The trade deadline has come and gone without the Green Bay Packers making a significant move to upgrade the team, meaning their roster is pretty much set in stone for the rest of the season.
It was no surprise to see Brian Gutekunst stand pat, as there were very few options that actually made sense for Green Bay, especially if looking only at the players who were actually traded somewhere.
They were obviously not in a position to make big swings like the Bears and Jaguars did for Jeffery Simmons or Jordan Davis at defensive tackle, respectively, due to the hefty draft capital involved. DeForest Buckner could have been an option, but he only wanted to go to the 49ers.
Adding Quenton Nelson to the offensive line would have been nice. He was not cheap
though and is a left guard only, with the right side more of the issue right now. Running backs Jonathan Taylor and Tony Pollard ended up not getting moved.
The Packers already made multiple signings on the offensive line in-season and Kevin Zeitler only saw his first snaps on Sunday. It is fair to let that situation play itself out as Green Bay keeps trying to figure out their ‘best five’ (more on that shortly).
With the roster unlikely to change much from here on out, and fresh off a dominant win in New England, here is what needs to happen for a Packers team that now looks like a real contender to win the Super Bowl:
Avoid more injuries to key players
Green Bay has already had its fill of devastating injuries to important players this season, with Zach Bako-Bewele, Jayden Reed, Edgerrin Cooper and Javon Hargrave all done for the year.
There are still eight regular seasons to go, and more injuries are bound to happen. The Packers cannot afford for any more of the season-ending variety to the caliber of players that have already been lost.
Jordan Love is 1A on that list, and this exceptionally explosive passing attack would also not be the same without either Christian Watson or Matthew Golden.
Tucker Kraft and arguably Jordan Morgan – who has really locked down the left side in pass protection lately – are also indispensable on offense given the lack of options behind them.
On defense, Jonathan Gannon has overcome some big losses, as well as the absence of Micah Parsons without skipping a beat, but there is only so much the group can take before the dam breaks.
They really only have two reliable three-down starters at defensive tackle in Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks, although they will hope to get Warren Brinson back from IR at some point.
The real engine of this defense is the secondary though, and if one of the tremendous trio of Evan Williams, Xavier McKinney or Javon Bullard went down, the knock-on effect on the entire unit could be massive.
Green Bay needs to pray to the injury gods that there are no more crushing blows on the horizon if this team is to go on a serious run.
Play Kevin Zeitler
More specifically, play Zeitler at right guard and Laken Tomlinson at left guard. PFF is certainly not gospel, but they gave Zeitler a 73.9 grade in his debut against the Patriots (in admittedly only 20 snaps), while Tomlinson has a 68.1 grade for the season.
Aaron Banks, who is still getting the red carpet treatment despite constantly being injured and not performing when he is in the lineup, has a 39.1 grade on the year.
The persistence with Banks, even forcing Tomlinson out of position to right guard to accommodate him, is likely due to his massive paycheck, and frankly that is not a good enough reason. It needs to stop, and it does seem like the tide is turning after Sunday’s game.
Get Zeitler into the lineup, keep both him and Tomlinson at their natural spots and let the offensive line build chemistry. Once Sean Rhyan returns from injury, they may have a legitimately serviceable offensive line, which looked like a pipe dream two months ago.
Create a functional run game
There were also some green shoots in the run game against New England, as Green Bay managed four yards per carry as a team (the previous average was a paltry 2.85) and Kaleb Johnson had an encouraging day with a 4.9-yard average.
The Patriots are not usually easy to run against, and while the constant threat of the ball being thrown over their heads probably helped, that is an absolutely fine formula for the Packers to lean on moving forward, using the pass to set up the run, rather than the other way around.
If Green Bay can form some semblance of a viable run game by the time the playoffs arrive, centered around Johnson, Josh Jacobs and Karl Brooks, it will be a game changer for what has looked like one of the worst rushing attacks of all time for much of the year.
Get Micah Parsons back to full strength
The wait to see Parsons back on the field has been longer than expected, so hopefully it will be worth it when he finally does suit up, which may come on Thanksgiving eve against the Rams.
Gannon has done a remarkable job with the defense, fashioning it into one of the league’s best. A fit and firing Parsons could take them to a nuclear level.
While it will surely take him some time to get his feet back under him and look like his old self, Parsons needs to be at full power by the postseason to turn this into a true championship defense.
Establish trust in Trey Smack
Sunday was a massive step forward for Smack after some real struggles of late. Relying on a rookie kicker is scary, as it can seem like they are rounding into form at times, before suffering another setback. Progression is not always linear.
That is the cost of doing business, but it can also cost you playoff games, as the Packers found out with Anders Carlson a few years back. By season’s end, Green Bay must be in a position where they are able to trust Smack to deliver when it matters.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 5 things Packers must do to win Super Bowl after quiet trade deadline
