Great read....
This isn’t the type of report card you’d flaunt to friends and family. Maybe throw this one in the fire and act like it never arrived in the mailbox in the first place. That’s just how the Packers’ 2022 season went.
Let’s get to the grades for each position group.
Quarterback: B
We knew Aaron Rodgers wouldn’t play like an NFL MVP one of these years, and 2022 brought a steep drop-off in his performance. His own regression, injuries aside, played a factor. But so too did the broken right thumb he played through, the moving parts on the offensive line and an inexperienced receiving corps perhaps taking longer to figure out what they were supposed to be doing than the Packers would’ve hoped. General manager Brian Gutekunst seems to think Rodgers still gives the Packers a better chance to win than backup Jordan Love, which is why you’ll likely see him back in green and gold next season — if the 39-year-old wants to keep playing.
Running back: B+
Green Bay ranked fifth in the NFL in offensive EPA per rush, seventh in (lowest) percentage of rushing attempts resulting in zero or negative yards and fifth in offensive rush success percentage, but just 19th in yards after contact per rush. Even so, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon showed why they are one of the best running back tandems in the NFL, combining for 2,492 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns. Jones needs to secure the ball better, though, as his five fumbles tied for the second-most among running backs behind only Derrick Henry’s six. (Jones lost three of them, tied for third-most among RBs.)
Wide receiver: B-
Rodgers was asked after the Packers’ season-ending loss to the Lions if he still had “it.” After answering in the affirmative, Rodgers said, “I feel like, obviously, losing Davante (Adams) was a big deal, but we didn’t fill that void. Nobody can. He’s super-human. He’s phenomenal. There was hope in certain things that were going to fill that void. Ultimately, that just didn’t happen.”
Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs look to be promising pieces for the future, perhaps even a potent 1-2 punch, but injuries and the rookie learning curve prevented them from having a more consistent impact on the offense. Allen Lazard is a nice complementary piece, but hardly the No. 1 wideout the Packers needed/hoped/expected him to be, if only because of a lack of explosiveness. Randall Cobb is still trustworthy on third down, but there aren’t enough targets to go around to maximize the value he still brings at 32 years old. The low-risk, high-reward signing of Sammy Watkins offered minimal reward, but he still played 167 more offensive snaps than rookie seventh-round pick Samori Toure for whatever reason.
Tight end: C+
Robert Tonyan scored 11 touchdowns over 16 games in 2020. In 25 games since, he has caught only four TD passes, and he ranked 19th in the NFL this season in receiving yards among tight ends. Marcedes Lewis and Josiah Deguara are useful blockers and Lewis makes the occasional big catch, but the Packers need an actual pass-catching threat at tight end. Tonyan doesn’t seem to be that anymore, which is why the position could be an early target in April’s draft.
Offensive line: A-
According to ESPN Analytics, the Packers ranked fifth in the NFL this season in team pass-block win rate and eighth in team run-block win rate. Those finishes aren’t too shabby for a unit that dealt with recurring knee injuries and a month-long appendectomy-induced absence to its best player, left tackle David Bakhtiari. When Bakhtiari was healthy, he played like an All-Pro, ranking first among all left tackles in pass-block win rate. It took some time for left guard Elgton Jenkins to return to his Pro Bowl form coming off last season’s torn ACL, but the Packers still felt (and probably rightfully so) that he was worthy of being the second-highest-paid left guard in the NFL behind the Colts’ Quenton Nelson, who makes $20 million annually compared to Jenkins’ $17 million.
The Packers might be kicking themselves for taking center Josh Myers one pick ahead of Chiefs center Creed Humphrey in the second round of the 2021 draft since Humphrey is an All-Pro and Myers, well, isn’t. Humphrey was Pro Football Focus’ top-ranked center, while Myers ranked No. 25 among those who played in at least 10 games. Right guard Jon Runyan Jr. seems like a sixth-round steal, however, if Rodgers’ unprompted shoutouts of him this season are any indication of what’s to come as Runyan enters the final season of his rookie contract. Right tackle Yosh Nijman ranked first among all offensive tackles in run-block win rate this season, and the Packers clearly trust 2022 fourth-round pick Zach Tom at multiple positions. All six of those players should be back next season and barring injuries, Green Bay should again have one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.
Interior defensive line: D
Among defensive linemen who played at least 100 snaps, the Packers’ highest-rated run defender at the position tied for 52nd in PFF’s run defense grade. That was T.J. Slaton, a fifth-rounder in the 2021 draft. The Packers again struggled to stop opposing teams on the ground, finishing 29th in defensive rush EPA per snap. In recent years, the Packers’ interior defensive line has been composed of Kenny Clark and a handful of underwhelming guys behind him. In 2022, Clark himself was underwhelming, ranking 58th among qualified D-linemen in pressure percentage and mustering only five tackles for loss. If there’s a silver lining from this season with this group, it’s that Dean Lowry’s likely departure in free agency should provide more snaps next season for 2022 first-round pick Devonte Wyatt, who played only 21.7 percent of Green Bay’s defensive snaps this season.
Outside linebacker: C+
From Weeks 1 through 9, the Packers ranked second in the NFL in percentage of pass-rush snaps resulting in a pressure. Then Rashan Gary tore his ACL in Week 9. From Weeks 10 through 18, they ranked 28th in pressure percentage. Gary is Green Bay’s pass rush, which makes the fact that he’ll be coming off a major injury next season that much more concerning considering who’s behind him on the depth chart. Gary ranked fourth in the NFL in pressure percentage among defensive linemen and linebackers who rushed the passer at least 10 times. Preston Smith ranked 85th. Rookie Kingsley Enagbare ranked 97th. Edge rusher should be at or near the top of Gutekunst’s draft priorities list.
Inside linebacker: C+
After missing only four tackles last season, per PFF, De’Vondre Campbell missed nine tackles in the first six games this season. He then suffered a knee injury in Week 8 that sidelined him a month, and only after that did we finally see shades of the Campbell that was named a first-team All-Pro in 2021. He missed only one tackle in the Packers’ final five games and perhaps restored faith that he can be the player they signed to a big-money extension last offseason after his breakout first season with the team. Meanwhile, rookie Quay Walker missed 13 tackles this season, including four in the Packers’ abysmal defensive effort against the Eagles in Week 12. But his horizontal and vertical speed offered promising signs for the future — if he can get past the shoving issues that got him ejected from two games. With both Campbell and Walker manning the middle again in 2023, this actually might be the position group of least concern on defense entering the offseason.
Cornerback: C+
Rasul Douglas’ regression after his breakout 2021 campaign and Eric Stokes’ second-year decline prior to his season-ending (knee/ankle) injury suffered in Week 9 don’t exactly instill confidence when weighing the potential of Green Bay’s cornerback group entering the 2023 season. Stokes allowed 20 completions and 10.4 yards per target on 25 targets with no passes defensed (he had 14 as a rookie in 2021). Douglas allowed 54 completions and 6.9 yards per target on 84 targets (64.3 completion percentage allowed) while allowing six touchdowns after allowing 32 catches and 5.5 yards per target on 64 targets with only two touchdowns allowed in 2021 (he had 13 pass breakups in both seasons).
Jaire Alexander was named a second-team All-Pro, but even he wasn’t his normal lockdown self consistently enough this season. Keisean Nixon was an electric kick returner but was only decent as a fill-in slot cornerback, allowing 20 completions on 29 targets (7 yards per target) with two passes defensed. Compared to preseason expectations, this group was probably the most disappointing on the team.
Safety: D-
Adrian Amos allowed a career-high 107.7 passer rating when targeted this season and had his fewest interceptions (one) and passes defensed (five) since 2017, when he played only 13 games for the Bears. Darnell Savage struggled so much that he was moved from safety to slot to the bench, but the Packers guaranteed his fifth-year salary around $8 million for next season. Rudy Ford played like you’d expect a third safety to play. This group looks to be in rough shape going forward, which is why it might be Green Bay’s biggest need entering the draft.
Special teams: B
Nixon was phenomenal, well-deserving of his first-team All-Pro kick returner honor after finishing first in the NFL in kick return yards, second in yards per kick return and tied for second in kick return touchdowns despite returning only one kickoff in the first seven games. The blocking for his kickoff returns was just as good. He provided a spark on punt returns (12.73 yards per return), too, and cemented himself as the guy for both duties next season unless the Packers fall asleep during free agency and don’t re-sign him. Amari Rodgers, and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia’s decision to stick with Rodgers until after his fourth fumbled punt, drag this category down, however.
The Packers’ punt team wasn’t great, with Green Bay ranking 21st in average yards allowed per punt return. The kicking operation was much better than last season, when the Packers missed more field goals (nine) than any team in the league. New long snapper Jack Coco wasn’t pristine, but new holder Pat O’Donnell and kicker Mason Crosby helped the Packers make 25-of-29 field goals, including 24-of-25 from inside 50 yards.
