Birthday Gifts For the Green Bay Packers

A happy birthday to the Green Bay Packers. On this day 105 years ago, the Green Bay Packers were formed.

They have had a storied history in 105 years winning an NFL-best 13 world championships.

This team, led by Jordan Love, looks like a bonafide Super Bowl contender if they can have some fortune and health.

The Packers likely have a wishlist like anyone else would for their birthday.

So with that in mind, here are a few things the team would likely appreciate as gifts for their birthday.

Healthy Hamstrings for Christian Watson

Christian Watson’s potential when he’s healthy is limitless. We saw that during his rookie season, where his strong finish had everyone excited for what was to come.

Conventional wisdom this time last year was that the Packers did not need to add a veteran at receiver for Jordan Love, because Watson and Romeo Doubs could do enough to bridge that gap. Doubs looked solid. Watson looked like a star in the making.

Watson’s season was hampered before it could even get started last year. He injured his hamstring in the week between the end of the preseason and the regular season.

That injury would cause him to miss the first three games. When he came back, he was still limited and struggled with inconsistency.

Once he was healthy, he started to take off. Watson had a big game against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, and followed that up with a big night on Sunday Night Football against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Unfortunately the hamstring bug bit again, and Watson was forced out of action until the end of the season.

Watson saw specialists this offseason in an attempt to curb this issue, and feels like they have a good handle on how to manage those things.

Watson is healthy, and having a good camp. If he stays healthy, he has the highest upside of any receiver on the roster.

A Leap from Van Ness and Wyatt

If you held a fantasy draft of players you wanted to guarantee would be better this year than they were last year, maybe Lukas Van Ness and Devonte Wyatt would not be the first names that came to mind, but they’d be pretty close.

Van Ness and Wyatt showed off their pass rush ability in the team’s 23-10 win over the Cleveland Browns to open the preseason.

Wyatt pushed the pocket on a pass play that forced Jameis Winston to run into the waiting arms of Van Ness.

Wyatt would pressure Winston on the next play as well, forcing an errant pass that could have been intercepted.

Van Ness finished the day with three tackles for loss, and could have had a second sack if he finished the play on Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

If Van Ness and Wyatt are good, in addition to Rashan Gary, Kenny Clark, and Preston Smith – the Packers can come at you in waves with their pass rush group.

Josh Jacobs' Resurgence

The Packers made a sizable bet this offseason in a couple different ways at running back.

One, they bet the team would not miss the heartbeat of the group with Aaron Jones being released and off to Minnesota.

Two, they bet the man they were signing to replace him will look more like the version we all saw in 2022 as opposed to 2023.

Josh Jacobs was the rushing champion in 2022. He was not in 2023. In fact, by the end of the season, Jacobs was ceding reps to his backups. He didn’t look much like the player that he was in 2022.

Now, the Packers think they’re getting someone that can do everything in their offense, and that his punishing running style will help their offense.

Green Bay’s offense was at its best a year ago when the run game was a threat. In theory, with all of the formations they can deploy with their skill position players, a competent run game can go a long way.

Jacobs needs to spearhead this attack.

A Rookie Safety Emerges

Xavier McKinney was brought in to stabilize the safety position, and reports have been rave about him to start camp.

Across from him, however, it’s likely to be a rookie. Javon Bullard started the first preseason game, and has been with the first group for most of the last week.

Evan Williams keeps making plays.

Doing that in the exhibition season is easier than when the lights are brighter and game plans are designed to confuse you.

The Packers will likely wish for one of the rookies to grow up quickly.

Cornerback Stability

Eric Stokes and Carrington Valentine are battling for a spot on the outside across from Jaire Alexander. Keisean Nixon is currently the team’s slot cornerback.

It’s possible that only one of those players are starting by midseason.

It looks like Eric Stokes is winning the competition with Valentine, and that was true even prior to a hamstring injury that knocked Valentine out of practice.

Nixon struggled as a slot corner last year, and the Packers have other options, albeit they’re all rookies.

Then there’s Jaire Alexander, who had an injury riddled season in 2023 marred by some odd behavior that saw him suspended for a game as well.

Finding stability at this position will be something that is paramount to Green Bay’s success in 2024.

And A Kicker Too

The kicking competition raged on this week as the Packers added a third leg to the roster in Alex Hale.

Hale did not kick in the team’s preseason opener, and looks to be well behind the two men that have done the majority of the kicking in the preseason.

Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson are battling to be the team’s primary option there.

Carlson is the incumbent and led the league in missed kicks a season ago.

Joseph was brought in as competition and potential stability.

Now, it’s unclear how the Packers feel about the competition, but both kickers were perfect in their preseason debut.

Joseph has been better in camp, but that may not be all the team takes into consideration.

Either way, they’ll need stability there, as Carlson’s ineffectiveness cost the team a chance to play for the NFC title a season ago.

Related: Jordan Love's Preseason Starts Fast as the Packers Cruise