Preseason Thoughts on the 2026 Green Bay Packers

Well, we’re getting very close to another NFL season. For the 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packers, the goal is the same as in years past: add another Vince Lombardi Trophy to TitleTown USA. For head coach Matt LaFleur, this will be his 8th year in charge of the team on the field. Even though he signed a contract extension along with GM Brian Gutekunst and Russ Ball (who helps with the financials of the roster), the pressure is on Matt more than ever to get over the hump and win a title. I have plenty of stuff to talk about, so let’s get started.

To quickly recap last season, the Packers had Super Bowl expectations following the trade that sent Micah Parsons from Dallas to Green Bay for two first round picks and Kenny Clark. They won their first two games at Lambeau Field against the Lions and Commanders before losing to Cleveland and tying to Dallas to enter the bye week at 2-1-1. After the bye week, they went on a three game winning streak against the Bengals (who played without Joe Burrow due to injury), the Cardinals, and the Steelers (led by former Packer Aaron Rodgers). During a pathetic Week 9 loss to Carolina, TE Tucker Kraft (who should be getting an extension soon) tore his ACL, which knocked him out for the rest of the season. The week after that, the offense was even more awful in a 10-7 loss to Philadelphia. During that particular game, an inside zone run late in the game was called out by the Eagles defense and stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. The Packers then rebounded and won 4 straight games against the Giants, Vikings, Lions, and Bears. Entering Week 15 against Denver, the Packers had great momentum as they were heading towards the playoffs. Then, in that Denver game, everything fell apart. Zach Tom (now Zach Bako-Bewele), Christian Watson, Evan Williams, and Micah Parsons all came down with injuries. The moment when Micah’s knee popped, I knew things were going to go downhill from there. Including that Denver game, the Packers went winless the rest of the way, finishing the regular season at 9-7-1. To add insult to injury, the Packers lost twice in a 4 week span to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, including the playoff game in which Green Bay blew a 21-3 halftime lead.

Following that playoff loss, the Packers had a lot of work to do. Some players who contributed to Green Bay in the past had to be let go during the offseason, including OL Elgton Jenkins (who was out due to injury for part of last season, CB Nate Hobbs (who was a bad free agent signing last year), kicker Brandon McManus (good riddance), Malik Willis (who agreed to go to Miami in the offseason along with DC Jeff Hafley), LB Quay Walker (who went to Las Vegas in free agency), LB Rashan Gary (traded to Dallas for a 2027 4th round pick), edge rusher/LB Kingsley Enagbare (who went to the Jets in free agency), LT Rasheed Walker (who went to Carolina in free agency), DT Colby Wooden (traded to the Colts for LB Zaire Franklin), WR Dontayvion Wicks (traded to the Eagles for a fifth round pic this past draft and a 6th rounder in 2027), and WR Romeo Doubs (who went to New England in free agency). Some key additions included LB Zaire Franklin (who ended up being traded for nothing due to the Colts releasing Colby Wooden during cutdown day), DL Javon Hargrave (who gets to play against his former team in Week 1 at Minnesota), WR Skyy Moore (who hopefully helps with the punt/kick return game), CB Benjamin St. Juste, and QB Tyrod Taylor (who is now the backup behind Jordan Love).

In addition to players leaving, a couple of members of the Green Bay coaching staff left for elsewhere. Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley left to become the Miami Dolphins head coach, while Special Teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia (who should have been fired earlier) left for a job at Clemson University. Sean Mannion, who helped coach the quarterback room, left for Philadelphia to become the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator. Regardless of how these guys will do in their new teams, I wish them all the best. In their place are new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon (who was the head coach in Arizona before he was fired last year), new ST coordinator Cam Accord (who coached the top ST unit in this past preseason), and returning QB coach Luke Getsy, who is also an assistant head coach. Once the new coaching staff was figured out, including a new secondary coach in Bobby Babich (who arrived from Buffalo), it was time for them to go to work.

In the 2026 NFL Draft, which was held in Pittsburgh, the Packers had to wait until the second round to start picking due to the Micah Parsons trade last year (the 2027 NFL Draft in Washington DC will be the same case). In the second round, they selected CB Brandon Cisse from South Carolina. DT Chris McClellan from Missouri was selected in the third round. In round 4, they selected edge rusher Dani Dennis-Sutton from Penn State, which was where Micah Parsons played his college football at. In round 5, they finally got on offensive lineman in the form of center/guard Jager Burton from Kentucky. In the 6th round, they made their final two picks of the draft in CB Domani Jackson from Alabama and kicker Trey Smack from Florida. All of these draft picks made it to the initial 53 man roster, except for Domani Jackson (who is now on the Packers practice squad). In addition to those draft picks, the Packers brought in some undrafted free agents as they prepped for OTAs and training camp. There was some great news during cutdown day. J. Michael Sturdivant, a WR from Florida, came to Green Bay as an undrafted free agent hoping to make the team. Thankfully, after some hard work and determination during camp and preseason, he survived the cuts and made the initial 53 man roster, continuing Green Bay’s now 22 year streak of keeping an undrafted player. A couple of players who played well but did not make the cut were WR Will Sheppard (who declined a practice squad spot after being cut) and long snapper Cal Adomitus (who should have been kept over Matt Orzech).

Not everything has been good news for Green Bay during the offseason. On the injury front, there are a few concerns. First off, Micah Parsons and Luke Musgrave are currently on the reserve/PUP (physically unable to perform) list with knee and neck injuries, respectively. Due to this, they won’t be able to play until Week 5 at the earliest. However, they can practice after Week 2. Parsons himself said that the road to recovery from his torn ACL would make him miss the first few games of the season with a target date of either Week 5 against Chicago or Week 6 against Dallas. In the meantime, the pass rush has to step up without him. With Luke Musgrave, his neck injury has to be treated with extra caution. Sterling Sharpe, Nick Collins, and Jermichael Finley all had their careers cut short due to neck injuries. I just hope that Musgrave doesn’t suffer that same fate. On the offensive line, there’s some concern about the status of Zach Bako-Bewele and Aaron Banks. Bako-Bewele, in particular, is the best player on the offensive line. The offense missed his presence after he tore his patellar tendon in that nightmare game in Denver last December. Hopefully he is able to play in Week 1 against the Vikings.

One player that will definitely not be playing in Week 1 (or maybe ever again) for Green Bay is running back Josh Jacobs. Without getting into too much detail, he got in some legal trouble over a domestic dispute back in late May of 2026. Just recently, he was put on the commissioner’s exempt list, which is the NFL’s version of a paid leave of absence. Domestic violence of any kind needs to be taken seriously, and Josh Jacobs’ situation is definitely serious. Considering that his hearing is not until November (and there could be video evidence of the incident), I don’t think he’ll take another snap in a Green Bay uniform. Due to the legal trouble that Jacobs is in, the Packers running back room is consisted of MarShawn Lloyd (who hasn’t played a full season yet due to injury), Chris Brooks (who is great at pass protection), and Kaleb Johnson (acquired via trade from the Steelers). Pierre Strong, Jr is also on the team via the practice squad and could contribute to the team as well if given the opportunity. I wish this RB room all the best this upcoming season.

(Update: Josh Jacobs' appearance in court got moved up to Thursday September 10th. He should still not be playing with Green Bay anymore.)

On offense, it all starts with the offensive line, which was inconsistent last year due to injuries and constant rotation. Due to that inconsistency, the offense wasn’t the best in terms of production, especially in the red zone. If the O-Line can stay healthy (especially Zach Bako-Bewele), things should be better for the whole operation. There will be some growing pains with the running back room, but as long as they follow the blocks and protect the ball, they should be able to run for some good yardage. In the passing game, the O-Line (plus the RBs in case of a blitz) need to give Jordan Love time to throw to a great group of pass catchers, which includes Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Tucker Kraft, and Jonnu Smith, among others.  Given the inconsistency of Tyrod Taylor during the preseason and camp, I really hope Jordan Love stays healthy all season long. Speaking of Love, he should be able to prove any doubters wrong and do his thing. The play calling has to be good and not too predictable, and the players need to execute their assignments, plain and simple. As long as they do that, they should be able to produce plenty of yards and points while making sure to avoid turnovers and penalties.

On defense, new coordinator Jonathan Gannon has to figure some things out. After a disappointing end to the season last year, the Packers CB room needed to be remade. For the most part, they did that, bringing in Benjamin St. Juste in free agency and Brandon Cisse via the draft. Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and Javon Bullard are still there, as well as Kamal Hidden, who was able to come back from a bad ankle injury suffered late last year. New defensive backs coach Bobby Babich has to make sure that the CBs play well in addition to the safeties, who include Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams. There is extra pressure on the defensive backs to play well considering how the pass rush will fare without Micah Parsons for the first few weeks of the season, but I hope that they can cover the receivers well and not allow easy catches. If there is a chance for an interception, the Packers need to take advantage of it and not drop the ball. During run situations, the defensive front, which includes Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave, Lukas Van Ness, and Warren Brinson, and Barryn Sorrell, need to make sure the ball carrier is taken down for minimal yardage. The linebacker group, which includes Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie, and Zaire Franklin, needs to help with run defense as well. It will take everyone on defense to do their part all season long in order to get stops in clutch moments (if needed) and force turnovers (plus avoiding penalties).

On Special Teams, things are looking up for that unit. Cam Achord was able to coach this unit well during the preseason as it was the top ranked ST unit in those exhibition games. Now, he needs to make sure that unit plays just as well during the regular season. The kickoff and punt return coverage units need to do their job and limit big plays. For rookie kicker Trey Smack (love that name), he has to make sure the kickoffs land in the “landing zone” between the goal line and the 20 yard line. Last year, there were too many kickoffs that went into the end zone for a touchback, which now gives the offense possession at the 35 yard line. As long as Smack does his job well, the return coverage unit should do their part. For punts, Daniel Whelan needs to make sure each punt is deep into opposing territory when he is called upon. On the other end, there were teases of great return plays when Will Sheppard returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown against Arizona. In addition to that, there was a long kickoff return during the preseason game at Denver. If there are any punt or kick return touchdowns this year, I would love that. Most importantly, the return men need to be smart with the ball and follow the blocks. With the long snapper situation, Matt Orzech has some extra pressure even though he missed most of camp and preseason due to injury. I’m just hoping he does his job well and snaps the ball accurately to Whelan in both punt and field goal/PAT situations. Whelan should then be able to secure the ball for Smack to kick it through the uprights. No field goals or punts should be blocked as long as the line does its job well. On the other end, a blocked kick or punt would be great to see. Most importantly, I hope that the unit plays great and avoids penalties and turnovers.

Overall, the 2026 season will be full of ups and downs for the Green Bay Packers. Every team has to overcome adversity whether they like it or not, and it’s no different for Green Bay. As long as everyone does their part, from coaches to players, I think they will be a green team as they begin the trek to Super Bowl LXI. The schedule has its fair share of easy and tough opponents on paper, but we won’t know for certain until the games are played. First up for the Packers is s trip to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Minnesota Vikings. With division games, they can be tricky regardless of how a certain team is doing. Green Bay needs to be ready for whatever challenges Minnesota brings (especially with Brian Flores’ defense being blitz-heavy). I’ll be back for the recap of that game regardless of the outcome. In the meantime, I’m just glad that Packers football is coming back soon. As always, Go Pack Go!