Checking in on the Packers youth movement

Core of the roster looks to take the next step

Numbers do not lie as the Green Bay Packers have started a streak of playoff appearances while holding the title of being the youngest team in the NFL. It is an achievement that reveals not only this team’s potential but also how consistently well the youth is being developed. Sure, not every player develops as planned or exceeds expectations like fourth round draft pick Zach Tom, who is blossoming into a potential all-pro versatile offensive lineman in front of Lambeau Field faithful's eyes. Not every player can have an impact on the game right away like second round draft pick outstanding rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, who is already being recognized as a top 10 linebacker in the league.

Yet, Tom (25 years old) and Cooper (23 years old) are only two of Green Bay’s crucial pieces of the youth movement that look to take the next step of development and rising to the occasion when it is crunch time.

Back-to-back losses in the playoffs does not define a young team. In fact, it shapes a young team. Quarterback Jordan Love (26 years old) is two for two in leading the Packers to the playoffs as a starter including a win under his belt. One could argue that he has exceeded expectations especially by following in the footsteps of not one, but two legendary quarterbacks. That is a certain amount of pressure that most newly starting quarterbacks would fold under or take more time to develop. A healthier and even more seasoned Love in year three as a starter combined with running back Josh Jacobs (27 years old) as a dynamic duo has the trajectory of this team continuing to elevate.

The Packers Should Extend Zach Tom's Contract As Soon As Possible

Under NFLPA rules, prospects from the 2022 draft class are eligible for contract extensions this offseason. Green Bay’s 2022 draft class delivered starters at four different positions and played a crucial role in keeping the team competitive after Brian Gutekunst traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets. However, Zach Tom is arguably the only player from that class who is a lock for an extension, though Rasheed Walker’s chances are pretty good as well.

There's no question that a deal will get done—it’s just a matter of when. You just don’t see NFL franchises let many of those big boys up front hit the open market. Tom is a star tackle who also provides valuable flexibility in case the Packers ever need to move him around. Letting him hit free agency would be one of the worst decisions of Brian Gutekunst's tenure, and it's highly unlikely to happen. Green Bay has a knack for finding offensive line gems in the later rounds, and Tom is a prime example of how effective that philosophy has been. His success reinforces the Packers’ ability to develop mid-round talent into high-level starters, and securing his future in Green Bay should be a top priority.

Finding a Packers Wide Receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft: 14 Players to Watch

Green Bay’s group of young receivers sputtered in 2024, and did not make the kind of progress many hoped to see in their second year with Jordan Love at quarterback. With two of them – Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson, who is also recovering from a serious knee injury – set to hit free agency at the conclusion of the 2025 season, it is important Packers GM Brian Gutekunst continues to stock the cupboard at receiver.

While there will be opportunity to add to the room in free agency, the draft is Green Bay’s bread and butter, and there are certain characteristics the team tends to look for in their wideouts, which can help to provide an early outlook on the prospects they could be eyeing. As with most positions, the Packers have an ideal height and weight threshold they want players to meet at receiver, and in general, they prefer bigger guys. This tradition stretches all the way back to Ron Wolf, but can still be observed in the Gutekunst era. Since he took over as GM in 2018, the Packers have not drafted a receiver shorter than 5’9.4” or lighter than 187 lbs. If you take away Amari Rodgers, who it seems pretty clear was an outlier pick (which failed miserably), the height floor raises to 5’10.7” 5’10.7” and 187 lbs – or the height and weight of Jayden Reed – is not an especially high bar to clear, and that’s the point.

The Packers are not disregarding receivers recklessly, they are just not going to draft the 165 pounders, the Tank Dells, Xavier Worthys, or in this draft, Tez Johnsons. There are athletic testing markers the team looks for, too, but with the scouting combine still a week away, that information is not yet available for the 2025 draft class. Another data point we can use to narrow down the search pool however, is production. Green Bay is well known for valuing traits over production, especially with their premium picks, but as I recently detailed, they value production at receiver. Since 2018, every single receiver they drafted had at least 800 yards in their best college season, and at least six touchdowns. This twofold outlook is important, because 800 yards is not that many, even in the shorter seasons college teams play, but the receivers Green Bay has drafted who are closer to that floor, namely Watson and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, had strong touchdown totals to make up for it. After MVS was drafted, director of college scouting Matt Malaspina mentioned his “15-yard average” yards per reception as a selling point, and when you go through the receivers the Packers have selected, a high YPR is a consistent theme. Ignoring Rodgers again, the player with the lowest YPR drafted by Gutekunst is Grant DuBose at 13.5. For context, the NFL average in 2024, 2023 and 2022 was 10.9. YPR is another way of showing production aside from just total yardage or touchdowns, and seems to be something the Packers value.

So if Green Bay is looking for receivers 5’10.7” or taller, 187 lbs or heavier, with at least 13.5 YPR in college, at least one season of 800-plus yards and six touchdowns (a sliding scale will be used for touchdowns, i.e. if they had more yards, the touchdown number can be lower), what are their options in the 2025 class?

Let’s take a look.

2024 Green Bay Packers roster grades

CHTV co-founder Aaron Nagler welcomes in Packers beat reporter Ryan Wood of the Green Bay Press-Gazette and PackersNews.com to discuss his end-of-year grading series of the Packers 2024 roster.

If the Packers Could Retire One Last Number

It is the highest honor a franchise can bestow upon a player. The Green Bay Packers have done it six times in their storied history with one more most certainly on the way as soon as Aaron Rodgers calls it a career. Retiring a player's number means that the player was one of the best to ever play in that uniform. No one will ever live up to wearing that player's number as a result, so they're just going to put that number in the rafters. Or in the Packers' case, nail it to the side of the stadium wall.

The number 14 for Don Hutson, 3 for Tony Canadeo, 15 for Bart Starr, 66 for Ray Nitschke, 92 for Reggie White, and 4 for Brett Favre, are those already retired in Green Bay. Each of those players is regarded as one of the best to have ever played the position, not just for the Packers, but in the NFL in general during their respective eras.

There is little doubt that former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers deserves to have his number 12 placed among the other six in Lambeau Field. As soon as Rodgers decides his great career is done, the Packers will probably begin planning the ceremony. But with the seven retired numbers, one may think there could be a time when the Packers will need to stop retiring numbers due to the need for numbers to be placed on active players.

So, imagine this time does come right after Aaron Rodgers has his 12 retired, but the Packers announce they will retire one more number of a past player before discontinuing the honor. Who would be the most deserving of the honor who hasn't received it already in the Packers' 105-year history?

Packers Offensive Line: From Good to Great in 2025

Aaron Nagler chats with Justis Mosqueda from ACME Packing Company about the state of the Green Bay Packers offensive line and some ideas to improve it heading into 2025.

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Packers Have Draft Need on the Defensive Line

In 1998, after losing Super Bowl XXXII to the Denver Broncos, Packers General Manager Ron Wolf made one of his boldest moves of his tenure by trading up for North Carolina Defensive End Vonnie Holliday. Playing opposite Reggie White, Holliday made the NFL All-Rookie team and finished with eight sacks, the most of his 15-year career.

Since that selection, the Packers under Wolf, Mike Sherman, Ted Thompson and now Brian Gutekunst have selected an Edge player or interior lineman 11 times, the most amongst all positions since 1998. These players include: 1998 Holliday, 2001 Jamal Reynolds, 2007 Justin Harrell, 2009 B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews, 2012 Nick Perry, 2013 Datone Jones, 2016 Kenny Clark, 2019 Rashan Gary, 2022 Devonte Wyatt, and 2023 Lukas Van Ness.

In comparison, the only other position group that’s close to the defensive front is defensive back with eight players drafted in Round 1 (or the first pick in Round 2): 1999 Antuan Edwards, 2004 Ahmad Carroll, 2014 Haha Clinton-Dix, 2015 Demarious Randall, 2017 Kevin King, 2018 Jaire Alexander, 2019 Darnell Savage, and 2021 Eric Stokes. Heading into the 2025 draft, the defensive line is one of the strengths of the draft and it matches the Packers having needs along the front four.

Expectation vs Reality in the Packers offseason

Taking a look at some of the proposed pie-in-the-sky offseason acquisitions flying around Packers fandom vs some more realistic ways of addressing some of Green Bay's roster issues.

The CHTV Draft Guide available April 2nd!