To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Green Bay Packers weren't big players in free agency, losing far more players than they brought in, and that doesn't even include dealing Rashan Gary to the Dallas Cowboys.
And while they filled a few holes during the draft, the lack of a first-round pick undoubtedly didn't help matters, although the reason they didn't have a first-rounder is that they dealt that to Dallas in the trade that brought Micah Parsons to Green Bay. So, it's difficult to get upset about that, given what Parsons brings to the table.
From an overall standpoint, one would be hard-pressed to say that the Packers' roster has improved this offseason, but given some of the additions they did make (and some of that includes addition by subtraction), it also didn't decline as much as it could have.
Now, as there really wasn't any outside addition that's going to come in and make a massive difference, it wasn't a surprise to see the two biggest stars on the team mentioned when Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon recently put together what he called a "dream 2026 season scenario" for each of the 32 clubs, using just one sentence for every team. Here's what he had to say for Green Bay:
"Somebody finally emerges as a star No. 1 target for Jordan Love, who explodes in his fourth season as a starter, leading to a deep playoff run anchored by a healthy Love and Micah Parsons."
Yeah, I think Cheeseheads would go for that.
Packers' dream season ultimately comes down to Jordan Love and Micah Parsons
Parsons, of course, may start the 2026 campaign on the PUP list, as he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered last December during a Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos.
But even if he misses the first four weeks, the Packers, at the very least, should be able to get a split, as their opening opponents for the year are the Minnesota Vikings, New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That said, though, Green Bay famously didn't win a single game after his injury, so a split certainly isn't guaranteed.
But that's where Love's offense comes in.
Now, Jordan has played well the last two years, but his best season as a starter was still his first in 2023, when he threw for 4,132 yards with 32 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions in the regular season, then dominated Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs before making a few mistakes in the Divisional Round in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
That win over the Cowboys, of course, was the last playoff victory for the Packers, as they've been bounced in the Wild Card Round each of the last two years.
Again, it's not as if Love has played poorly the last two years, as he's thrown for 6,770 yards with 48 touchdowns against 17 picks, but it's undoubtedly time for him to take things to the next level, especially given his salary.
As for who his "star No. 1 target" will be in 2026, that role is wide open. Tight end Tucker Kraft was on his way to putting up some ridiculous numbers before tearing an ACL in Week 9, but Love undoubtedly needs a receiver to hit that next level as well, as Green Bay hasn't had a 1,000-yard receiver since Davante Adams left.
Jayden Reed was the team's top wideout in both 2023 and 2024, and with Romeo Doubs gone, either Christian Watson or Matthew Golden has an opportunity to see more targets. The way Golden was utilized this past year in his rookie campaign was borderline absurd, and the Packers got to see what he can do when given the chance, as he stepped up something fierce in the wild-card loss to the Chicago Bears back in January, catching four passes for 84 yards and finally scoring his first NFL touchdown.
If someone can indeed step up and be that guy for Love, and Parsons and the defense can do what it's capable of doing, there's no reason the Packers can't have that deep playoff run.
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