Pack-A-Day Podcast - Episode 1868 - Is the Packers' Roster Better in 2023?!
On today's show, Andy compares the Packers' 2023 roster to the 2022 version and reviews which roster is actually better. Find out which roster came out on top in today's all-new episode!
By AndyHerman
On today's show, Andy compares the Packers' 2023 roster to the 2022 version and reviews which roster is actually better. Find out which roster came out on top in today's all-new episode!
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Andy is a graduate of UW-Oshkosh and owns & operates the Pack-A-Day Podcast. Andy has taken multiple courses in NFL scouting and is an Editor for Packer Report. Andy grew up in Green Bay and is a lifelong season ticket holder - follow him on Twitter @AndyHermanNFL!
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Comments (4)
Thegreatreynoldo
September 07, 2023 at 04:07 am
I really enjoyed your podcast. That isn't to say I agreed with all of it. I disagree a lot with one position.
QB is worse this year. It just is. AR is and was better than Jordan Love. And Jordan Love as the 2022 backup QB is much better than Sean Clifford, this season's iteration. This isn't close.
WR better. I agree. Watson for 17 games is better than 9 games. Ditto for Doubs. 950 snaps each in 2023 vs. 509 and 527 snaps in 2022 sounds much better. He and Doubs might also take a jump with a year under their respective belts. However, sophomore slumps also happen. And now they both have hamstring injuries. Well, cross your fingers because Watson makes Musgrave, Reed and Heath go by drawing coverage deeper and opening the middle. I like Doubs as the #2 WR, but not as the #1.
As a note, it doesn't look like Watson or Doubs fixed their issues with drops. And it looks like Musgrave, Reed and Kraft have the same problem. Kraft had a pass bounce off his facemask. The 2022 Packers led the NFL in drops with 40 per PFF. Musgrave replaces Tonyan (1 drop on 67 targets). Musgrave won't block inline as well, he will drop quite a few more, but he will do more with the 67 (or more) targets than Tonyan did, and Musgrave will upset DC's plans as a threat down the seam and even outside. Reed replaces Cobb, to whom you gave a neutral grade in 2022. Cobb dropped 2 of his 50 targets, but Reed figures to be far more elusive and explosive. I am thinking the receivers blow 40 drops out of the water this year and are #1 in th NFL again by a larger margin.
OL is better. Bakh and Jenkins healthier and more available will do wonders. Tom figures to be a modest improvement over Nijman at RT and a big improvement over Jenkins' first few games there. Myers and Runyan should not be worse.
RB is the same. I like Wilson better than Hill.
greengold
September 07, 2023 at 05:18 am
I disagree with your takes on QB and WR. Rodgers isn’t getting any younger, and his long ball arm strength has been diminishing in front of our eyes for years. Not to mention, he threw behind receivers countless times in that same span.
The QB position encompasses more than “thrower of a football“ in the listed job requirements.
I happen to think JL surpasses AR in the leadership quotient. He’s not going to forego running plays to pad his stats. He’s not going to be wrongfully assigning blame to others. He’s not going to be running the clock down to forever. He’s not going to be throwing tantrums on the sideline when things go wrong.
Jordan Love was one of the more accurate passers in the 2023 NFL preseason amongst starters. Not to mention, Love is a young QB1 for having 3 years of development under his belt, while leading a young offense at the skill positions. I think he’ll be better able to relate to his teammates and to get more out of them. It truly is a young man’s game.
As for the WR drops, Doubs, the rookie, led the team with 9 in 2022. All Doubs has done to correct that is he worked all off-season with JL in private workouts. What drop issues are carrying over into 2023 with Watson? He had 1 drop in 2022.
****The majority of the drops from 2022 were by players no longer on this Packers team.
Some players suffer Sophomore slumps, not all. I’d argue that the majority of 2nd year players don’t.
Let’s add Heath into this mix. He had 1 drop throughout preseason play. He’s going to get some action.
I just don’t see it in either case, TGR. While I concede it’s all left to be proven on the field of play in 2023, I do believe we’re better this season at both positions than we were last year.
Now, as to that last bit, I agree our OL is better this year. Deeper too. That will only make the offense overall more effective, not less. Myers & Runyan do need to show improved play. That message has been sent loud & clear.
(CTFB, Packers. Don’t do me dirty. I’m sticking up for you here!)
LFG GPG CTFB AGNFB
Thegreatreynoldo
September 07, 2023 at 11:36 am
We just disagree about Aaron Rodgers. I thought he had one of the worst receiving units (WRs and TEs) in the NFL. I thought he was a top 7 NFL QB. We disagree, and so be it.
I do think the WRs are better this year. I expect Watson to be the real deal. He needs to be healthy and on the field. For me, Watson is the guy who made the offense go (though his return was close in time to Jenkins feeling better and playing LG) last year. If Love gets 950 snaps from Watson instead of the 507 AR got, that's night and day. Watson makes the other WRs and TEs better. Doubs looks better in practice. I like Doubs as a #2. Reed is exciting. He is a rookie but he can do some of the gadget stuff. I don't know what to expect from Musgrave. Love the talent and expect him to be very good - in 2024.
Drops: 40 per PFF, 30 per ESPN, 7.8% drop rate. Trying to recreate this but I have to use PFR. So:
9 - Doubs (67 targets)
7 - Dillon (on just 43 targets)
6 - Aaron Jones (on 72 targets)
6 - Lazard (100 targets)
4 - Watson (66 targets
2 - Deguara (on just 15 targets)
2 - Watkins (22 targets)
2 - Cobb (50 targets)
1 - Winfree (4 targets)
1 - Tonyan
1 - Lewis
0 - Toure
0 - Tyler Davis
0 - Amari Rodgers
0 - Bakhtiari
41 drops per PFR on 540 attempts (7.6%). 13 drops from players no longer on the team. I even grant that Dillon's 7 drops probably were an aberration. Still, Doubs and Watson dropped 13 in half seasons and didn't look like they fixed things in TC. Reed, Musgrave, and Reed dropped a lot in TC.
Explosiveness might be more important than drops - worth a few drops, that is. We shell see.
Thegreatreynoldo
September 08, 2023 at 09:35 am
I watched the Chiefs/Lions game. It gave me deja vu.
This is what an elite QB looks like without a #1 receiver (Kelce out), no #2 WR (Juju walked), a couple of #3/#4 type guys running around out there (MVS, Toney, Skye Moore). Result is an elite QB putting up a 77.5 passer rating, the team putting up 20 points based on 5 explosive pass plays from Mahomes. The young WR (Toney) dropping at least 2 well placed passes, one of which got intercepted for a pick six happened to be a difference in this game. The five explosive passes went for 128 yards, meaning otherwise Mahomes was 16 for 34 for 98 yards. That's brutal. Not being able to run didn't help, 17 for 45 yards without Mahomes scrambling 6 times for an additional 45). So, Mahomes played hero ball.
Not having a #1 receiver (for 8 or 9 games for AR last year) matters. Not having a #2 WR matters (Lazard is a bottom #2 or a good #3 in my estimation). Fingers crossed that Watson and Doubs are 100%.