Here’s Why Packers Face Uphill Battle to Catch Lions in NFC North

Draft. Develop. Extend. That’s how the Green Bay Packers operate, and they’re not alone. Every team in the NFL would prefer to draft its young core of players and then supplement it in free agency.

Pro Football Focus published a list of the top 25 players who are younger than 25 years old. The Detroit Lions have five players on the list. The Packers have none. In a league in which great players make for great teams, it’s little wonder why the Lions went 15-2 last season despite an alarming number of high-profile injuries.

Detroit right tackle Penei Sewell, a first-team All-Pro in 2023 and 2024, is No. 1 on the list. Safety Brian Branch, who the Lions selected in a second-round trade with the Packers in 2023, is No. 8. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 83 more rushing yards than Josh Jacobs in 51 fewer carries last season, is No. 10. Tight end Sam LaPorta, who has more receptions than fellow Class of 2023 tight ends Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft combined, is No. 23. Safety Kerby Joseph, who was first-team All-Pro with an NFL-best nine interceptions last season, is No. 25.

The Lions have extended Sewell and Branch, while Gibbs, LaPorta and Branch were drafted in 2023. With linebacker Jack Campbell, that’s shaping up to be a blockbuster, franchise-changing draft class.

It’s not as if the Packers – the youngest team in the NFL the last two seasons – don’t have any young talent. Indeed, the 2023 draft class featured defensive end Lukas Van Ness, receiver Jayden Reed, Musgrave and Kraft. The 2024 class looks strong, too, with linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and safeties Javon Bullard and Evan Williams playing key roles as rookies.

If the Packers had to line up to play a game today, this might be their starting lineup (with a couple key backups) and their current ages.

Up front, left tackle Rasheed Walker is 25, left guard Aaron Banks is 27, center Elgton Jenkins is 29, right guard Sean Rhyan is 24 and right tackle Zach Tom is 26.

At the skill positions, quarterback Jordan Love is 26, running back Josh Jacobs is 27, tight end Tucker Kraft is 24, tight end Luke Musgrave is 24, receiver Romeo Doubs is 25, receiver Jayden Reed is 25 and receiver Dontayvion Wicks is 23.

On the defensive front, defensive end Rashan Gary is 27, defensive tackle Kenny Clark is 29, defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt is 27, defensive end Lukas Van Ness is 23, linebacker Edgerrin Cooper is 23, linebacker Quay Walker is 25 and linebacker Isaiah McDuffie is 25.

In the secondary, cornerback Keisean Nixon is 27, cornerback Nate Hobbs is 25, cornerback Carrington Valentine is 23, safety Xavier McKinney is 25, safety Javon Bullard is 22, safety Evan Williams is 23.

That’s a lot of good players but not a lot of really good, really young players. The Lions have a league-high five players on PFF’s list. The Packers, Bears and Vikings don’t have any.

Of Green Bay’s under-25 players, you could argue a top-five ranking would go Cooper, Kraft, Williams, Rhyan and Bullard. Cooper, who had a sensational second half of his rookie season, and Williams earned All-Rookie honors. No linebackers made PFF’s list and Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton and Detroit’s Branch and Joseph were the three safeties.

“Just the way he worked and attacked learning and worked on his craft every day, it was really impressive. And you saw a payoff,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of Cooper last week. “He got better and better throughout the year. Right now he’s working really hard, and he looks good moving around. He’s in a great head space where he’s eager, he’s ready to get going. But he understands we still got a long way to go, and there’s a lot of things he can still get better at.”

It would help if Van Ness had a breakthrough third season, not just because he’s a former first-round pick but because the Packers need to crank up their pass rush.

“We have high expectations for Lukas. We always have,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said before the draft. “Obviously, we took him very early and I’m excited for him. He’s still a really young player and, as you guys know, he didn’t play a ton in college. But we’re very excited about where he is on his developmental path and expect big things from him this year.”