The first wave of free agency is over. The Green Bay Packers has signed guard Aaron Banks, cornerback Nate Hobbs, and wide receiver/kick returner Mecole Hardman. Now, we are less than a month away from the draft in Green Bay.
So, in our weekly mailbag, we address how the Packers are preparing their roster for the 2025 season.
Robin, thank you for so many good questions. Let’s go one by one.
> What gives the Packers more confidence about Hobbs’ ability to impact the defense is exactly his versatility. Over the years, Brian Gutekunst has been more and more inclined to value players who can play multiple spots, and this is what he’s done again. Initially, I would presume that Hobbs will play as a boundary corner in base defense, then move to the slot in nickel packages.
> I would expect that Kenny Clark will play more 1-technique, yes. But not as much as he did in the first four years of his career. He’s been more of a defensive tackle than nose tackle since 2020, which means that three different defensive coordinators have used him like that (Mike Pettine, Joe Barry, Jeff Hafley). But with TJ Slaton leaving in free agency, I’d think Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, and whoever they might add via the draft will play more 3-tech. The question is who will play 1-tech when it’s not Clark, if someone will.
> It always depends on the board. If it gets to pick 20, let’s say, they have only one first-round grade left and the price to move up is reasonable, Brian Gutekunst will pull the trigger. If there are a surplus of players with similar grades when they are on the clock, they trade down. Philosophically, I prefer trading down because of the value it adds to the roster—especially considering that Green Bay only has 29 players under contract for 2026. But the Packers model is always about the board.
That’s a great point, and I wrote here that Bullard is one of the losers of the Packers’ approach in free agency. Bullard was better as a deep safety than he was in the slot, but the team was better with Evan Williams, so he was forced to play as a nickel. And the second-rounder had a tough time in coverage, which is the most impactful part of the game for a defensive back.
With the addition of Hobbs, Javon Bullard will most likely start the season as a depth piece. And the good that comes with this is that he can play everywhere. If one of the safeties goes down, he’s the option. If any of the outside corners goes down, Hobbs moves to the boundary and Bullard gets in the slot. In the meantime, he will have time to practice, prepare, and develop—a big part of the Packers general philosophy.
Nate Hobbs’ addition certainly does not mean that Keisean Nixon will lose his starting job. Nixon actually is the cornerback one on the team and the move secures him as a full-time boundary corner. In base defense, I would expect Nixon and Hobbs playing opposite each other. In nickel package, which is like 70% of the snaps, Hobbs moves inside to the slot and Carrington Valentine enters the lineup.
It’s slightly concerning that both primary cornerbacks on the Packers roster are smaller players, originally slot corners, but Jeff Hafley likes the versatility to move them around and both have shown that they can play outside in the NFL.
The best one is difficult because Aaron Rodgers alone is probably more valuable than anything else the Packers have done. And the 2005 class also had Nick Collins and Brady Poppinga, so that’s probably my choice. But 2009 deserves a huge honorable mention with BJ Raji, Clay Matthews, and TJ Lang. Early-day Ted Thompson was so, so special as a talent evaluator, it’s unfortunate for the Packers that the 2011 CBA changed the complexion of roster-building and he couldn’t properly adapt.
His (and the Packers’) worst draft class of recent memory is 2015. Damarious Randall, Quinten Rollins, Ty Montgomery, Jake Ryan, Brett Hundley, Aaron Ripkowski, Christian Ringo, and Kennard Backman. Oof. That’s one of the reasons why the Packers didn’t win in 2016.
For Brian Gutekunst, his worst class is 2021, even though I understand that Eric Stokes was more bad luck than a mistake. But Josh Myers over Creed Humphrey and Amari Rodgers over Nico Collins and Amon-Ra St. Brown are all-time scouting mistakes. The best one, and that was truly impactful, is 2022 (despite a questionable first round). He got three starting offensive linemen in Sean Rhyan, Zach Tom, and Rasheed Walker, plus Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs. If he had gotten more out of his two first-rounders, Gutekunst could have followed up a historically bad class with a historically good one.
If that happens, Jordan Love will have had a perfectly fine season. Sure, the Packers as an organization and fans want to see again what Love was able to do down the stretch in 2023, but that’s probably unsustainable. Love isn’t Aaron Rodgers, and that’s ok.
Love truly reminds me of Matthew Stafford. He’s a very good quarterback, with some tough moments, but when he has a hot stretch, he can be truly elite and take his team to the highest levels. That won’t happen every year, and he will need more help than an Aaron Rodgers type would, but it’s really hard to find quarterbacks more talented than Stafford and Love.
He has already proven he can do the job. Jordan Love has two years as a full-time starter, and in this period he’s been eighth in EPA/play and sixth in air yards. Yes, you would want more consistency out of his game, as he’s 18th in success rate and 21st in completion percentage over expected, but that’s more a reflection of his style than being good or bad. Love is a big-play hunter, and sometimes that backfires.
But as I mentioned in the previous answer, it’s realistically impossible to improve from Jordan Love. He is a really, really special thrower with an insane arm talent, and he led the youngest team in the NFL to back-to-back playoff appearances with an underwhelming group of wide receivers at the top. How many quarterbacks could do that? I know the Packers are spoiled with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, but 25 teams would line up to have a quarterback like Love.