Now that there have been three weeks of NFL action in the books, let’s take a look at what national media outlets think of this year’s Green Bay Packers team. Obviously, we all expected more from the Packers this year, as the team has gone 1-2 during their “easy” stretch of the schedule, and Green Bay hasn’t won a game in regulation since December 7th.
But how bad has the Packers’ stock fallen? Here’s how 11 analysts ranked Green Bay in the broader scope of the NFL.
Green Bay Packers power rankings
- ESPN: #20
- Bleacher Report: #22
- CBS Sports: #22
- Sports Illustrated: #22
- The Score: #23
- NBC Sports: #25
- Yahoo! Sports: #25
- FOX Sports: #26
- USA Today: #26
- The Athletic: #27
- NFL.com: #28
The average analyst has the Packers
ranked around 24th, right on the borderline of the team being a bottom-quarter club in the NFL going into Week 4. Not great!
Considering the Packers’ cap situation moving forward (in short, the money is spent), they really need to figure it out with this roster. Will they do it? We’ll see!
For what it’s worth, here’s what ESPN, which had the Packers ranked the highest in the league at 20th, had to say about Green Bay:
Coming off last season’s torn ACL, Kraft was ninth among tight ends in our draft rankings. Through three games, he’s 27th in fantasy points at the position. Kraft has just nine catches for 108 yards and no touchdowns despite not being on a snap limit. As bad as the Packers’ offensive line has been, the Packers still rank tied for fourth in the NFL in passing yards per game. But Kraft has not been a big part of that. — Rob Demovsky
I’m not sure that Tucker Kraft looks fully healthy right now. Before he went down last season, Kraft’s yards-after-catch ability was what the Packers hung their hat on against split-safety coverages, as they also struggled to run then (though not to the extent that they are right now). If they could get Kraft going, that would be great. Anything will help right now.
The Packers’ lowest ranking this week came from the league’s website, which only had them ahead of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (their Week 4 opponent), Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans. Yes, they were ranked behind two winless teams, the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans.
Matt LaFleur accurately summarized Thursday’s 21-point loss to Atlanta in the postgame interview, calling it a “humbling night.” Green Bay’s offense lacks a running game and is putting too much on the shoulders of Jordan Love, and the defense’s inability to tackle effectively doomed the Packers in their second defeat. It’s fair to say they could easily be 0-3 right now, and I’m not sure where they go from here. If these issues persist against the Buccaneers in Week 4, we’ll be entering crisis territory.
If they lose to the Buccaneers, it’s going to be a riot for the Packers-Bears game in Week 5, which has already been flexed to noon local. Green Bay is set to debut their new alternative uniforms in honor of the team’s shareholders for that game. Spoiler: The shareholders won’t be too happy if they start the season 1-3.
