did. “As good as he’s been for us,” Gutekunst said, “I do think he’ll continue to get better.” The Packers signed Tyrod Taylor to back up Love.

Veteran running back Josh Jacobs, who ran for exactly 400 fewer yards (929) last season than he had in his first season with the Packers (1,329), dealt with a painful, nagging knee injury and an inconsistent run-blocking offensive line. The Packers don’t have a proven backup, making Jacobs’ health paramount for the offense to function.

At wide receiver, the team let Romeo Doubs leave for New England in free agency and traded Dontayvion Wicks to Philadelphia, streamlining a position where even LaFleur acknowledged that there were too many mouths to feed. That “problem” — LaFleur’s word — has been resolved with Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and 2025 first-round pick Matthew Golden as the clear-cut 1-2-3 in the pecking order.

Assuming Kraft returns to form, the biggest question is the offensive line, where 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan takes over at left tackle after playing just about everywhere else on the line. Center Sean Rhyan must elevate his play after on-the-job training following his midseason move to the position.

Defense

While Parsons is undeniably the catalyst for the Packers’ defense — at the time of his injury, he had 12.5 sacks, making him the first player in NFL history to register at least 12 sacks in each of his first five NFL seasons — he cannot do it alone. And after what he cost the team both financially and in terms of trade capital, the team won’t rush Parsons back into action.

But there’s no denying that he’s a field-tilter. New defensive coordinator and former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, who is replacing new Miami Dolphins head coach Jeff Hafley in the job, is counting on other players to raise their games to augment Parsons’ dominance.

Up front, the Packers are counting on Devonte Wyatt and Lukas Van Ness to be the difference-makers they’ve flashed the ability to be, and third-year linebacker Edgerrin Cooper needs to make the splash plays that were so prevalent his rookie year. Veteran Zaire Franklin, acquired in a trade to replace departed free agent Quay Walker, must also show that he can regain his 2024 All-Pro form.

While the team may have the best safety trio in all of football in Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams and Javon Bullard — a perfect fit for Gannon, who likes to play three safeties simultaneously — the biggest question is at cornerback.

Although veteran Keisean Nixon, the nominal No. 1 cornerback, is solid, fourth-year man Carrington Valentine had his ups and downs after last year’s free-agent addition, Nate Hobbs, struggled with injuries and inconsistency.

As a result, veteran free-agent pickup Benjamin St-Juste, second-round pick Brandon Cisse and sixth-round pick Domani Jackson all have a chance to prove they’re worthy of playing a primary role at the position.

Specialists

After riding the rookie placekicker roller coaster in 2023 (Anders Carlson) and 2024 (Brayden Narveson), the Packers committed to a reliable veteran, Brandon McManus — only to see him miss three kicks in the playoff loss to the Bears. Now, they’re turning to a rookie, sixth-round pick Trey Smack, once again to handle the job. The Packers traded up to select Smack, so they’re confident in him.

New special teams coordinator Cam Achord has no such uncertainty about the punter (Daniel Whelan), long-snapper (Matt Orzech) or returner (free-agent pickup Skyy Moore), however.

Final Analysis

Sitting at 9-3-1 and holding a nine-point third-quarter lead on a Denver Broncos team that had won 10 straight at the time and would go on to be the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed, the Packers were convinced that they had a Super Bowl-caliber team on their hands — until Parsons (and starting right tackle Zach Tom) went down. That’s why Gutekunst didn’t do any major overhauling of the roster in the offseason. But with questionable depth behind those front-line players — particularly on the offensive line — the reality is this: If the Packers stay healthy, they are title contenders. But if injuries strike again, they’re almost certainly cooked.