The Green Bay Packers have enjoyed the uncommon luxury of stability in contrast to the majority of NFL teams. From 1992 to 2022 – three decades – the Packers had, essentially, two starting quarterbacks (apologies, Matt Flynn and Brett Hundley). In contrast, the Cleveland Browns had about three dozen starting quarterbacks throughout the same period. The Packers’ renowned “draft and develop” team building approach, together with their dependability and excellence at the top position in the game, meant that their teams and position groups maintained an exceptional level of consistency that further developed into an identity.
With players like Brooks, Freeman, Ferguson, and Driver on the receivers and Clifton, Winters, Rivera, and Wahle on the offensive line, who can forget the Packers? The names of those offensive linemen changed to Bakhtiari, Lang, Sitton, and Bulaga at some point throughout the draft and development process, while the receivers changed to Jennings, Adams, Nelson, and Cobb. We had familiar names on the defensive end of the ball, like Barnett, Brown, Butler, Sharper, and later Matthews, Williams, Raji, Alexander, and others.
I mention all of these names to acknowledge the past and to highlight how drastically different it is from the present, not to linger in the past. Because the question that keeps coming to mind when I look at the entire 2025 Packers roster is: Who are these folks really?
Let’s start with the offensive and Jordan Love, who leads it. We’ve witnessed several flashes in the two years that we’ve been in charge. Love’s leadership and moxie were demonstrated in the 2023 comeback against the Saints. That same year’s playoff run demonstrated Love’s ability to flourish under pressure. Love demonstrated his tenacity by playing through an injury the next season and leading the Packers back to the postseason. However, in addition to the numerous highlights, Love has made some costly errors that have kept him from being considered one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks to date. Fans of the Packers believe and I agree that Love will ultimately move up into that elite division, perhaps this season. However, Love’s early life is still mainly unfinished.
Love is not an isolated experience. He is actually encircled by question marks. Can Christian Watson maintain his health? How good is Matthew Golden? Luke Musgrave? Wicks, Dontayvion? Hardman, Mecole? Will Sheppard? What on earth is LaFleur going to do with Savion Williams? Is he going to play running back? What about MarShawn Lloyd, when we talk about running backs? There are concerns over Jordan Morgan’s status even within the offensive line, which may be the team’s strongest and deepest position group. How is Jenkins going to perform at center? Is Belton going to play? And what do we have in Aaron Banks, the man worth $77 million?
Perhaps even more mysterious is the other side of the ball. Will Rashan Gary finally turn into the reliable wrecking ball we’ve all been waiting for this year? Is Van Ness the next to act? Brenton Cox, what about him? Or how about Oliver, Sorrell, and Stackhouse, the new guys? And given that Cooper appears like a complete game-breaker, what is the upper limit for him? And do you recall Ty’Ron Hopper, his running mate? Aside from McKinney, the secondary may be the most uncertain of all. The still-in-form cornerback room, which is coached by a fiery rookie named Nate Hobbs, is a patchwork quilt of confusion, including a player who was catching passes only a few months ago. Bullard and Williams are intriguing but still largely unknown safeties.
Perhaps even more mysterious is the other side of the ball. Will Rashan Gary finally turn into the reliable wrecking ball we’ve all been waiting for this year? Is Van Ness the next to act? Brenton Cox, what about him? Or how about Oliver, Sorrell, and Stackhouse, the new guys? And given that Cooper appears like a complete game-breaker, what is the upper limit for him? And do you recall Ty’Ron Hopper, his running mate? Aside from McKinney, the secondary may be the most uncertain of all. The still-in-form cornerback room, which is coached by a fiery rookie named Nate Hobbs, is a patchwork quilt of confusion, including a player who was catching passes only a few months ago. Bullard and Williams are intriguing but still largely unknown safeties.
It isn’t totally shocking that there are doubts everywhere for a team with the youngest roster in the NFL (average age of 24.8 years). On the one hand, the unknowns are really exciting because there’s a lot of freedom to imagine “what could be” but it’s also unsettling in a way because for the first time in a very long time, Packers fans (if they’re being honest) don’t truly know what’s ahead of them. What’s even more amazing is that the Bears and the Vikings, the rival teams, are in roughly comparable circumstances.
Tradition is one thing that is known in Green Bay. “Winning isn’t everything; the will to win is the only thing,” as the legendary Vince Lombardi famously stated. Our front office, in my opinion, embodies that mindset, and I have no doubt that they have put together an excellent bunch of youthful, athletic, and driven players. The Green Bay Packers football team is prepared to write the next great chapter under the direction of a group of intelligent and committed coaches. “It’s time,” said another Packers coach. The time has come.
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