Packers’ Biggest Weaknesses Heading Into 2025

Overall, the Packers’ defense last season was good in many areas. Several metrics point to the Packers’ defense being a top-tier defense, a drastic difference from previous seasons. As improved as the defense is, there are still areas of relative weakness. One of which is the consistency of the pass rush.

The Packers finished last season with 45.0 sacks – good for 8th in the NFL. While that might seem encouraging, that number doesn’t tell the whole story. For starters, 24.0 of the sacks came in four games: Tennessee (8.0), Seattle (7.0), Miami (5.0), and Houston (4.0). Outside those four games, the Packers only had 21.0 sacks on the season.

In addition, several advanced pass rush metrics also indicated that the Packers’ pass rush is lacking.

• 26th in Pass Rush Win Rate (35%)
• 14th in Pressures (143)
• 16th in Pressure Percentage (22.1%)
• 17th in Quarterback Hits (91)
• 18th in Quarterback Knockdowns (43)
• 21st in Quarterback Knockdown Percentage (7.6%)

Overall, the Packers were average or worse in all of these metrics. Specifically, no one on the roster from last year recorded double-digit sacks. Only one player had more than ten quarterback hits or hurries. No one had more than eight quarterback knockdowns.

The Packers didn’t spend many assets on addressing the pass rush. Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness will be the preferred starters. Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox will compete for roles at the edge position. The Packers also added Barryn Sorrell and Collin Oliver as late-round draft picks. On the interior, not much changed. Kenny Clark is healthy again. Additionally, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, and Colby Wooden will look to take another jump. The only real change is swapping out T.J. Slaton for Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse. 

The one change, potentially the biggest, is replacing Jason Rebrovich with DeMarcus Covington. By all accounts, Rebrovich was a good defensive line coach. His replacement is a young, up-and-comer with experience as a defensive coordinator. Covington spent seven years on Bill Belichick’s staff. Covington will have his hands full getting the most out of the team’s biggest weakness from a season ago.

Depth Along the Defensive Line

While the Packers brought in a new coach for the defensive line in Covington, his presence doesn’t fix the depth problem. The Packers’ defensive line might be the only position group on the roster that isn’t filled with quality depth. An injury to anyone on the front four might change the landscape of the entire Packers defense.

One area the Packers’ defense excelled in 2024 was their run defense. A season ago, the Packers ranked 6th in Run Stop Win Rate, which was great. T.J. Slaton had the strongest Run Stop Win Rate amongst all interior defensive linemen last season. The problem is that he is now a Cincinnati Bengal. Preston Smith, who was also strong against the run, is no longer on the roster. The Packers did add a few rookies late in the draft and undrafted free agency, but none of those players have proven anything.

The Packers do return eight players who played a role in last season’s defense. Gary, Van Ness, Wyatt, and Clark should do a lot of the heavy lifting this season. If any of those players go down, the defense could struggle, especially on the interior. For example, if Clark goes down, the next man up at nose tackle might be Warren Brinson. Not exactly the most encouraging. The rookies may end up proving themselves, but until then, the depth of this position group is suspect.

Catching (or Dropping) the Football

Jordan Love didn’t take the step forward in 2024 that many were hoping for. While his nagging injury may have played a factor, another major factor was his pass catchers struggling to catch his passes. Love might not have been perfect, but he can’t throw and catch the pass.

There are times when drops can be overcome. That wasn’t the case for Jordan Love and the Packers offense. According to Warren Sharp, Love lost 28.2 EPA (Expected Points Added) due to receiver errors, which is the most lost for any quarterback since 2020. The receivers didn’t do Jordan Love any favors.

In 2024, the Packers had the third-most drops in the NFL. Love had 7.3% of his passes dropped, which was the second-worst in the NFL. Jayden Reed had nine drops for a 12.0% drop rate. Dontayvion Wicks also had nine drops for an 11.8% drop percentage. Romeo Doubs had seven drops, which led to a drop rate of 9.7%. Even Tucker Kraft recorded five drops. As a team, the Packers ranked 26th in On-Target Catch Percentage. Catching the football was a problem.

Looking ahead, the Packers’ surest hands (Christian Watson) will likely miss a bulk of the season due to a knee injury. Reed, Wicks, and Doubs will all return with the hopes that their drop numbers drastically decrease. The Packers also brought first-round pick Matthew Golden and third-round pick Savion Williams into the wide receiver room. In college, Golden had a career drop rate of 7.4%, and Williams had a career drop rate of over 10%. To this point, there aren’t many signs indicating this weakness will be fixed.