Ranking the Packers’ offseason priorities and why the pass rush isn’t #1

That’s it over for the Green Bay Packersofficially. Their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card marked the end of the 2024-25 season and the beginning of a very important offseason for the head coach Matt LaFleur and general manager Brian Gutekunst.

The Packers were unhappy in 2024. There is little doubt about that fact.

After their run to the playoffs in 2023 led by the young and exciting Jordan Love — resulting in a dominant Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys on the road followed by a competitive game (but loss) against the San Francisco 49ers — the Super Bowl window was reportedly wide open for the Packers.

They had a young but hungry team, a franchise quarterback – who they paid as such last offseason — and young players on both sides of the ball who were supposed to take a step forward in 2024. Meanwhile, the Packers fired Joe Berry and hired an aggressive defensive coordinator in former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley. Along with that came the switch from 3-4 to 4-3, and Gutekunst was aggressive for the first time in a while and brought in superstars on both sides of the ball.

Josh Jacobs came to be Green Bay’s star running back and Xavier McKinney was signed as their star safety. To each player’s credit, they scored (and more) in 2024. To Hafley’s credit, Green Bay’s defense was significantly better in 2024 than it was in 2023.

The problem for the Packers is that Love hasn’t succeeded, and neither has LaFleur as a head coach or a player. In fact, both have regressed.

Now the Packers have more questions than answers heading into the 2025 offseason. That doesn’t even mention a Christian Watson’s season-ending injury — who will likely miss most of next season recovering from a torn ACL — and star cornerback Jaire Alexander thinks he is unlikely to return for a variety of reasons.

Still, life goes on in the NFL, and Gutekunst and the Packers must continue to grow and get better through free agency as well as through the 2025 NFL Draft if they want to keep up with the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears in the sudden stacked NFC north.

As such, these Tees should be a top priority for the Packers this offseason.

1. The Packers need to fix Jordan Love

Love wasn’t terrible in 2024, but he also wasn’t one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The Packers paid him this offseason to be that quarterback, but the results have been disappointing. Of course, he was injured for most of the season and his inconsistent recoveries didn’t do him any favors.

The numbers also don’t tell the whole story. He threw for 3,389 yards and 25 touchdowns with 11 interceptions during the regular season and went without a pick in the last seven games of the regular season. He looked shaky and uncomfortable, as well as inaccurate even during that stretch, and it all came to a head against the Eagles.

His no-touchdown, three-interception performance in the playoffs was indicative of the kind of season he had. It was boom or bust, but it felt more like a bust than a boom.

Love can be a great quarterback. He has otherworldly talent for hands if he can understand. LaFleur and the Packers need to do everything they can this offseason to make sure Love gets back on track. Whether it’s his offseason program or helping him with the roster, it’s incredibly important.

2. The Packers need to give Love more weapons in the wide field

This could really be 1B to the 1A point above. Love struggled in 2024, but it can’t do it alone. Even Aaron Rodgers had a string of great goals during his prime in Green Bay, and right now, the Packers haven’t given Leo any help.

It was a nice idea to hope for the internal development of Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jaden Reed and Dontayvion Weeks, but all four wideouts regressed in 2024 and left Love with plenty of decent VR3s instead of solid and established VR1s and VR2s he could trust in big moments.

The Packers need to get some help from Love by bringing in a top wide receiver in free agency and Tee Higgins should be Gutekunst’s No. 1 target if the Cincinnati Bengals allow him to hit the open market. If and when the New York Jets cut Davante AdamsThe Packers also need to see if they can broker a rally in Green Bay.

3. The Packers need to get Jeff Hafley more passes

For as much improvement as the Packers saw under Hafley, their defense still left a lot to be desired in big moments. Without a doubt, Hafley has improved on this defense and playing as well as they have, while going from a 3-4 to a 4-3 is a big deal, but upgrades are needed on the defensive line and edge through 2025.

Rashaan Gary finished with 8.5 sacks, including a playoff game. That’s decent, but he’s not a superstar pass rusher. He would be an incredible No. 2 pass rusher, so the Packers need to get him that top dog to play alongside him.

We know that Lucas Van Ness probably won’t be that player, despite the fact that Gutekunst selected him 13th overall in 2023. Van Ness finished the season with just three sacks, so he can’t be relied upon unless he gets some kind of hit of extraterrestrial development this offseason.

Much like at wide receiver, the Packers must use free agency and the draft to get help for Hafley’s defense.