2024 NFC North = War Zone?

[dll2000]

6 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

Packers only have to pay Love and Kenny Clark in the near term.  Now, if the 2022 and 2023 drafts are as good as we think they are, choices will have to be made. 

I think the biggest obstacle facing the Lions moving forward isn't money, it is whether a rah-rah coach like Campbell can keep them hungry now that they aren't the underdog anymore. 

I like the Vikings roster, but I think they are two years out.

Chicago, I am not so sure of.  Obviously the QB pick will be of top importance.  I just wonder if having a 4 pick draft is good for a team still trying to rebuild.  As an outside observer, I feel like the coach and GM are in win now mode, but the roster is three years away.   If the owners can be patient, perhaps it will work.  If they can't, it will probably blow up, again.

So you are going to pay Love and Clark and lose no one?  Maybe.  We'll see.

Campbell is fine.  He is the manager.  They are in trouble if they lose their OC which is likely soon.  Detroit will remain good as long as they are good upfront, which they are.

Vikings are wrecked for near future.  They held on to Cousins too long.   They missed on a whole draft class.  They have to reset with perhaps QB4.  Only good news is they can pay everyone because they aren't paying a QB anymore.

 

[Mdpackfan22]

1 hour ago, dll2000 said:

Maybe. 

Love needs to be paid and it will be a lot. 

Like MN of late some longtime key Vets are coming off books next year and have to be replaced by rookies and journeyman FAs.

I doubt McKinney is resigned.  Decisions will have to be made on Clark, Alexander and Jenkins.  

Detroit is going to face similar issues. Goff, St. Brown and Decker all have to be paid.  

 

Love's cap hit for the first 3 years won't be much. It will be backloaded. Clark is the only question. Packers rarely give out 3rd contracts but Clark is dominant and will only be 29 when up for a new contract. DL tend to play well into their 30s so we'll see what kind of contract he commands. 

The real cap problems will arise when the 2022 and 2023 class need extensions. Following impact players that are on their rookie contracts from those draft classes include:

Quay Walker: Flashes dominance at times from the LB position. Cleaned up his bonehead mistakes last year

Devonte Wyatt: Quietly became a top pass rusher from the DT position last season. If he continues his current trajectory and learns how to tackle, he will be a household name by this time next year.

Zach Tom: Arguably already a top 5 RT. Packers will back up the brinks truck for him 

Rasheed Walker: 7th round pick that replaced Bakh in the starting line up. Struggled at first but really came on at the end of the year and was one of the top pass blocking tackles in the league 2nd half of the year. Potential franchise LT 

Christian Watson: The biggest question mark from the 2022 class. When he's healthy, he completely changes the offense and is a dynamic playmaker. Only question is if he can kick the hamstring issues. If he can, he will be a top WR and command a contract that reflects such. 

Romeo Doubs: Mr Consistency, has potential to be a high end #2. With WR contracts being as ludicrous as they are, Doubs will pull 15m+ on the open market. 

 

And then the 2023 class features rookie standouts in Reed, Wicks, Musgrave, Kraft, Brooks and Valentine.

 

The downside of consecutive great draft classes is the cap constraint when it's time for new contracts. With the last 2 draft classes being helped by the excess draft capital from the Davante and Rodgers trades, it wouldn't surprise me if Gute makes a trade or 2 since they won't be able to sign everyone. My guess is Watson, Doubs and Walker(depending on if we take an OT high this year) are most likely trade candidates.

[ThatJerkDave]

22 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

So you are going to pay Love and Clark and lose no one?  Maybe.  We'll see.

 

Next season, maybe Preston Smith.  Here are our FAs:  https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2025/all/green-bay-packers//  Outside of Love and Clark, the only guys that should move the needle at all are:  TJ Slaton, and Josh Myers.  Perhaps Isiah McDuffie earns a starters contract this season, and if Eric Stokes has recovered from injury, he will also get looks, but most of us are viewing him as a sunk cost already.  I think we should bring Slaton back, but if we don't, it isn't the end of the world.   

2026 is when we get hairy though.  Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks are all FAs.  As are Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt.  And our current starting tackles, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker.  Back-up edge Kingsley Enagbare is also in the mix, good player, but what do you pay for a 3rd edge guy?  All of these guys are currently on rookie wage scale.  This is going to be the challenging one for the front office, IMO.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2026/all/green-bay-packers/

[Soko]

There’s no team in the NFL that’s a three year re-build away. That doesn’t mean [insert bad team] won’t take three or more years to become a good one, but we’ve seen plenty of teams turn things around in a year. 

[Mdpackfan22]

13 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

Next season, maybe Preston Smith.  Here are our FAs:  https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2025/all/green-bay-packers//  Outside of Love and Clark, the only guys that should move the needle at all are:  TJ Slaton, and Josh Myers.  Perhaps Isiah McDuffie earns a starters contract this season, and if Eric Stokes has recovered from injury, he will also get looks, but most of us are viewing him as a sunk cost already.  I think we should bring Slaton back, but if we don't, it isn't the end of the world.   

2026 is when we get hairy though.  Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, and Dontayvion Wicks are all FAs.  As are Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt.  And our current starting tackles, Zach Tom and Rasheed Walker.  Back-up edge Kingsley Enagbare is also in the mix, good player, but what do you pay for a 3rd edge guy?  All of these guys are currently on rookie wage scale.  This is going to be the challenging one for the front office, IMO.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/2026/all/green-bay-packers/

Wicks is the draft class after, but spot on with everything else. Slaton and Myers shouldn't command large contracts so I expect both of them to be back unless Slaton becomes more than a 2 down run stopping DL. Which in that case it's a good problem to have

[ThatJerkDave]

1 minute ago, Mdpackfan22 said:

Wicks is the draft class after, but spot on with everything else. Slaton and Myers shouldn't command large contracts so I expect both of them to be back unless Slaton becomes more than a 2 down run stopping DL. Which in that case it's a good problem to have

That's what I thought too, but Spotrac has him listed as RFA in 26.  Are they wrong? Probably.  LOL.  

I think Slaton is a good DL with a little bit of pass rush as a bonus.  I know Myers isn't the most popular player, but I just don't want to break the bank on a center, I think he is just fine, and if we can get him at a fair price it is one less hole to have to fill in the draft.

[PossibleCabbage]

I think the division shakes out with GB and DET in the top tier in some order and MN and CHI in the second tier in some order.  No matter the offensive talent you surround him with, rookie QBs basically always struggle.  The 2025 season in the North could be very interesting though.

[Soko]

26 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

That's what I thought too, but Spotrac has him listed as RFA in 26.  Are they wrong? Probably.  LOL.  

He will be, he’s just saying those other guys are due for contracts a year before (in 2026). Wicks isn’t due till 2027.

[Mdpackfan22]

51 minutes ago, ThatJerkDave said:

That's what I thought too, but Spotrac has him listed as RFA in 26.  Are they wrong? Probably.  LOL.  

I think Slaton is a good DL with a little bit of pass rush as a bonus.  I know Myers isn't the most popular player, but I just don't want to break the bank on a center, I think he is just fine, and if we can get him at a fair price it is one less hole to have to fill in the draft.

Hmm just saw that. Googled his contract and they said he's under contract for 2026 season. Need to brush up on my RFA knowledge

[FrantikRam]

Can someone help me with this? Because I'm very confused, but probably doesn't need its own thread.

The Packers and Rams.

Both teams drastically outperformed expectations last season. The Rams ultimately performed better in the regular season, winning one more game while playing a more challenging schedule. The Packers performed better in the postseason, blowing out Dallas.

The Rams are better at most positions on offense. The Packers better at most positions on defense (lazy analysis to make the point, there are probably some on both sides of the ball, but the point is in terms of talent I think its very close).

I cannot figure out why everyone is higher on the Packers than the Rams though - I felt like the over for the Rams was EASY money last year, and it's going to be again. I think the Packers are probably around where they should be, just don't understand people sleeping so much on the Rams again. And for the record, that started before AD retired, though even without him I feel our roster stacks up against theirs.

 

[Mdpackfan22]

1 hour ago, FrantikRam said:

Can someone help me with this? Because I'm very confused, but probably doesn't need its own thread.

The Packers and Rams.

Both teams drastically outperformed expectations last season. The Rams ultimately performed better in the regular season, winning one more game while playing a more challenging schedule. The Packers performed better in the postseason, blowing out Dallas.

The Rams are better at most positions on offense. The Packers better at most positions on defense (lazy analysis to make the point, there are probably some on both sides of the ball, but the point is in terms of talent I think its very close).

I cannot figure out why everyone is higher on the Packers than the Rams though - I felt like the over for the Rams was EASY money last year, and it's going to be again. I think the Packers are probably around where they should be, just don't understand people sleeping so much on the Rams again. And for the record, that started before AD retired, though even without him I feel our roster stacks up against theirs.

 

Rams just lost arguably the best defender in the league while the Packers lost no one significant and upgraded their weakest position with a top 5 player. Also the Rams best players on offense(Stafford and Kupp) are getting older and have injury concerns while every player on the Packers offense is young and ascending. 

[squire12]

1 hour ago, FrantikRam said:

Can someone help me with this? Because I'm very confused, but probably doesn't need its own thread.

The Packers and Rams.

Both teams drastically outperformed expectations last season. The Rams ultimately performed better in the regular season, winning one more game while playing a more challenging schedule. The Packers performed better in the postseason, blowing out Dallas.

The Rams are better at most positions on offense. The Packers better at most positions on defense (lazy analysis to make the point, there are probably some on both sides of the ball, but the point is in terms of talent I think its very close).

I cannot figure out why everyone is higher on the Packers than the Rams though - I felt like the over for the Rams was EASY money last year, and it's going to be again. I think the Packers are probably around where they should be, just don't understand people sleeping so much on the Rams again. And for the record, that started before AD retired, though even without him I feel our roster stacks up against theirs.

 

GB offense has nearly every contributor on a rookie contract.  Only Jenkins and Jacobs are not.  So the youth gets the " arrow pointing up/ ascending players".  LAR has Stafford and Kupp on the high side of 30 and both with injury history that leaves some questions on the durability.  Replacing Donald is a pretty sizeable task on defense.

[Billy86]

On 3/23/2024 at 2:48 PM, Danger said:

Swift > Jones

What the actual... 

[Soko]

2 hours ago, FrantikRam said:

Can someone help me with this? Because I'm very confused, but probably doesn't need its own thread.

The Packers and Rams.

Both teams drastically outperformed expectations last season. The Rams ultimately performed better in the regular season, winning one more game while playing a more challenging schedule. The Packers performed better in the postseason, blowing out Dallas.

The Rams are better at most positions on offense. The Packers better at most positions on defense (lazy analysis to make the point, there are probably some on both sides of the ball, but the point is in terms of talent I think its very close).

I cannot figure out why everyone is higher on the Packers than the Rams though - I felt like the over for the Rams was EASY money last year, and it's going to be again. I think the Packers are probably around where they should be, just don't understand people sleeping so much on the Rams again. And for the record, that started before AD retired, though even without him I feel our roster stacks up against theirs.

Packers are younger, play in an easier division, didn’t really lose anyone, added a couple established good players in the offseason, meanwhile the Rams lost the heart and soul of their defense.

In a nutshell. We’ll see how the season goes, though.

[Danger]

1 hour ago, Billy86 said:

What the actual... 

Aaron Jones was JAG last year. Not to mention in Runningback years he's like 36.