5 Packers we can safely call busts after the 2023 season

4. Anders Carlson

It doesn't matter what round you are drafting a kicker in. If you decide to actually draft one, that kicker is going to have a different level of expectations heaped upon them.

The Packers invested a sixth-round pick in Anders Carlson, and for the first five weeks of the season, that was looking like a brilliant investment. Carlson didn't miss a kick for the first five games of the year, but a missed kick against the Denver Broncos started a bit of a spiral that would unfortunately last the duration of the season...into the playoffs.

Carlson's missed kick against the Broncos ended up being the difference in a two-point road loss. He missed another kick late in the year against the New York Giants in another crucial two-point road loss.

The worst miss of the year, however, came at the worst possible time. When the Packers could have taken a seven-point lead against the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs, Carlson's missed field goal allowed the 49ers to mount a game-winning drive as opposed to a game-tying drive late in the fourth quarter.

That is a sour taste that's going to be tough to get rid of all offseason. The Packers drafted Carlson, so I doubt we're going to see them move on. But for some fans, this guy is already a bust and he's proven to be the one thing a kicker can't prove to be: Untrustworthy.