3 strengths and 2 weaknesses of Matt LaFleur heading into 2023
- Starting from scratch at QB
- NFC North is wide open
- Plenty of time to get Packers back on track
Matt LaFleur strength: Alternatives in 2024 if things go south...
Let's just stew in the hypothetical realm for a moment. Let's say things really go south for the Packers in 2023. Let's say they lose 13 or 14 games, enough to put them in position for one of the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
The 2024 NFL Draft is expected to include a couple of superstar prospects in Caleb Williams out of USC and Drake Maye out of North Carolina. Williams has been compared to Patrick Mahomes for his playmaking abilities and Maye has drawn some comparisons to Trevor Lawrence coming out of Clemson.
Is this a remote possibility? Yes, it's very remote at this point. The Packers probably don't have a bad enough roster to be one of the worst teams in the NFL, but the play of Jordan Love might ultimately dictate whether or not this team is able to win enough games to be in any sort of playoff discussion at all. I think the looming 2024 NFL Draft class is a huge advantage and strength for Matt LaFleur as a head coach, once again giving him the freedom of playing with that house money we mentioned in 2023.
If things go bad in 2023, like really bad, LaFleur and Gutekunst can say, okay, it wasn't Jordan Love. Who is it going to be? And the Packers can figure out a way to reset at the QB position quickly. Even beyond guys like Williams and Drake Maye, this year's quarterback class is expected to be a very good one overall, or the Packers could look for a veteran and try to snag a player like Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
The point is -- this is not a bad draft to be picking near the top of the order. There will be star prospects available and we've seen how quickly a prospect or two can turn a team around, like the Bengals with Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.