The Green Bay Packers come in at #26 in my NFL Power Rankings for 2023.
Ranking teams #25 - #27 was really difficult. I placed the Packers above the the Commanders due to superior recent history and because I'm a shade more confident in the Packers QB situation than I am the Commanders.
All in all, I have loved how the Packers have handled their quarterback situations with Aaron Rodgers and now potentially Jordan Love. Rodgers waited three years before starting from 2005-2007, and now Jordan Love has waited three seasons himself from 2020-2022.
If the Packers really planned to have their young QBs wait, is anybody's guess. But I still think it's ideal to have young QBs wait a bit before being thrust out. Teams are so impatient with rookie QBs today. But if you wait a few years to start a QB and you finally have them start, you can kind of actually, more ethically be a bit more impatient I guess. While at the same time I think you're genuinely giving your new QB their best chance to succeed thanks to them learning the pro level as a backup.
Now, it's not a for sure chance you'll have a franchise QB, but the odds are better with this strategy than simply drafting QB after QB and then you're in QB limbo.
It's been a bit easier for the Packers to use this method of QB hunting since they've had great QBs, but still they've done a solid job.
With Jordan Love, I can't say I've seen lights out potential from him, but it's not been terrible and the man has barely played overall. Even if Love is not as great as Favre or Rodgers, I believe he'll be relatively competent or better thanks to waiting. Love is still young, as he turns 25 in November and I mean, he was a solid college prospect. I think odds are slim the man is terrible.
I could be wrong though, and who knows what his ceiling really is. We will find out a lot this season about the mysterious Jordan Love.
So yeah that's a long story about why I think the Packers QB situation is better than the Commanders' situation.
The Packers come in low overall because of the mysterious QB situation and because they struggled a bit last season. I mean they weren't horrible at 8-9 but it's a fairly big fall from winning 13 games the prior three seasons consecutively. It really seems the Packers missed Davante Adams. In 2023, Adams is still not there and now Aaron Rodgers is in the Big Apple.
The Packers were in the top half statistically in 2019-2021, but in 2022 there was a noticeable dip across the board.
Now the Packers are set to start a QB not named Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers for the first time since 1992 when Favre became the team's starter. There's a lot of pressure and intrigue in Green Bay.
Let's see what Packers Head Coach Matt LeFleur is made of for real. No more established QB at his disposal.
How many wins can the Packers get in 2023?
