Packers: The harder you look, the worse the offseason gets

The Green Bay Packers had one of the strangest drafts we’ve ever seen. That coupled with an equally bizarre free agency period leaves them in disarray.

The NFC Championship game between the Packers and 49ers was about as lopsided a first half of football as there has ever been on the doorstep of the Super Bowl. Not that Packer fans need a reminder, but Raheem Mostert ran for 186 yards before contact against an embarrassing Green Bay run defense.

In other words, Mostert had one of the best playoff performances ever by a 49ers running back in the postseason without even being touched. But only in Green Bay would the same exact cast of players that got stomped on by a far superior team be run back on to the field to do it all over again.

It is no secret that the Packers were not as good as their 13-3 record suggested. Good injury luck and a rather light schedule helped Green Bay survive week-to-week and eventually beat Seattle in the playoffs. That is not going to happen this year. The Packers were already going to regress to the mean to some degree, and almost deliberately got worse over the course of the offseason.

Brian Gutekunst had been pretty strong through his first two seasons in charge. While passing on Derwin James in his first draft doesn’t look good, he did draft Jaire Alexander and get an extra first-round pick in the process, which is hardly a bad trade. However, he has had a bunch of his picks completely bomb so far.

Josh Jackson, Oren Burks, J’Mon Moore, Cole Madison, James Looney, Kendall Donnerson, and Dexter Williams have either been cut or are on the verge of it. Generously left out are Rashan Gary, Ty Summers, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Jace Sternberger, who all have plenty to prove when it comes to having even the chance to develop into solid contributors.

But this offseason was an absolute debacle in Green Bay. Say what you want about Aaron Rodgers. He’s declining. He’s slowing down. He’s missing throws. He’s not as nimble out of the pocket. Those may all be true, but that same free-falling quarterback has thrown for 51 touchdowns and six interceptions over his last two years.

In other words, the guy can still play at a pretty astronomical level. Might his play slip further next year? Sure. But Green Bay’s average-at-best roster (again) will not carry him the way he’s carried the franchise on his back for the better part of 12 seasons. The aforementioned run defense is coming right back for another go of it.

Did Green Bay invest in a new run-stuffing nose tackle? Nope. Did they get deeper at defensive end? Well, they drafted Jonathan Garvin in the seventh round, which is just awesome. Did they put an end to their eons-long problems at inside linebacker? They signed a middle linebacker who has played nine games in the last two seasons and drafted a fifth-round rookie.

In other words, Packer fans can look forward to another year of linebackers tripping over themselves as running backs and tight ends sprint by them as if they weren’t there. So you’d think that Green Bay devoted most of their resources to their bottom-third receiving corps right? Right?

Does Devin Funchess count? Somehow, in the deepest and best draft for wide receivers in NFL history, the Packers felt it was worth proving to everyone that Valdes-Scantling is just a whole lot better than his six catches over the last three months of the season would tell you. Furthermore, the sudden infatuation with Allen Lazard is Green Bay management at its absolute finest.

Any player that shows even the faintest bit of promise in Green Bay is suddenly pinned as the cure-all to an otherwise bad situation. Lazard played well after being thrust into the lineup in week four against the Eagles after Davante Adams left with injury, leaving Green Bay’s receiver room to rot, as everyone knew it would should Adams twist an ankle.

Lazard gradually became more involved and had strong showings against the Lions, Raiders, and was one of the only Packers to show up and play against the 49ers. But, just because one player notches a scorching 35 receptions and three touchdowns is not a good enough reason to pass up on so much talent at the receiver position.

So far, Green Bay’s answer to their questions at receiver are that they alone can coach Valdes-Scantling into stardom, and that Lazard will blossom into what Alvin Harper was to Michael Irvin. The Eagles, on the other hand, did not have this arrogance shaping their roster moves.

Even though they have Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson returning from injury, and Greg Ward in his second year after a similar type of breakout to Lazard, the Eagles drafted Jalen Reagor in the first round. They then drafted John Hightower and Quez Watkins later on in the draft, and acquired Marquise Goodwin from the 49ers.

Let’s not forget, the Eagles deserve a lot of scrutiny when it comes to passing on a silver platter-type draft day move. The Falcons were sitting at number 16, with only six draft picks. They also ended up taking A.J. Terrell, a player they could have had as many as 12 picks later. Trading up for CeeDee Lamb made all the sense in the world, especially to keep him away from the Cowboys.

But even with some questionable decisions made, the Eagles went and helped themselves. Green Bay is essentially banking on Christian Kirksey staying healthy and actually being better than Blake Martinez. Then they’re just pretending that Dean Lowry suddenly isn’t the worst starting interior defensive lineman in football.

Then they’re assuming Jace Sternberger becomes worth the price of admission at tight end, and that the genius of Matt LaFleur and his staff can turn Valdes-Scantling into a watchable downfield receiver. This all comes as Aaron Jones is likely not going to score over 20 touchdowns again, and Rodgers descends a little bit further.

Green Bay’s offseason was confusing, aimless, and wrong on nearly every level. Perhaps the only thing the team really accomplished was finally solving their eternal lack of depth on the offensive line. A.J. Dillon could be a valuable piece for the future as both Jones and Jamaal Williams are free agents, but that can’t be all that is done for a team coming within one game of the Super Bowl.

The Packers will take a big step back in 2020-2021. They are not as good as the 49ers, Saints, Eagles, Vikings, Buccaneers, and Seahawks. Green Bay could very well miss the playoffs and win eight games, sacrificing yet another season with Aaron Rodgers. Jordan Love might become a great quarterback, but he has to hope the Packers will be more invested in him than the player he will almost definitely never be as good as.