Five offseason moves to create a championship Packers team
By Brady Busha
2. Look to the future
Bashaud Breeland, when healthy, is a game-changer. He proved that against Atlanta, and will continue to do so if given the chance. Jake Kumerow also flashed deep-threat ability and consistency in preseason, further expanding the case that grizzled veterans and groundbreaking deals a la Jimmy Graham aren’t necessary for big impact.
Under new GM Brian Gutekunst, the Packers experienced their first “splash” offseason in a long time, featuring the signings of Muhammad Wilkerson and Jimmy Graham as the centerpieces. Given the on-and-off nature of the offense in 2018, it would have been acceptable that Graham had a pedestrian year, except his salary doesn’t reflect that of a pedestrian player.
Jimmy Graham leads all tight ends in the NFL in total cash paid in 2018, according to Spotrac. Since the days of Jermichael Finley, the Packers have not had a year-over-year tight end that could be considered a game-changing receiving threat.
Jared Cook‘s one year prove-it deal in 2016 concluded with a catch against Dallas in the divisional playoff game that cemented him in Packers lore, then he signed with Oakland.
Animosity still exists between Packer fans and Martellus Bennett for his questionable departure after seven games with the Packers in 2017. And now in 2018, the Packers slid all of their chips to the center of the table for what seemed to be a surefire signing.
Stopping the revolving door of tight end talent will be crucial to solidifying the consistency of the offense in 2019. This can be done by either curing what ails Graham, or finding ways to incorporate the 4.58 speed of second-year tight end Robert Tonyan in the Offense of Christmas Future.
The third option is to take a flier on the pair of Iowa tight ends, Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson, declaring for the draft this spring. The idea of acquiring a tight end whom was an All-American holds great appeal.
Packers fans have been shown by the arrivals and departures over the years that “The Bad Man” can make magic happen with the smallest amount of resources on his end. With that in mind, the Packers can focus their free agency scope to defense, and allow Brian Gutekunst to polish the depth chart in the draft.
While veterans are always a welcome addition to the Packers roster, they’re not always going to be the best decision. Spinning the roulette wheel in free agency on young impact players like Breeland is what must be done to create a team capable of a deep run. Paging Jadeveon Clowney.