The Green Bay Packers got better in many ways during the 2024 season, mostly in terms of winning more games and improving significantly on defense in the first year under Jeff Hafley. But it wouldn’t be unfair to say the Packers failed to reach their potential in 2024 due to a number of individual players or position groups taking a step back or failing to take a meaningful step forward.
The passing game and defensive front were especially troublesome areas by PFF grade — Jordan Love and five of his top targets regressed compared to 2023, and all but one player from the defensive front took a fairly substantial step back.
When push came to shove in big games, the Packers weren’t good enough in the passing game or disrupting up front on defense.
Here’s a closer look at the players who regressed most for the Packers in 2024, using individual overall grades from Pro Football Focus as our guide:
TE Luke Musgrave
2023 grade: 68.1
2024 grade: 47.1
Regression: 21.0
Musgrave played in only eight games, but he took a big step back as a run blocker and managed to catch only seven of nine targets for 45 yards across 73 routes run. He went from supplementary weapon in 2023 to almost nothing in 2024.
WR Bo Melton
2023 grade: 83.4
2024 grade: 63.2
Regression: 20.2
After catching 18 of 26 targets and averaging 2.68 yards per route run last year, Melton managed only nine catches on 19 targets and averaged 0.99 yards per route run in 2024. He finished with just one catch over 20 yards.
DL TJ Slaton
2023 grade: 62.3
2024 grade: 43.0
Regression: 19.3
While ESPN Analytics saw Slaton as the best defensive tackle in football by run stop win rate, PFF gave him poor grades against the run. In fact, he graded out as one of the NFL’s worst interior defenders against the run. Slaton also missed five tackles and produced fewer pressures as a pass-rusher in 2024.
WR Dontayvion Wicks
2023 grade: 77.8
2024 grade: 65.1
Regression: 12.7
Wicks dropped nine passes and had the NFL’s highest drop rate in 2024. He averaged only 1.41 yards per route run and caught three of 15 contested catch opportunities.
DL Kenny Clark
2023 grade: 70.4
2024 grade: 60.0
Regression: 9.6
After producing 66 pressures in 2023, Clark had only 34 during a highly disappointing 2024 season. He was credited with only one sack and four quarterback hits, and his run defense grade dropped below 60.0 again. Clark’s 21 stops were the second-fewest in a season since his rookie year.
DE Lukas Van Ness
2023 grade: 62.3
2024 grade: 53.5
Regression: 8.8
Counting the postseason, Van Ness had more pressures as a rookie in 2023 (22) compared to his 2024 season (20). He also produced more stops as a rookie (21 in 2023 compared to only 17 in 2024). His run defense grade dropped by over 14 points to 46.0. The second-year breakout did not happen.
DL Karl Brooks
2023 grade: 69.8
2024 grade: 61.7
Regression: 8.1
His impact as a pass-rusher went down, he missed more tackles and struggled against the run. His pass-rushing grade dropped by almost nine points, although his number of pressures dropped from 30 in 2023 to 28 in 2024. The big-time disruption plays were lacking.
QB Jordan Love
2023 grade: 83.6
2024 grade: 75.8
Regression: 7.8
After producing 37 “big time throws” in 2023, Love had only 17 in 2024. His “turnover worthy play” percentage jumped slightly as well. He was plagued by 26 drops. On the plus side, he averaged more yards per attempt, had a better adjusted completion percentage and lowered his pressure-to-sack percentage.
DL Colby Wooden
2023 grade: 57.6
2024 grade: 50.0
Regression: 7.6
Wooden produced fewer pressures and fewer stops on nearly the same number of snaps as a second-year player in 2024. His run defense grade (47.7) was once again very poor.
DE Rashan Gary
2023 grade: 79.0
2024 grade: 73.0
Regression: 6.0
On roughly the same number of pass-rush snaps, Gary’s number of pressures went from 66 in 2023 to only 49 in 2024. By PFF’s tracking, Gary had only 16 sacks or quarterback hits, down from 23 in 2023. He did create more stops (33 compared to 27 in 2023) and missed fewer tackles (4 compared to 8 in 2023). The name of the game for edge rushers is disrupting the quarterback.
DE Kingsley Enagbare
2023 grade: 62.5
2024 grade: 56.8
Regression: 5.7
Despite playing more snaps, Enagbare created fewer pressures (26 in 2024, 27 in 2023) and fewer combined sacks and quarterback hits (12 in 2023, 9 in 2024). His run defense grade went up slightly, and he forced two fumbles. But he also committed seven penalties, up from only two last season.
WR Romeo Doubs
2023 grade: 73.6
2024 grade: 69.7
Regression: 3.9
Doubs dropped passes as a slightly higher rate in 2024 but was otherwise fairly consistent relative to 2023. One big regression: Doubs created 49 first downs via catches in 2023 but only 34 in 2024.
LB Isaiah McDuffie
2023 grade: 57.1
2024 grade: 55.4
Regression: 1.7
McDuffie missed 11 tackles and had a higher missed tackle percentage in 2024, and his coverage grade dropped significantly to 46.4 — in large part due to giving up five touchdown passes. He did produce more pressures (8) and stops (28).
WR Jayden Reed
2023 grade: 73.3
2024 grade: 71.7
Regression: 1.6
Reed dropped 10 passes, good for the third most among all receivers. The drops and a poor second half of the 2024 season prevented what could have been a true breakout season for Reed, who still averaged over 15.0 yards per catch and 2.20 yards per route run — both excellent marks for a slot receiver.
LB Quay Walker
2023 grade: 58.5
2024 grade: 57.4
Regression: 1.1
A brief second-half surge wasn’t enough to create a breakout season for Walker, who still struggled in coverage (50.6 grade). He got better as a tackler, but his number of stops went from 43 in 2023 to 33 in 2024.
Other regressions
CB Corey Ballentine (-7.3): After playing over 500 snaps in 2023, Ballentine was on the field for only 75 total snaps on defense in 2024. He missed a tackle and gave up a touchdown pass.
TE Ben Sims (-6.1): Sims played roughly the same number of snaps in 2024 as 2023 but took a decent step backwards in terms of run-blocking, his primary responsibility as a No. 3 tight end.
C Josh Myers (-0.5): The fourth-year center didn’t take a step in a contract year. He gave up fewer sacks (1 in 2024 compared to 5 in 2023) but gave up more pressures (31 in 2024 compared to 28 in 2023). By overall grade, Myers’ 54.2 mark ranked 28th out of 29 qualifying centers in the NFL.
Also of note
Veteran edge rusher Preston Smith regressed by almost nine points before he was traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline.
Kick returner Keisean Nixon regressed by over five points as a returner and produced only one return of 40 or more yards in 2024.
