Packers: Top 15 what-ifs of the Ted Thompson era Part 2

6. What if the Packers traded for Marshawn Lynch in 2010?

What happened?

Marshawn Lynch was traded from the Buffalo Bills to the Seattle Seahawks in October 2010. The Lynch trade was one of the biggest of the last decade and it certainly benefited the Seahawks as they went on to win a Super Bowl and go to another with him.

Lynch went to Seattle but the Packers were his first choice. He would have been an obvious fit in Green Bay as he had experience playing with Aaron Rodgers at Cal and the Packers could have used a running back that year.

Lynch went on to become one of the best running backs in football with the Seahawks and is still one of the game’s biggest personalities even though he is now with the Raiders.

What if the Packers traded for Marshawn Lynch in 2010?

Trading for Lynch would have had a ripple effect on both the Packers and the Seahawks. 

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The Packers would have had a even better offense during the early 2010s (just imagine the 2011 offense with Lynch at the helm instead of Ryan Grant) and the Seahawks offense would have still been good, but much weaker without him.

I think John Schneider and the Seattle Seahawks would have decided to draft Mark Ingram in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft as a result of not trading for Lynch, and Ingram would be having a solid career in Seattle had that happened.

The road is a bit rockier for Russell Wilson at the beginning of his career, as Ingram has never been the talent Lynch was. Wilson would have still turned into one of the best quarterbacks in football.

The Packers still would have won Super Bowl XLV if they had Lynch and I think they go on to win Super Bowl XLVI and Super Bowl XLIX with him.

They would have avoided the upset they suffered in the 2011 divisional round against the Giants if they had a running back like Lynch facing that defense in the cold weather.

They also would have gone on to win Super Bowl XLIX as Seattle would have had a weaker run game with Ingram instead of Lynch, and New England wouldn’t have been able to face the three-headed monster of Aaron Rodgers, Lynch and Jordy Nelson in the Super Bowl.

Next: Top 30 moments in Green Bay Packers history

The Packers could have been a dynasty in the 2010s if they had a player like Lynch. Thompson has to be kicking himself for not making that deal.