Packers Offseason Winners Include Jordan Love

In hopes of taking the next steps toward challenging for a Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers this offseason made two big splashes in free agency and added eight players in the NFL Draft. Each of those transactions served as a referendum on the returning roster.

Led by the selections of receivers Matthew Golden in the first round and Savion Willliams in the third round, here are the big winners for the offseason (with the offseason losers coming on Tuesday).

Jordan Love

Quarterback Jordan Love has been on a roll over the last calendar year. He got engaged in June, signed a contract extension early in late July and got new toys with Golden and Williams in April’s NFL Draft.

Golden was a historic selection, as Mark Murphy noted when he announced the team’s first-round pick to a raucous ovation at Lambeau Field during the 2025 NFL Draft. As the team’s first first-round receiver since 2002, Golden’s speed should help Green Bay’s offense and Love’s desire to throw the ball downfield.

The speed element was missing from Green Bay’s offense when Christian Watson suffered a late-season knee injury followed by a torn ACL. That changed with Golden’s selection. With his 4.29 speed in the 40, he should be able to stretch defenses and create opportunities for the receivers and tight ends.

Williams also will help make things easier for Love and Matt LaFleur. Williams is a terror in the open field after the ball is in his hands. He can make things simpler for Green Bay’s offense simply by getting him the ball and letting him make a play.

Of course, the rookie receivers are not the only ones that give reason to be excited about Green Bay’s passing attack.

At this time a year ago, there was conversation that the Packers had four receivers capable of leading the way on any given week. That was probably hyperbolic, but they do still have a talented group, even in the absence of a top-tier player.

Save for Watson and barring something unforeseen during OTAs or minicamp, everyone should be healthy for the start of training camp in late July. Critically, the additions should keep Jayden Reed, the team’s most productive receiver, healthier.

No, it’s not the group that once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, but Love should have plenty of reasons to smile.

Marshawn Lloyd

A third-round pick last year, running back MarShawn Lloyd became a bit of a forgotten man due to a series of lower-body injuries followed by appendicitis. He played only one game all season.

Lloyd is healthy and participating in offseason workouts. The hope is he’ll be at full strength for the start of training camp.

The glimpses last year were small but exciting. As great as Josh Jacobs was a year ago, he wasn’t a threat to score from long distances. While Jacobs excelled at wearing down and punishing defenses, Lloyd could be the knockout artist due to his size and breakaway speed.

Chris Brooks and Emanuel Wilson are nice players, but Lloyd is more talented. No running backs were added in the draft, which gives Lloyd the runway to win the team’s backup running back job.

Jordan Morgan

Despite hardly repping at left tackle as a rookie last year, the Packers have continued to insist Jordan Morgan can play the position in the NFL.

Now, he’s going to get that chance.

“One thing about him is he has that elite athleticism,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said last week. “Guy moves well, he’s fast, he can redirect. I think now is just a good time to put him out there and see how he does and just watch him compete.”

Morgan did not get much of an opportunity to display his skill-set a year ago due to a shoulder injury that nagged him throughout the year and ultimately required season-ending surgery. Of his 186 regular-season snaps, 120 came at right guard in a timeshare with Sean Rhyan, 65 came at left guard as part of a shuffled offensive line when Josh Myers was inactive against Detroit and one came as an extra tight end.

If Morgan becomes a good player inside, that would be a boon for the Packers. Good offensive linemen are hard to come by. For Morgan, however, it’s more beneficial to play tackle. Tackles make more money than guards, and having a chance to prove his worth over three seasons at the position could earn him a big payday.

Lukas Van Ness

Of all the players who received a vote of confidence this offseason, perhaps none got a bigger endorsement than defensive end Lukas Van Ness.

After a rookie season in which his arrow began to trend upward during the second half of the year, Van Ness was mostly quiet during his second season. The breakout that seemingly everyone was predicting never materialized.

Limited by a broken thumb, Van Ness finished the year with three sacks. Even the midseason trade of Preston Smith didn’t mean an uptick in playing time or a spot in the starting lineup.

Nonetheless, the Packers didn’t add a defensive end in free agency and didn’t draft one until the fourth round. The message, by word and by deed, is the Packers are not looking to replace Van Ness.

“We have high expectations for Lukas,” 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 … we’re very excited about where he is on his developmental path and expect big things from him this year.”

In two seasons, Van Ness has not started a game. Perhaps the offseason practices will serve as a springboard to him starting opposite Rashan Gary.

With the Packers looking for a more consistent pass rush from their front four, they need Van Ness to take a big leap in 2025.

Devonte Wyatt/Quay Walker

The 2022 first-round picks, linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt, got verbal and actionable votes of confidence from Gutekunst.

Wyatt saw his fifth-year option exercised shortly after the draft. Quay Walker did not.

Those two things appear to be accounting issues more than anything, as Gutekunst stated he was fired up about both players and wants to keep them with the team beyond the upcoming couple seasons.

“I think Quay continued to make a leap and another guy who had struggled through injuries at the end of the year, but he was really impactful for us this year,” Gutekunst said. “Certainly think we would love to have him around here for longer than just a couple more years. He’s that kind of guy. And D-Wy was probably our most consistent pass rusher from the inside.”

Due to contracts expiring, it’s likely Walker is the team’s second priority for an extension after right tackle Zach Tom.

Moreover, the Packers did not draft a linebacker and did not take a defensive lineman until the sixth round. It appears Gutekunst meant it when he said he wanted Walker and Wyatt around for the long term.

Cornerbacks

Yes, the Packers did give out a big contract at cornerback, with Nate Hobbs receiving a four-year, $48 million deal on the first day of free agency. But he was the team’s only significant acquisition. Micah Robinson, a seventh-round pick, is not a lock to make the roster.

Thus, Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine are in position to be Week 1 starters, depending on Jaire Alexander’s future.

Alexander also could emerge from this offseason as a winner from a monetary standpoint. Nothing has changed since the end of last season. To date, the team has not reworked his contract – he’s due a base salary of $16.15 million – and nobody has traded for him.

If the Packers were going to just release Alexander, they could have done so by now. Alexander could end up simply playing out his existing contract, lose no money and earn a chance at another big payday should he play well in 2025.