Nick Chubb (@ WAS) – Chubb is eligible to start practicing this week after rehabbing his brutal knee injury from last year. It is likely that he won’t be able to suit up on Sunday but he could be in play next week. Either way if for some reason he is available on your waiver wire, go ahead and stash him.

Anthony Richardson (@ JAC) – Richardson had a rough outing on Sunday and picked up a hip pointer while scrambling toward the sidelines. He was able to come back in but also took a hit to the head. This is likely a pain tolerance issue for Richardson but his status is worth monitoring.

Christian Watson (@ LAR) – Watson suffered an ankle injury on Sunday that looks to be serious. No word yet on the severity but this could sideline him for multiple weeks. We should get word on Wednesday on how long he could be out.

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The Good

When the Packers drafted AJ Dillon many thought it would lead to the end of Aaron Jones‘s time in Green Bay. Despite the emergence of Dillon, Jones has continued to be the focal point of the Packers backfield. He finished the 2022 season with 1,516 scrimmage yards and 7 total touchdowns. Jones and Dillon have formed a formidable thunder and lightning duo with Jones getting the majority of the touches. Look for Jones to continue that and be relied on more than ever this upcoming season. If you’re a fantasy football player Jones is worth targeting in your drafts.

A big topic this past season was the inability of Aaron Rodgers to gel with his young wide receivers. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs were drafted by the Packers to help replace the loss of Davante Adams. The rookie duo showed some promise but were never able to produce consistently. I expect both will take a big leap in year 2 and give the Packers extra weapons in the passing game. Love will need all the help he can get as the Packers new starter.

The Bad

The Packers had a choice to make this offseason. They could draft a quarterback, bring in a veteran or stick with Jordan Love. In the end, they chose to stick with Love and I fear that may come back to haunt them. Usually, with young quarterbacks you get a sense in the first couple of years if they can play. This has not been the case with Love. We haven’t heard much or even seen much from him to tell us he is ready to lead this franchise. At the very least the Packers should’ve brought in another veteran quarterback to help mentor Love but they decided not to. If Love is not the answer it will be a long season in Green Bay.

The Prediction

As I stated earlier I really like the talent the Packers have going forward. They also have the benefit of a fairly easy schedule in 2023. Looking ahead, this team will only go as far as Jordan Love will take them and I don’t think he will be the answer for Green Bay.

2023 Record: 7-10 (4th in the Division)

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PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

Christian Watson was drafted in the 2nd round by the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft. He came out of North Dakota State University so fans weren’t sure what to expect from him because of the limited coverage. Numbers have shown that Aaron Rodgers doesn’t do well with rookie wide receivers.

DRAFT EXPECTATIONS

Watson’s ADP in fantasy drafts had him at 155.7 or a late-round pick. This was equivalent to the 59th WR taken. Owners were unsure what to do with him as there was news of Aaron Rodgers calling out his young receivers early on. People were higher on Allen Lazard as the projected top WR for the Packers.

OVERALL SEASON PRODUCTION

It was an up-and-down season for Christian Watson as the highest of highs made him look like the Green Bay WR 1 of the future. The lowest of the lows saw him on the sidelines as his snap percentage decreased. Injuries did affect him as he missed three weeks. He remained healthy after Week 7. In half of the games he played, he accounted for less than 10 FP while he had an explosive stretch that shocked everyone. He ended as the 41st WR overall but things are murky in Green Bay as the QB situation is still unclear.

CRITICAL MOMENTS DURING THE SEASON

Week 10 vs Dallas Cowboys

It had been a disappointing season so far for Watson as he hadn’t scored in double digits to start his young career. That all changed in a shocker in Week 10. Against the stout Dallas defense, Christian exploded out of nowhere. He caught four passes for 107 yards and three TDs. His first TD reception was a 58-yard pass from Rodgers to tie it at 7-7. He scored another on a 39-yard pass with 13 mins left in the fourth quarter. His last TD was a seven-yard catch to tie the game at 28. His potential was on full display here. He ended the game with 32.70 FP.

Week 12 vs Philadelphia Eagles

After two straight great games for Watson, many were on board as Green Bay took on Philadelphia. The Eagles also had no answer for the rookie WR. Watson made it a game when he caught a 63-yard TD pass from Jordan Love with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Christian ended the game with four catches for a season-high 110 yards and a TD.

Week 13 vs Chicago Bears

His last great game in this four-game stretch pitted him against the Chicago Bears. What made this game special was him on the run as he scored a 46-yard rushing TD. Maybe in the future, he can have more plays like this designed for him, especially with his size. Fantasy owners were pleased by his performance.

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BACKGROUND

Michael Mayer is a 6’4″ tight end prospect out of the state of Kentucky. In his senior season, he caught 49 passes for 970 yards and 15 TDs. Rivals ranked him the 36th overall prospect in his class and the 3rd best TE overall. He was named the Gatorade Kentucky Football Player of the Year.

COLLEGE CAREER

As a freshman, Mayer started four games and played 12 games. He caught 42 passes for 450 yards for two TDs. The Notre Dame TE got his break as a sophomore when he started all 12 games and caught 71 passes for 840 yards and seven TDs. This led him to a Third-Team All-American.

2022-2023 COLLEGE CAREER

Michael Mayer had a lot of expectations after his breakout sophomore campaign. In 12 games, he had three games where he caught over 100+ passing yards. He had 11 catches, 118 yards, and two TDs in the Week 5 matchup against BYU. This was his best game for the season. His ability to receive and block made him a popular discussion late in the first round. He was awarded a Consensus All-American to close the year.

STRENGTHS: Versatility

Michael is a talented TE prospect who can catch and block. He has a very high floor, especially with how TEs are used in today’s NFL. His smoothness and quickness will give defenders nightmares on how to defend him. His impressive pass-catching ability make him a day 1 starter in the NFL.

WEAKNESSES: Athleticism

For a player this talented, it was very difficult to find a weakness in his game. One weakness that experts mostly talked about was his lack of athleticism. Other TEs will be able to do more athletically than him and that could be valued by other coaches and teams.

PLAYER COMPARISON: Jason Witten

TEAMS WHO COULD DRAFT HIM

Multiple mock drafts have Mayer in the middle to late 1st round. A TE as talented as him in the pass-catching and run-game is a weapon in today’s NFL. Personally, I like the fit with Green Bay at 15 as he can form a dangerous combo with Christian Watson. It gives Aaron Rodgers or Jordan Love another weapon to use. He could be a sleeper pick for teams ahead of Green Bay if he can show to be on the same level as the WRs available.

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It was an up and down year for Rodgers and the Packers. Early on the team really missed Davante Adams in the passing game as many predicted they would. Allen Lazard was supposed to step into that WR1 role but he is better suited as the WR2. They drafted two talented Rookies in Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs but they struggled to adjust to the NFL game. Dropped passes were the big issue especially with Watson. Once they got comfortable the Packers offense really took off and helped lead the way during their win streak.

Rodgers finished 2022 with a respectable 91.1 quarterback rating, he tossed 26 touchdowns and passed for 3695 yards. The 39 year old clearly still has the arm as it was on full display Sunday night when he connected on a 45 yard bomb to Christian Watson. This was also his longest completion of the season. Still despite the success you could see the signs of the up and down year wearing on him. These signs along with the roller coaster of a season lead me to believe Aaron Rodgers will retire in 2023.

Off the field Rodgers is still one of the most polarizing NFL players in the league. He is not afraid to speak his mind on a variety of topics and is often at the center of heated discussions on social media. Many often ask, who is Aaron Rodgers girlfriend? That has also been the topic of debate over the years. He is most recently linked to Mallory Edens, the daughter of Milwaukee Bucks owner Wes Edens. Regardless of what you think of him off the field there is no denying his on the field success during his career. He has played at an MVP level during the last 5 years and almost certainly will be a future hall of famer. We will see how this plays out and if Aaron Rodgers will retire. If he does he will go down as one of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time.

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By: Andy Davies

Green Bay Packers: Super Bowl Pretenders or Contenders?

The Green Packers are back to winning ways after a terrible run of form, beating the Dallas Cowboys in overtime thanks to a Mason Crosby field goal.
 
Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers went into the London game against the New York Giants with a 3-1 record. Despite leading the game 10-3 after the first quarter and leading 20-10 at halftime, they ended up losing 27-22. Until Sunday, they had not won since.
 
They lost games that nobody would have predicted, including games against the New York Jets, Washington Commanders, and Detroit Lions.
 
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has struggled to recapture his form this season, after two back-to-back MVP-winning campaigns.
 
However, despite their 4-6 record at the time of writing,  they are still ninth in the NFC seeding and just one win away from the San Francisco 49ers who currently occupy the seventh seed.
 
So, are the Packers Super Bowl pretenders or contenders?

Learning From The Chiefs

If any team is to learn from another who overcame adversity and media scrutiny to make the playoffs, it is the 2021 Kansas City Chiefs.
 
Much like the Packers this year, the Chiefs went into last season as one of the Super Bowl favourites after two back-to-back appearances.
 
Despite winning their season opener, Kansas City lost three of their next four and after the conclusion of week seven, they were 3-4. They only went on to lose one more game and finished the season as the AFC West champions with a 12-5 record and would make it all the way to the AFC Conference Championship game.
 
A second-half collapse in the game prevented them from making a third straight Super Bowl and they should have been there at SoFi Stadium facing the Los Angeles Rams. They showed that you should not crown champions or announce teams to be dead to rights with only half the season game. After all, the New England Patriots often started slowly in Super Bowl-winning years.
 
This feels the same for Green Bay. Whilst the current 8-1 record of NFC North rivals the Minnesota Vikings means they are unlikely to make the postseason as division winners, a Wildcard Round spot does not appear out of the realms of possibility.
 
Rodgers snapped back-to-back games with an interception, cutting out ugly plays that was seen in the Lions loss. Rookie wideout Christian Watson finally showed what he could do with Rodgers and this is frightening for the rest of the league.
 
We all saw his connection with Davante Adams and it is clear Rodgers missed him. There is no better time for Watson to finally come into his own.

There is also the run game, which appeared to bring success against Dallas in Week Ten. The Packers had 39 carries as opposed to just 14 receptions. Aaron Jones led the way, with 138 rushing yards and one touchdown from 24 carries.

There appears to be a change of game plan from Head Coach Matt LaFleur, with Jones running for the most carries in any single game this season. Subsequently, this resulted in his second-highest yards total for any game in the 2022 campaign.

The flip to the run game, as a result, saw Rodgers throw for his lowest single-game completion this season, with just 20 attempted passes (14 completed) against Dallas. He has only thrown for less than 30 attempted passes this season, as seen in the Week Two 27-10 win over the Chicago Bears. Could the run game be the secret to success for any late Packers playoff run?

A Tough Schedule Still Remains

Their schedule is the one factor that could derail any late-season push in their search for a playoff appearance. The Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and Minnesota still await.
 
The Packers have beaten both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cowboys. They will use this as inspiration for their upcoming opponents, but they need to be wary that any slip-up could burst the bubble of any hope of postseason football.

Pretenders or Contenders?

Right now, you would have to still say they are pretenders. After all, it is just one win. However, their game against Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football is the true test of whether last Sunday’s win over the Cowboys was a one-off.

Only four teams have allowed more rushing yards this season than the Packers (1,406) and they are seventh-worst in the league for rushing yards allowed per game (140.6). They will not welcome the prospect of playing Derrick Henry this week.

Henry is seen by many as the best running back in the league, and currently possesses the second-most rushing yards this season (923), and only Nick Chubb has more rushing touchdowns than Henry (9). If they can handle Henry and get the win at Lambeau Field, his could be the start of a remarkable run. If they lose, they will be sent straight back down to earth with a reality check.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Green Bay Packers famously shipped away Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, but they still have a talented and young wide receiver group. The Pack features Allen Lazard, Christian Watson, Randall Cobb, and Sammy Watkins. Lazard had a monster eight touchdown receptions last season. He will aspire to have a touchdown count similar to James Jones’s TD figure in 2012: 14 TD receptions. Lazard recently inked his restricted tender — which means he will earn $3.986 million in the 2022 season.

They will anticipate Watson making a splash impact in his first season. Chris Simms of Pro Football Talk believes Watson could even be the best rookie WR. Simms expressed that his combination of size and speed could help him dominate and follow in the steps of DK Metcalf, AJ Brown, or Chase Claypool as the next second-round WR stud.

Watkins might be regarded as a Week 1 legend, but he should feel confident in seeking lots of splash plays with A-Rod moving forward. He ousted nine touchdowns in 2015 and eight TDs in 2017, but he hasn’t been able to unveil more than three touchdown receptions since 2017. Rodgers should look to help Watkins burn opposing defenses deep down the field in the MVS-less offense.

Of course, Cobb will also look to help A-Rod ride off into the sunset. He recorded five touchdowns (his most since 2016) in his return to Green Bay last season. PFF even gave Cobb a stout 72.0 grade for his 2021 performance.

Rodgers may not have Tae, but he will still stride for his third straight MVP trophy with his current crew of WRs. Perhaps Watson can win OROY and Cobb will score a game-clinching touchdown against the Vikings or Bears next season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Green Bay Packers aren’t exactly known for drafting wide receivers early in the NFL Draft. Zach Kruse from Packers Wire nicely pointed out how Christian Watson was the highest draft pick at WR for the Packers since 2002. Let it be known that many cheeseheads may have made statues of him because the Packers finally picked a WR early in the draft.

With that said, I’m going to untwine why the rook can live up to high expectations and even unleash an OROY-caliber season in 2022.

Pedestrian competition

The former NDSU WR will be glad to know he faces mediocre NFC North pass defenses. In 2021, the Lions ranked 31st in PPG allowed, the Vikings were 24th in PPG allowed, and the Bears ousted a 21st place in PPG allowed. Each of the NFC North defenses didn’t exactly make massive strides on paper this off-season and I surely expect each of the Packers divisional opponents to still have growing pains moving forward.

Sammy Watkins

Watson will have to be fairly involved in the vertical passing attack given the absence of MVS (regardless of Sammy Watkins). Although, I believe that there is a realistic outlook that Watkins continues to suffer from the injury bug. I expect him to be more efficient with A-Rod than any previous QB he played with, but he may face more minor injuries, as he missed three games in 2021 and six games in 2020. Since his rookie season, he’s only ousted one season with 15+ games. With that said, I believe Watson may be more involved in a potential Sammy Watkins-less offense.

Aaron Rodgers

Watson certainly had a moment of bliss when he heard that he was going to play with one of the most gifted quarterbacks of all time. Aaron Rodgers did a fantastic job of helping the former second-round WR Jordy Nelson develop into a rockstar for his offense. Nelson recorded three seasons of 1,200+ yards and two seasons of 14+ touchdowns for the Pack. The former third-round pick James Jones also made special performances with Rodgers. The current NFL analyst notched a whopping 14 touchdowns in 2012. It’s time for another non-first-round WR in Watson to be elite in a receiving category (such as touchdowns or yards) or evolve into a Packers legendary WR with A-Rod.

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By: Jake Rajala

It may seem like the Packers didn’t have an Albert Einstein-like mind helping their search for WR talent this off-season, but the Pack still recently added numerous talented wideouts in Christian Watson and Sammy Watkins. Most importantly, they can feel delighted that they have arguably the most gifted passing QB of all time in Aaron Rodgers on their roster.

A-Rod has been from another planet in 2020 and 2021 (both MVP-winning seasons). Although, many fans believe that the Davante Adams-less offense will noticeably hurt A-Rod’s chances of winning MVP for the third straight season. Well, I’m still going to untwine three reasons why burning man Rodgers could return to the throne and win MVP with his current weapons next season.

Healthy tackles

The mammoth-like LT David Bakhtiari played in a mere one game last season. The Packers may have lost a star in Tae, but they are receiving a healthy and amazing face in Bakhtiari. The Packers LT is arguably an Top-3 LT in the NFL and he will be happy to protect his buddy that likes to ride in the back seat of his truck.

It should also be noted that RT Elgton Jenkins missed nine game last season. The injury-riddled Packers OL was beaten badly by the Nick Bosa-led 49ers pass rush in the playoffs. A-Rod will be very confident that he can stay clean and utilize his wideouts to the best of their ability.

Robert Tonyan

A-Rod threw 11 touchdowns to Robert Tonyan in 2020. Yes, you read that correctly. Well, Tonyan (9 missed games last season) hauled in a mere two touchdowns from his QB in 2021. The Packers QB will be happy to have his gifted and healthy TE catching passes from him moving forward.

Christian Watson

It appears that cheeseheads across the globe should feel ecstatic that their second-round pick is turning heads in OTAs. If the 6’5 WR can be in-sync with Rodgers on the outside early on, while the deep-threat Sammy Watkins and red-zone threat Tonyan excel in their roles, the well-protected Rodgers could find himself crowned MVP for the third straight season.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Green Bay Packers are a juggernaut football franchise and they should continue to be a Super Bowl contender with burning man Aaron Rodgers for another season. The Packers fan base delights in sitting on aluminum benches with cheese on their heads, but they also enjoy witnessing under-the-radar players ascend into household names. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three Packers that can burst onto the scene next season.

Sammy Watkins

I really like Sammy Watkins’s fit as a deep-threat in the Packers offense. Outside of Tae’s absence, he should absolutely excel with the old deep-threat MVS out of town against pedestrian NFC North defenses. The former fourth overall pick is still 28 years old and he has actually been somewhat healthy in recent memory, as well (13+ games played in two of his past three seasons). He might be a lock to explode in Week 1, but I believe he can still certainly have more consistent, high-level production in 2022 than his 2019 season (673 yds in 14 games).

Elgton Jenkins

The Packers swiss army knife at OL Elgton Jenkins is the second OL returning from an ACL injury. It’s unclear where Jenkins will start next season, but he should excel at any starting spot on the OL. Jenkins did grab a Pro Bowl spot in 2020, but I expect him to really shine against elite edge rushers from the RT spot in his fourth season/contract year in 2022.

Christian Watson

I might be cheating by adding another WR to this list, but the ceiling of Christian Watson’s career is quite underrated. His combination of size (6’4, 220) and 4.30 speed should help him translate to being a star at the professional level. Most importantly, there is a large void of targets after the exit from Adams and MVS, so the rook should have a nice opportunity to be very involved early on. Freddie Boston from Lombardi Ave also projects Watson to turn heads in 2022.

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