The first half of the 2024 season is in the books. It was chaotic but culminated in a 7-3 record for the Green Bay Packers thus far. The Detroit Lions have built and unleashed a juggernaut, making a division title unlikely this season. Still, the Packers have positioned themselves to return to the postseason this winter.
There is a lot of credit to go around. E-ticket free-agent safety Xavier McKinney has been worth every penny, forming an unlikely albeit formidable duo with fourth-round rookie Evan Williams. The two have headlined Jeff Hafley’s defense, which has been more creative and effective than Joe Barry’s before him.
There’s also Malik Willis. Not too long ago, he was an outcast in Tennessee but was responsible for between two and three wins, depending on how you attribute the Jacksonville Jaguars game.
Matt LaFleur deserves serious Coach of the Year consideration for his potent offensive scheme, mainly because of the entirely new system he created around Willis to help him find his first NFL success and keep Green Bay’s season on track. Josh Jacobs has been solid, replacing Aaron Jones and taking on a heavy workload. Tucker Kraft looks like a legit TE1 moving forward. Meanwhile, the receiving group is as mercurial as expected, with Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, and Christian Watson each proving their ability to take over a game.
Not everything has been perfect, though. Jordan Love has shown flashes of his late 2023 brilliance. However, he has also created trouble with ill-advised, Favre-esque gunslinging. In both play style and output, Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre are the angel and devil on his respective shoulders, and all you have to do is check out the interception numbers to see that Favre is alive and well in the second-year starter.
Kicking has been the loudest issue. It’s a bad sign when a training camp battle results in the Packers releasing both kickers in favor of someone else’s practice squad leg, and that is exactly how it transpired. Brian Gutekunst had to uncharacteristically turn to a guy with off-field issues in Brandon McManus, but it has been smooth sailing since.
The quietest and potentially most impactful long-term issue is the lack of production from Green Bay’s homegrown defensive stars. The pass rush has been ineffective. Hafley has dialed up a heavy dose of creative blitzing packages in response, but it’s not a sustainable way for a defense to play. You want to establish an ability to apply pressure with four, and stars Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark are integral to making that happen, particularly after they traded veteran Preston Smith at the deadline.
Gary has had a down year after a dominant 2023 and a $96 million extension that put him on par with the league’s pass-rushing elite. Sacks don’t tell the whole story. Still, they paid him to produce more than 3.5 in ten games. At a premium position making up a significant percentage of the salary cap, Gary is no small investment. The opportunity cost is high when looking at what Nick Bosa, Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt, and Danielle Hunter are accomplishing around the league.
Clark was Green Bay’s first-round pick in 2016, and the Packers rewarded him with a rare third contract after stacking up season after season of interior dominance. He had shown no signs of decline until inking the $64 million extension. However, he has had a quiet, sack-less season and failed to show up in the box score in the last two games.
If this Packers team wants to make a run at the conference — and the league — they will need their most trusted, expensive guys to return at least the value of their contracts.
Jaire Alexander is the third guy on this list, and the Packers can’t rely on him to stay healthy. Alexander also plays a premium position but misses time each season, including playoff contests and other key games. His big personality is fun when things are going well but a burden when not. The Packers suspended him for a game last season for conduct detrimental to the team.
His newest ailment is a knee injury, which sidelined him during last Sunday’s rivalry game at Soldier Field. It threatens to put him in street clothes when the San Francisco 49ers come to town this weekend. Even when he’s healthy, he has not consistently looked like the $84 million man the Packers paid him to be. Instead, he’s trending towards becoming more of a name brand than a true lockdown corner.
The Packers announced themselves to the league with last year’s playoff run, and the time has come to build on that. Many guys on rookie contracts have taken on important roles, giving the team depth. Still, if they want to make a run this season, the money spent on this team must speak up.
That starts with the trio of veteran, former first-round picks in Gary, Clark, and Alexander. We have seen what they can do, and we have seen it recently enough to believe it isn’t far-fetched. They don’t need to turn the clock back to 2020 – just to 2023 will be enough.
