Packers named on Super Bowl contenders list that doesn't include the Bears

The NFL offseason has a habit of warping minds. With both free agency and the draft being such high-profile events now, a few good signings or picks give fans hope that their basement-dwelling favorite team from 2023 has a chance to do a full 180 the next year. And to be fair, that does happen sometimes! No one saw last year's Texans' ascent happening as fast as it did, for example.

But even with the league's love of parity, sometimes a busy March and April does nothing more than pumping in a bunch of false hope. Sometimes a team – for the sake of this hypothetical, let's call them "the Bears" – drafts a bunch of players and makes a bunch of trades that has their fans in a frenzy. And sometimes that's still not enough to put them on Super Bowl contenders lists.

This is all thanks to our guy Connor Orr, one of Sports Illustrated's NFL writers. He published a list of title contenders this week, and the Packers made the cut. They're joined by all the usual suspects, but that's less important than who didn't make the cut. But first, here's some of what Orr had to say about the Packers.

Packers land on Sports lllustrated's Super Bowl contenders list

"Watching Green Bay wallop the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs last year and then come roaring back against the 49ers in the divisional round was proof that the post-Rodgers Packers have arrived ahead of schedule ... The Packers have the most underrated wide receiver room in the NFL, and the tight end group is ready to wreak havoc after a year of getting acclimated to the NFL ... It would not shock me if Green Bay simply remained a step ahead schematically throughout the year ... "

Love it. I've never ever said a bad thing ever about any Connor Orr listicle, and that certainly won't start now. Nothing better than a position group ready to wreak havoc.

In case you had no interest in clicking on another link and dealing with another tab, Orr also had the Chiefs, Bills, Jets (?), Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Texans, 49ers, Rams, Lions, and Eagles on the list. That's a ton of Super Bowl contenders! It'd be a shame if a team – remember, we're just refering to them as "the Bears" – did as much work overhauling their roster and still didn't find a way to be in the 33% of NFL teams thought of as title contenders. Maybe SI is saving them for when they publish their "Might Be In The Hunt" list in a few weeks.