The off-season has come and gone, and we now enter the quiet section of the NFL calendar. Plenty of movement can still be done as we inch toward the season, but the drastic changes with free agency and the draft have passed, and we now have a good look at how the Green Bay Packers roster will shape out.
The draft can tell us a lot about how a team feels about its roster and the positional groups within it. When Green Bay selected Jordan Love in the first round, we knew that Aaron Rodgers’ time with the franchise might have been coming to an end. Now that the team did not select a running back in a deep class, they must have supreme confidence in Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd to lead the charge. With all that in mind, here’s what the Packers’ 2025 draft told us.
A game of chicken with Jaire Alexander
It once appeared that a separation between Alexander and the Packers seemed certain, but through the draft, he remains on the team. Green Bay added Nate Hobbs in free agency, who’s expected to man the slot position, and then added Micah Robinson from Tulane in the seventh round of the draft. That’s hardly a plan to replace Alexander.
The team may not be desperate; they’ve operated without him for the majority of the last two seasons, so it might not be a priority to do so now. However, his role is critical to the defense, and planning not to have him without an ideal replacement also seems questionable.
The latest reports are that the tensions between the two sides have not been cleared up and that a trade still seems to be the likeliest option. Now that other teams have seen how the off-season has shaken out, a few could still use a proven cornerback.
It’s unfortunate that this situation has dragged out, but ideally a solution best for both the team and Alexander can come together quickly.
Faith in the defense
As things currently sit, only Hobbs would be a new starter on the defense heading into the season. It’s expected for Alexander’s position to open up as well, but until that happens the Packers will return 10 of 11 starting spots.
The expectation was that the team would be aggressive in adding pass rush talent through the draft, yet it didn’t take a defender at all until the fourth round. Their third day of the draft did feature defense, but their premier picks were all on offense. This suggests that they have a lot of confidence in a rebound year under defensive cordinator Jeff Hafley in his second year in the role.
It could also mean the team loves the young talent they already have. Players like Evan Williams, Edgerrin Cooper, and Lukas Van Ness will all be in their third season or less. A return to form for players like Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark alone would bolster the pass rush. Otherwise, there isn’t much “age” on this side of the ball, so a regression back to the mean could be likely after a down year in a new defense. That’s the bet the front office made, anyway.
A revamped receiving core
The Packers were done waiting at the receiver position and dedicated this draft to turning it around. For the first time since 2002, the team selected a first-round wide receiver, this time in Texas’s Matthew Golden. Doubling down, they also took TCU’s Savion Williams in the third round.
At least one high selection at the position made sense after losing Christian Watson almost certainly for the season. Fans, and Josh Jacobs, knew this team needed the upside of a legit number one option and they swung at Golden hopeful he could take on that mantle. However, taking Williams shows that they’re willing to give the room an entire makeover. Romeo Doubs is in the final year of his deal, and Jayden Reed is extension-eligible following the season as well. They’ll both need to prove worthy of a raise and now have to beat out Williams as a rookie and compete with Golden for targets.
This is more likely an indictment of Dontayvion Wicks, who failed to break out given the opportunity. Only in his third season, he too will be given a chance to step into a bigger role, but now finds the room more crowded and the margin for error much thinner.
Related: Tensions Linger Between the Packers and Jaire Alexander Ahead of the Draft
Related: Packers Draft Texas Star and Fastest WR in NFL Draft
The off-season has come and gone, and we now enter the quiet section of the NFL calendar. Plenty of movement can still be done as we inch toward the season, but the drastic changes with free agency and the draft have passed, and we now have a good look at how the Green Bay Packers roster will shape out.
The draft can tell us a lot about how a team feels about its roster and the positional groups within it. When Green Bay selected Jordan Love in the first round, we knew that Aaron Rodgers’ time with the franchise might have been coming to an end. Now that the team did not select a running back in a deep class, they must have supreme confidence in Josh Jacobs and MarShawn Lloyd to lead the charge. With all that in mind, here’s what the Packers’ 2025 draft told us.
A game of chicken with Jaire Alexander
It once appeared that a separation between Alexander and the Packers seemed certain, but through the draft, he remains on the team. Green Bay added Nate Hobbs in free agency, who’s expected to man the slot position, and then added Micah Robinson from Tulane in the seventh round of the draft. That’s hardly a plan to replace Alexander.
The team may not be desperate; they’ve operated without him for the majority of the last two seasons, so it might not be a priority to do so now. However, his role is critical to the defense, and planning not to have him without an ideal replacement also seems questionable.
The latest reports are that the tensions between the two sides have not been cleared up and that a trade still seems to be the likeliest option. Now that other teams have seen how the off-season has shaken out, a few could still use a proven cornerback.
It’s unfortunate that this situation has dragged out, but ideally a solution best for both the team and Alexander can come together quickly.
Faith in the defense
As things currently sit, only Hobbs would be a new starter on the defense heading into the season. It’s expected for Alexander’s position to open up as well, but until that happens the Packers will return 10 of 11 starting spots.
The expectation was that the team would be aggressive in adding pass rush talent through the draft, yet it didn’t take a defender at all until the fourth round. Their third day of the draft did feature defense, but their premier picks were all on offense. This suggests that they have a lot of confidence in a rebound year under defensive cordinator Jeff Hafley in his second year in the role.
It could also mean the team loves the young talent they already have. Players like Evan Williams, Edgerrin Cooper, and Lukas Van Ness will all be in their third season or less. A return to form for players like Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark alone would bolster the pass rush. Otherwise, there isn’t much “age” on this side of the ball, so a regression back to the mean could be likely after a down year in a new defense. That’s the bet the front office made, anyway.
A revamped receiving core
The Packers were done waiting at the receiver position and dedicated this draft to turning it around. For the first time since 2002, the team selected a first-round wide receiver, this time in Texas’s Matthew Golden. Doubling down, they also took TCU’s Savion Williams in the third round.
At least one high selection at the position made sense after losing Christian Watson almost certainly for the season. Fans, and Josh Jacobs, knew this team needed the upside of a legit number one option and they swung at Golden hopeful he could take on that mantle. However, taking Williams shows that they’re willing to give the room an entire makeover. Romeo Doubs is in the final year of his deal, and Jayden Reed is extension-eligible following the season as well. They’ll both need to prove worthy of a raise and now have to beat out Williams as a rookie and compete with Golden for targets.
This is more likely an indictment of Dontayvion Wicks, who failed to break out given the opportunity. Only in his third season, he too will be given a chance to step into a bigger role, but now finds the room more crowded and the margin for error much thinner.
Related: Tensions Linger Between the Packers and Jaire Alexander Ahead of the Draft
Related: Packers Draft Texas Star and Fastest WR in NFL Draft
