Pro Football Focus doesn’t believe the Green Bay Packers have one of the NFL’s 10 most talented rosters entering the 2020 season.
PFF’s annual ranking of rosters placed the Packers at No. 12, one spot behind the Cleveland Browns and good for the sixth most-talented roster in the NFC.
Obvious weak spots highlighted by PFF’s exercise showed up for the Packers on the right side of the offensive line and inside linebacker, along with the No. 2 wide receiver spot. The Packers are counting on bounce-back seasons from right tackle Rick Wagner, inside linebacker Christian Kirksey and receiver Devin Funchess to help patch over the roster issues.
PFF pointed to inside linebacker as the biggest problem, noting Kirksey’s recent injury past and struggles in coverage over his career. Kirksey, who spent his first six seasons in Cleveland with the Browns, will replace Blake Martinez as the team’s top linebacker, and depth is a major question mark behind him.
The Packers could also use a breakout season from young receiver Allen Lazard and linebacker Oren Burks to build quality depth at two potential problem positions.
It’s difficult to see how the Packers will get any kind of significant contribution from the 2020 draft class, but several members of recent draft classes will play prominent roles for Matt LaFleur’s team. A jump from the second- and third-year players on the roster must provide the driving force for improvement on last year’s team.
In 2019, the Packers won 13 regular season games, captured the NFC North title and advanced to the NFC title game, only to get blasted by the San Francisco 49ers with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Eight of the Packers’ 13 wins were by eight points or fewer, and the Packers had a point differential of just 63 points, painting the picture of a fortunate team that made the most of every winning opportunity.
While a prime regression candidate, the Packers are still widely considered to be one of the conference’s many contenders.
PFF sees the Packers as the most talented team in the NFC North, but the analytics site has the 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles with more talented rosters among NFC teams.
The Minnesota Vikings (No. 17), Detroit Lions (No. 19) and Chicago Bears (No. 21) all ranked in the bottom half of the NFL.
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