Packers in strong position in FanSided’s 2020 power rankings
The Green Bay Packers are at No. 6 in FanSided’s early 2020 power rankings.
The Packers took a giant step forward last season, going from two playoff-less seasons under Mike McCarthy to the NFC Championship Game in Matt LaFleur’s first year. With a smart offseason, they can continue to push forward and increase their chances of a return to the Super Bowl.
Ahead of the draft, there is still a lot of work to do. But the Packers are still well-positioned in FanSided’s updated power rankings by Matt Verderame.
Verderame has the Packers at No. 6 in the rankings, comfortably ahead of their NFC North rivals.
"“Green Bay has a few things going for it,” Verderame wrote. “One, Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur. Two, Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith. Three, the NFC North got worse.”"
It’s hard to disagree. The Rodgers-LaFleur relationship was put under the microscope all summer long but any concerns were quickly gone once the season got underway. Rodgers seemed to buy-in to LaFleur’s philosophy and it led to success on the field.
Za’Darius and Preston Smith were the most dominant pass-rushing tandem in all of football with 25.5 sacks. They regularly came up with game-changing plays just when the Packers needed them. Spending big in free agency is risky but the Packers got this one absolutely right.
It’s also hard to disagree that the rest of the NFC North got worse.
Stefon Diggs now plays in the AFC. He has had tremendous success against the Packers throughout his career with eight touchdowns in just nine games.
Darius Slay is an All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback, but he’s no longer in the NFC North either with the Detroit Lions trading him to the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Green Bay’s aim isn’t just to retain the NFC North title but to win a championship. That means getting much better on both sides of the ball. There will be tough competition from the NFC-champion San Francisco 49ers, as well as the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks. All three teams are ahead of the Packers in the power rankings. That’s why this offseason needs to be a successful one.