A few days ago marked the anniversary of the trade that brought Micah Parsons to Green Bay.
It’s easy to remember how different everything felt at the time. The Packers had just acquired arguably the best defensive player in football, expectations immediately skyrocketed, and many of the questions surrounding the roster suddenly felt a lot less important.
In hindsight, the excitement surrounding Parsons may have covered up some legitimate flaws.
Green Bay entered 2025 with questionable depth at several positions, concerns along the offensive line and a roster that ultimately wasn’t equipped to withstand the number of injuries it suffered. Once those injuries started piling up, particularly late in the season, many of those concerns became impossible to ignore.
Now, one year later, the circumstances are almost reversed.
With Parsons expected to miss the beginning of the season, the 2026 Packers enter Week 1 with plenty of uncertainty. But they also enter the season with better depth, several young players ready for larger roles and a coaching staff that should have a better understanding of what went wrong last year.
So, are the 2026 Green Bay Packers actually better than the team we watched a season ago?
I think they can be.
A Changing Offensive Philosophy
You can’t have a conversation about the 2025 Green Bay Packers without mentioning injuries.
The Packers were hit hard early in the season and again down the stretch. As those injuries piled up, the cohesion and consistency of the offense took a noticeable dip.
Obviously, football and injuries are synonymous. Every team deals with them, and sometimes the difference between playing in February and watching from home is simply getting a little luckier than everyone else.
Unfortunately for Green Bay, many of its injuries weren’t minor.
By the end of the season, the Packers looked like a completely different team than the one we watched earlier in the year. What started as a promising season ended with Green Bay trying to patch together a roster that simply didn’t have enough healthy bodies to maintain what had worked earlier.
Heading into 2026, the Packers may be undergoing an offensive philosophy change, whether Matt LaFleur planned on it or not.
What Changed?
Think about how many times last season we watched a promising offensive possession stall because Green Bay ran the ball between the tackles on an early down, gained little or nothing and immediately put Jordan Love behind schedule.
Inside-zone concepts have always been an important part of LaFleur’s offense. When they’re working, they set up everything else. When they’re not, the Packers become predictable.
Too often last year, they weren’t working.
Now Green Bay enters this season with continued questions along the offensive line and uncertainty surrounding Josh Jacobs’ availability. That could finally force LaFleur to do what Packers fans have been asking him to do for the past few seasons:
Let Jordan Love cook.
There’s obviously a catch.
The running game is essential to LaFleur’s offense because so much of the passing attack is built off it. Play action becomes significantly less effective if linebackers and safeties don’t respect what’s happening in the backfield.
That’s why MarShawn Lloyd could become one of the most important players on this offense.
With Jacobs out, Lloyd, newly acquired Kaleb Johnson and veteran Chris Brooks will be asked to carry the running game. You can probably pencil Lloyd in as the de facto RB1, but I wouldn’t overlook Brooks, especially early in the season.
If Green Bay’s offensive line continues to struggle, Brooks’ ability as a pass protector could earn him meaningful snaps. He’s a physical runner and, more importantly, someone LaFleur can trust to keep Love clean.
But I’ve been on record saying this before, and I’m sticking with it: MarShawn Lloyd is the player who can unlock another level of this offense.
MarShawn Lloyd Changes the Equation
What makes Lloyd interesting isn’t simply his ability to replace some of Josh Jacobs’ carries. It’s how differently Green Bay can use him.
Lloyd gives the Packers the ability to lean more heavily into outside-zone concepts and force defenses to defend the entire width of the field.
That’s important.
Last season, Green Bay’s running game became too condensed at times. Too many carries went directly between the guards and center, allowing opposing linebackers to stay disciplined rather than pursuing toward the sidelines.
When linebackers don’t have to move laterally, everything becomes easier for the defense.
The safeties can remain deep. Linebackers can sit in underneath throwing lanes. Suddenly those intermediate routes become more difficult, and the explosive plays Green Bay’s offense is built around disappear.
Lloyd changes that.
Get him running toward the perimeter and suddenly those linebackers have to pursue. Safeties have to creep toward the box. Corners are left with less help over the top.
That’s when Christian Watson and Matthew Golden become dangerous downfield.
Meanwhile, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft have more space to operate across the middle.
That’s the version of Green Bay’s offense I want to see in 2026.
LaFleur still needs to establish a running game, but it doesn’t necessarily have to look exactly like it did with Jacobs carrying the ball 20-plus times. Green Bay has enough speed and versatility to spread defenses horizontally before attacking them vertically.
If LaFleur can consistently manufacture explosive plays while getting better injury luck, this offense has the potential to be better than the 2025 version.
Defense Is in a Holding Pattern
There’s no way around it: beginning the season without Micah Parsons is far from ideal.
But there’s an important difference between losing Parsons this year and losing him last year.
This time, Green Bay can prepare for it.
The Packers know Parsons won’t be available early. Jonathan Gannon and his staff have had an entire offseason to build contingency plans and determine how they want to manufacture pressure without their best defensive player.
Last season, everything changed in an instant.
That’s a significant distinction.
I also think Green Bay is better equipped to survive it because the defensive line is deeper than it was a year ago.
The 2025 season exposed just how thin that group really was. Once injuries started piling up, the Packers were scrambling for anyone capable of playing meaningful snaps.
If you remember watching Derrick Henry and Baltimore run through Green Bay late last season, you understand why strengthening the defensive front became such a priority.
Green Bay couldn’t allow that to happen again.
This year’s group should be better prepared to withstand injuries, and even if there isn’t another Micah Parsons waiting on the depth chart—because there obviously isn’t—the defense shouldn’t completely fall apart without him.
Survive the first month. Get Parsons healthy. Then see what this defense looks like at full strength.
Questions Remain in the Secondary
Safety might be the position I feel best about defensively.
Evan Williams and Xavier McKinney give Green Bay a legitimate foundation on the back end, and Javon Bullard offers additional versatility.
Boundary corner is a completely different conversation.
I’ve written about Brandon Cisse throughout training camp, and my opinion hasn’t really changed. I think he gives Green Bay its best option on the outside and should receive every opportunity to establish himself as a starter.
Benjamin St-Juste should also have a significant role.
There will inevitably be growing pains if Green Bay puts a rookie corner on the field for meaningful snaps, but I’d rather live with those growing pains and potentially develop a long-term answer than continue hoping an inconsistent veteran suddenly becomes something he hasn’t been.
The secondary doesn’t need to be elite.
With Parsons eventually returning and what should be an improved defensive front, Green Bay needs its corners to prevent explosive plays, tackle and give the pass rush enough time to get home.
Do that, and the defense should be fine.
A New Look at Linebacker
I was extremely high on Quay Walker when Green Bay drafted him in 2022.
After a promising rookie season, I genuinely thought the Packers might have found their next All-Pro linebacker. The athletic ability was obvious, and there were flashes where Walker looked capable of becoming one of the better linebackers in football.
Unfortunately, the consistency never really followed.
Throughout his tenure in Green Bay, Walker struggled at times with pursuit, particularly against outside-zone concepts. There were also too many moments in coverage where his athletic ability couldn’t make up for being a step late diagnosing what was happening.
Pivoting toward Zaire Franklin gives Green Bay something different.
Franklin brings veteran experience and should provide a more instinctive presence against the run. He’s not without his own weaknesses—coverage was certainly an issue last season—but the Packers don’t necessarily need him to be Fred Warner.
They need consistency.
They need someone who can diagnose a play, get everyone lined up and prevent some of the breakdowns that hurt them last season.
Jonathan Gannon Could Be the Biggest Difference
Of all the changes between the 2025 and 2026 Packers, Jonathan Gannon might ultimately be one of the most important.
This defense has talent.
The question is whether the coaching staff can maximize it while also adjusting when things inevitably go wrong.
That second part matters.
One of my frustrations with Jeff Hafley’s defense last season was that when injuries occurred, it often felt like the scheme remained the scheme. Instead of adapting to the personnel available, Green Bay sometimes appeared to simply ask the replacement players to do exactly what the starters had been doing.
That’s difficult when the player you’re replacing is Micah Parsons.
Gannon needs to be more flexible.
If the Packers can’t consistently generate pressure with four players while Parsons is sidelined, manufacture it. If the corners are struggling in man coverage, give them help. If injuries change what your defense does well, change the defense.
It sounds simple, but Green Bay wasn’t always able to do that last season.
The 2026 Packers don’t need to survive injuries by pretending they haven’t happened.
They need to adapt.
Special Teams Might Actually Be a Strength?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Packers special teams have been a problem.
For years.
What’s made it particularly frustrating is how many resources Green Bay has devoted toward fixing the unit, only to continually get poor results.
Maybe 2026 is finally different.
Enter Cam Accord.
After watching the preseason, I’m increasingly optimistic that Green Bay’s special teams won’t simply be better than last year—they might actually become an advantage.
Trey Smack has gone from one of the biggest concerns early in camp to looking like the second coming of prime Justin Tucker. Obviously, I’m exaggerating, but after years of holding my breath every time the field-goal unit runs onto the field, watching Smack confidently hit from distance has been refreshing.
And then Green Bay returned a punt for a touchdown.
A Packers punt-return touchdown!
I genuinely don’t remember the last time I watched that happen.
The possibility of having a legitimate return game changes field position. Combine that with a kicker who has shown he can comfortably hit from 50-plus yards, and suddenly Green Bay doesn’t need to consistently drive 75 yards to score points.
Sometimes three points is enough.
It’s kind of crazy that being excited about a relatively automatic three points is where we’re at, but the scars of the Brandon McManus experience are still fresh.
After watching missed kicks play a role in the end of last season—including the heartbreaking playoff loss to Chicago despite Jordan Love playing one of his best games—it would be nice to enter a season without feeling like every field-goal attempt is a coin flip.
If Smack can simply be consistent, that’s a major upgrade.
The Verdict
When I compare the 2026 Green Bay Packers to the team we watched last season, I genuinely believe this year’s roster is better positioned to make a deep playoff run.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll look better immediately.
My expectations are relatively modest for the first third of the season.
Green Bay will be without Micah Parsons. Josh Jacobs’ availability is uncertain. The offensive line still has too many questions for my liking, and several younger players are going to be asked to take on larger roles.
There will be growing pains.
But if the Packers can get through the first six weeks without digging themselves into a hole, I think this team could look completely different by November.
Get Parsons back. Get Jacobs healthy. Allow the younger players to settle into their roles. Give Jonathan Gannon time to establish his defense.
That’s when I think Green Bay can start hitting its stride.
There is no shortage of talent on this roster, and more importantly, I think the overall depth is significantly better than it was a year ago. The Packers are better prepared to survive the inevitable injuries that come with an NFL season.
If things break right, I don’t think competing for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NFC is unrealistic.
And if Green Bay enters January healthy and playing its best football, this is absolutely a roster capable of making a run to the Super Bowl.
There’s just one issue I can’t get past.
The offensive line.
I hate to beat a dead horse because I’ve written about it repeatedly over the past several weeks, but Green Bay still needs help up front. There are simply too many questions and not enough proven depth for a team with legitimate championship expectations.
Maybe that changes once everyone gets healthy. Maybe one of the younger linemen develops faster than expected.
But Brian Gutekunst shouldn’t rely on “maybe.”
If an opportunity presents itself between now and the NFL trade deadline to add a legitimate offensive lineman, the Packers need to be aggressive.
This roster is too talented, and the Super Bowl window is too open, to allow the offensive line to become the reason another promising season ends earlier than it should.
The 2025 Packers showed us what happens when a talented roster isn’t deep enough to withstand adversity.
The 2026 Packers have a chance to show us they learned from it.
