Grading the NFC North Offseason approaching the 2024 NFL Draft
Green Bay Packers
It took a few months, but the Green Bay Packers saved their best for the second half of 2023. When the smoke cleared, Matt LaFleur’s club had overcome a 3-6 start by winning six of their final eight games. The club was in the playoffs for the fourth time in five years, and opened some eyes with a 48-32 thrashing of the NFC East champion Cowboys at Dallas in the wild card round. The season ended a week later with a tough 24-21 loss at San Francisco in the divisional round.
Oh, how things have changed since then. Veteran runner Aaron Jones was released by the club and latched on with the rival Vikings. The Pack also cut loose LB De’Vondre Campbell, who signed with the Niners. General manager Brian Gutekunst recently parted ways with left tackle David Bakhtiari, while standouts such as right guard Jon Runyan (Giants) and safeties Darnell Savage (Jaguars) and Jonathan Owens (Bears) all moved on. There’s also a new defensive coordinator in Jeff Hafley.
The offseason wasn’t all about departures. In fact, the Packers signed 2022 NFL rushing leader Josh Jacobs away from the Raiders, and also added standout strong safety Xavier McKinney. The team also managed to pilfer quality kicker Greg Joseph, who spent the past three seasons in Minnesota. Green Bay just signed erratic tackle Andre Dillard, however keep in mind that this is a team with 11 picks in this month’s draft.