The Green Bay Packers got incredible production from outside additions during the 2024 season. Free-agent signings Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney and Brandon McManus were game-changing additions, and rookie Edgerrin Cooper emerged as a potential future star.
While stagnation at quarterback and receiver and a disappointing season from the defensive front prevented the Packers from reaching greater heights, Matt LaFleur’s team still rode terrific performances from many players to an 11-6 record and another playoff berth.
Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ 2024 season:
Stars
RB Josh Jacobs: The Packers moved on from Aaron Jones, believing they could get younger and better at running back by banking on Jacobs returning to pre-2023 form. The bet paid off in a big way. Jacobs played in all 17 games and produced 1,671 total yards and 16 touchdowns, consistently gained tough yards after contact, broke tackles to create big plays and escape negative plays and provided plus production in the passing game. The former Raider powered one of the most productive run games in recent team history. He did fumble four times, including one inside the 5-yard line and another on the team’s opening possession in Minnesota. But Jacobs — a Pro Bowler in 2024 — was everything the Packers could have hoped and then some.
S Xavier McKinney: The Packers needed a difference-maker at safety and more turnovers from the defense overall. Signing McKinney accomplished both tasks in a big way. The former Giant intercepted passes in five straight games to start the season and finished with nine total takeaways, helping push the Packers into the top five in the NFL for takeaways in 2024. By the second half of the season, teams just weren’t throwing in his direction. In addition to eight interceptions, which ranked second in the NFL, McKinney recovered a fumble and recorded a third-down sack forcing a punt. He was once again a sure tackler, and his coverage in the backend helped the Packers rank among the NFL’s best at preventing big plays in the passing game. Like Jacobs, McKinney was a home run signing. He was voted a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl starter.
LB Edgerrin Cooper: It’s too bad he was limited by opportunity early on and by injuries during the second half of the season. Despite playing fewer than 500 defensive snaps across 14 games, Cooper stuffed his rookie season with impact plays. He led all rookies in stops (39) and tackles for loss (13), was effective as a blitzer (12 total pressures, 3.5 sacks) and also created four turnovers (one interception, one strip-sack, two fumble recoveries). On special teams, Cooper produced an incredible nine tackles despite playing fewer than 100 coverage snaps. The former Texas A&M star looks like the perfect modern linebacker — he diagnoses fast, moves explosively, tackles violently and creates disruptive plays in the passing game. With a step forward and more snaps in 2025, Cooper could emerge as one of the NFL’s best off-ball linebackers.
RT Zach Tom: It’s a shame Tom wasn’t given Pro Bowl recognition for his excellent 2024 season. Among offensive tackles, Tom finished sixth in overall grade, third in run-blocking grade and 12th in pass-blocking grade at PFF. He allowed only 28 pressures across almost 600 pass-blocking snaps during the regular season and made massive improvements as a run-blocker in front of Josh Jacobs. His season didn’t end well in Philadelphia, but Tom still solidified himself as a top right tackle in the NFL during his third season.
Studs
TE Tucker Kraft: The second-year tight end caught a career-high 50 passes, scored seven touchdowns and led all tight ends in average yards after the catch and total missed tackles forced. Despite being used as mostly an underneath option, Kraft still averaged 10.1 yards per target and 14.1 yards per catch. He played a violent brand of football both as a blocker on the move and after the catch in the passing game. He was also successful on all five of his sneak attempts from under center, giving the Packers a reliable short yardage option. Coming out of 2024, Kraft appears to be a foundational piece of the Packers offensive moving forward
K Brandon McManus: Signed in October after a tough start from rookie Brayden Narveson, McManus made game-winning kicks in back-to-back weeks and finished the regular season making 20-of-21 field goals and all 30 extra points. His 95.2 field goal percentage finished second among qualified kickers. McManus connected on all three of his kicks over 50 yards, including a 55-yarder at Lambeau Field in January. His lone miss came during a rainy and cold afternoon in Green Bay against the Lions. Of course, McManus ended on a sour note when he missed a 38-yard field goal in Philadelphia (his hometown) in the postseason. Still, the veteran was reliable and near perfect, and the Packers want him back for 2025.
WR Jayden Reed: His team-high 10 drops were disappointing, and it’s unclear why his production fell off so sharply over the second half of the season. Still, Reed produced over 1,000 total yards and scored seven touchdowns on 75 total touches. He averaged 15.6 yards per catch, 2.20 yards per route run and 11.4 yards per target, led the Packers in catches (55) and receiving yards (857) and led all NFL wide receivers in rushing yards (163). He is undeniably dynamic, and the Packers must find better ways of keeping him involved every week.
RB Emanuel Wilson: It’d be hard to ask much more of a No. 2 running back who wasn’t even widely expected to make the 53-man roster entering training camp. Wilson produced 550 total yards (sixth most on the team) and five total scores, and he averaged 4.9 yards per run and had an incredibly efficient 59.2 percent success rate on runs. He’ll have to compete for snaps in 2025, but Wilson proved to be a capable runner who can break tackles, create explosive plays and provide reliability in the passing game.
OL Elgton Jenkins: His 10 penalties were a big negative, and Jenkins isn’t a dominant run blocker, but he’s as reliable as they come at guard in the passing game. Jenkins gave up only one sack and 18 total pressures across 564 pass-blocking snaps. When he departed in the first quarter of the playoff game, the Packers offensive line crumbled without a suitable backup. In addition to playing almost 1,000 snaps at left guard, Jenkins chipped in 72 snaps at center — a position he may play in 2025.
DE Rashan Gary: His pass-rushing productivity was disappointing, no way around it. But Gary still finished with a team-high 49 pressures, and he was an elite run defender from the edge of the 4-3. Did the Packers need more from Gary? Absolutely. He did not consistently disrupt as the team’s top edge rusher, and the Packers are paying him top dollar to be an elite disruptor. Still, Gary was an effective down-to-down player at a premium position.
S Zayne Anderson: He produced a team-high 10 special teams tackles and played reliable football as a backup safety. In fact, Anderson logged his first career start and interception during the Packers’ shutout win over the Saints. A concussion suffered while making a tackle on kickoff coverage in Week 17 ended his season. Anderson played 50 or more snaps across four different special teams groups and a career-high 122 snaps on defense.
QB Malik Willis: The former Titan was nearly perfect in terms of backup quarterback performance. He played turnover-free and efficient football as a starter in wins over the Titans and Colts in back-to-back weeks in September, came off the bench to lead the Packers to win in Jacksonville after Jordan Love suffered a groin injury in the second half, and nearly had the Bears beat after entering in the first half of the season finale. Willis completed 74.1 percent of his passes, averaged 10.2 yards per attempt and finished with just one turnover (lost fumble) while rushing for 138 yards and producing four total touchdowns.
P Daniel Whelan: He averaged 46.2 yards per punt, and his net average of 40.2 didn’t rank high but was hurt significantly by the 93-yard punt return for a touchdown in Week 18. His hang time average (4.53 seconds) ranked as the third best among punters. Also, only 37.9 percent of his punts were returned, and his 74-yard long punt was the sixth-longest in the NFL in 2024.
Duds
DL Kenny Clark: The switch to the 4-3 and a more attacking plan up front was expected to unlock even more of Clark’s pass-rushing impact, but the opposite happened on the field. Clark produced only 34 pressures, down from 66 in 2023, and he finished with only 1.0 sack, four tackles for loss and five quarterback hits — all representing new lows for Clark in a full season since his rookie year. According to PFF, Clark was blocked by a double team or chipped on almost 65 percent of his pass-rushing snaps, providing a big clue for why his production dipped so significantly.
WR Dontayvion Wicks: The second-year receiver dropped nine passes and led all qualifying wide receivers with an 18.0 percent drop rate in 2024. He ended up catching only 51.3 percent of his targets, down from almost 68 percent in 2023. He was poor in contested catch situations (3-for-15) and averaged fewer yards after the catch (3.7, down from 5.0 in 2023). Instead of becoming a reliable target in 2024, Wicks was frustratingly up and down despite still displaying valuable separation ability.
DL Lukas Van Ness: The second-year leap did not arrive. Van Ness produced fewer total pressures in 2024 compared to 2023, and he didn’t show meaningful improvement on a down-to-down basis as either a run defender or pass-rusher. It’s fair to wonder what the Packers have in “Hercules.” He has brutish force but what else? His impact on the game was so rarely felt from a premium position. Van Ness needs to take a big jump in a lot of areas in Year 3.
C Josh Myers: Among 43 qualifying centers, Myers ranked 41st in overall grade at PFF. He allowed 31 pressures, the third-most allowed by a center in 2024, and earned the second-lowest run-blocking grade among centers. Even in a contract year, Myers failed to become the reliable blocker the Packers hoped they were getting in the second round of the 2021 draft. Green Bay likes Myers but probably needs to find a new center in hopes of upgrading the position in 2025.
CB Eric Stokes: The 2021 first-round pick played 588 snaps on defense and was unable to deliver a single pass breakup. He allowed three touchdown passes into his coverage and made only seven total stops. His season — an important one after essentially missing two straight years to injury — was incredibly devoid of positive impact. Over the final two games of the season (Week 18, wild card round), Stokes played only six total snaps, including just one snap on defense in the playoff loss in Philadelphia.
