Green Bay Packers are biggest wild card in NFC this season

The Green Bay Packers could be a Super Bowl contender. They could also be vying for a top 10 pick come Christmas.

All things are on the table for the Packers. They are hoping to return to the playoffs after missing them in each of the past two seasons. Matt LaFleur replaced Mike McCarthy as head coach. As a result, there’s reason to believe that the offense will be different. For starters, there should be a wide array of different looks and personnel groupings. That is if anything we saw from LaFleur during his time as offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans was representative.

Want $250 to bet on NFL futures?

Ultimately, this all comes down to LaFleur and his quarterback. Aaron Rodgers remains one of theist talented players in the game at any position. However, at 35 years old, there are questions. In recent years, Rodgers has been plagued by injuries, including a broken collarbone and a knee ailment that hampered him all of last season. In 2014, there was the calf injury that slowed him throughout the end of the season and the playoffs, although Rodgers was able to play through the pain.

All told, Rodgers has missed 16 games over the last six seasons. In the four 16-game campaigns he’s been able to play during that span, many have seen the aforementioned nagging problems that have sapped his magic.

Should LaFleur work out and Rodgers remain healthy, the Green Bay Packers will be a force. Rodgers has an elite receiver in Davante Adams on the outside and Jimmy Graham working the seam. In the backfield, Aaron Jones should be getting the lion’s share of the carries behind a quality offensive line.

Read: Vince Carter Says He’s Retiring After the 2019 – 2020 Season

Defensively, the squad has been made over into a fast, athletic unit by general manager Brian Gutekunst. The secondary is teeming with potential, led by second-year cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson, and safeties Adrian Amos and rookie Darnell Savage. Up front, Kenny Clark and rookie Rashan Gary are joined by edge rushers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, two high-priced signings in free agency.

It’s going to be a year of change in Green Bay. Perhaps that includes the record, this time putting the Packers into the postseason with a chance to do damage come January. Then again, the only thing that remains the same may well be the final result, this time borne from an aging superstar at quarterback and a coach who has never been in charge at any level. Only time will tell.