Overcoming an 8-9 season and returning to the postseason in 2023 will require improvements – both internally and externally – from the Green Bay Packers. Teams are never stagnant year to year; based on the improvement or regression of players, teams either get better or get worse.
Can the Packers get the kind of internal improvement capable of creating a different end result in 2023?
Here’s a list of 10 players who need to step up or improve next season for Matt LaFleur.
Note: this list will not contain any player with an expiring contract for 2023.
CB Eric Stokes
Stokes was often terrific as a rookie starter, which inevitably meant entering Year 2 with sky-high expectations as one part of a highly-anticipated, three-player starter group at cornerback. He played nine mostly disappointing games before suffering a season-ending injury in Detroit. Per Pro Football Focus, Stokes gave up 21 catches on 25 targets for 275 yards and a touchdown, opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of 125.8 when targeting him in coverage, and he missed five tackles. Crossers and double moves gave him trouble. Will recovering from a major injury stunt his growth entering Year 3? The Packers could be elite against the pass if Stokes can regain his rookie year form opposite Jaire Alexander.
WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs had a rather typical rookie season: He flashed ability, dealt with a few injuries and went through the normal ups and downs in terms of consistency. The Packers may lose Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb this offseason, leaving Doubs as the top candidate to be the Robin to Christian Watson’s Batman in 2023. Can Doubs take a big step and become a more consistent pass-catcher as a primary option in Year 2? Ability isn’t an issue. He can gain separation through route-running, make plays in traffic and catch the ball outside his frame. His progression as a young player is vital to the Packers offense improving next season.
DL Kenny Clark/DL Devonte Wyatt
Clark admittedly wasn’t consistent enough during the 2022 season. When he dominated, the Packers were good on defense. When he disappeared, so did the defense’s consistency. Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry could both depart in free agency, so Clark may carry an even bigger load up front on defense in 2023. This Packers defense will look completely different if he can return to a consistently disruptive force in the middle and rediscover his one dominant ways against the run.
Wyatt’s development will also be important. He’s in line for a big boost in playtime in Year 2. Can he be a consistent pass-rushing threat? Will he hold up against the run despite playing more snaps? If Wyatt is a big improvement on Reed/Lowry and Clark is once again elite, the middle of the Packers defense could be very good in 2023.
S Darnell Savage
An obvious one. Midway through his fourth season, Savage found himself on the bench as a result of giving up too many big plays and freelancing too often at safety. He returned, played more snaps in the nickel and gave himself a shot at discovering a new role for the Packers in 2023. The physical ability is there, but Savage needs to become more reliable in coverage and more willing to tackle on every single down, especially if he’s playing closer to the line of scrimmage. Having Savage as a reliable nickel or sub-package weapon could be one part to the Packers improving in the secondary in 2023.
C Josh Myers
After an injury-plagued rookie season, Myers played in all 17 games and was mostly solid at center in 2023. Still, he ranked 28th in overall grade at PFF among qualifying centers, mostly due to consistently poor grades in the run game. In fact, he had only two games with a run-blocking grade over 70.0 all season. Can Myers improve in the run game as a third-year player and become a better all-around center? The Packers offensive line has a chance to be a strength of the football team in 2023, but Myers’ continued development as the anchor in the middle will play a big role in the starting five reaching its maximum potential.
OLB Kingsley Enagbare
It’s currently unclear when the Packers will return Rashan Gary, who had his season end in Week 9. There’s a good chance Enagbare, last year’s fifth-round pick, will open the season as a starter at edge rusher. While productive as a rookie, can Enagbare take another big step and become a more consistent force if he’s asked to play a bunch to open the 2023 season? Even if Gary is back sooner than expected, the Packers (and all teams) need a quality No. 3 rusher who can come off the bench and play important snaps. Of the players currently on the roster, Enagbare is by far the best match for the job.
RB A.J. Dillon
Dillon was mostly excellent as a runner, especially down the stretch, and his pass-blocking improved in 2022. But his regression in the passing game drastically hurt his overall value, and the Packers need him to be more consistent catching the football in 2023. Dillon ran 252 routes but managed only 28 catches for 208 yards, and his five drops were second-most on the team. Expect Dillon to continue taking on a bigger role for the Packers offense in his fourth season, the final year of his rookie deal. Green Bay’s running back duo could truly be the most dynamic in football next season if Dillon once again is a weapon in the passing game.
LB Quay Walker
Walker, an All-Rookie Team pick in 2022, produced a fascinating, roller-coaster rookie season that featured a lot of good and a lot of bad. He perfectly fits the mold of a modern, three-down, do-everything inside ‘backer and often showed flashes of highly disruptive ability, but he also struggled fitting the run and control his on-field emotions as a first-year player. Improvements in both areas could turn Walker into a Pro Bowl-caliber player in Year 2. Will the vision of having Walker and De’Vondre Campbell make game-changing plays all over the field as an inside linebacker tandem arrive in 2023 and change the entire outlook of the defense?
The starting QB
The most important one. As of this writing, no one knows who will be the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers to open 2023. But regardless of whether the starter is Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love, the Packers need better quarterback play next season. Green Bay’s quarterbacks ranked 17th in completion percentage, 19th in yards per attempt, 22nd in yards per completion and 13th in passer rating in 2022. As so many teams find out each year, it’s just too hard to win consistently in the NFL with average quarterback play. Rodgers may never be truly elite again as he enters his age-40 season, and it would be unfair to expect Love to be elite in his first season as a starter, but improvements in efficiency are absolutely required out of the Packers starter in 2023.
