The Green Bay Packers arguably won last offseason by landing All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys last August.
In the eyes of one NFL executive, the Packers are losing this offseason so far.
“I’m a little worried about them,” the unnamed executive told The Athletic’s Mike Sando. “Taking a step back, it’s depending on how some of the guys they already have develop: Jordan Love, Matthew Golden, Christian Watson. They lost a ton on defense in free agency. I’d be worried about the corner position.”
The Packers also lost defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who took the Miami Dolphins’ head coaching job, and vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan, who followed Hafley to Miami to become the Dolphins’ general manager.
Another unnamed executive called the Packers’ defense “a question mark,” additionally noting, “They are treading water in a division where Chicago has gotten better, Minnesota could be better with improved quarterback play, and Detroit is still a physical team.”
The Packers only made six selections in last week’s 2026 NFL Draft, and they did not have a first-rounder due to the Parsons trade. Green Bay addressed its cornerback need with its first pick of the draft, No. 52 overall in the second round, by selecting Brandon Cisse out of South Carolina. In fact, four of their six picks were defensive.
It will be impossible to accurately grade Green Bay’s 2026 draft class until at least 2028. But it is fair to say that a relatively modest offseason may not be enough in the NFC North, which has a strong argument for the best division in football.
It should be noted that the Packers still employ Parsons. He became the first player in NFL history to record at least 12 sacks in each of his first five NFL seasons, per ESPN’s Field Yates. He also suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 14, and the Packers’ defense fell off a cliff afterward.
Green Bay did not win another game after Parsons’ injury, ending the season on a five-game losing streak, including a 31-27 loss to Chicago in the NFC Wild Card.
Is that at all instructive for the Packers’ 2026 season? Maybe, maybe not. Without Parsons, the Packers still held a 21-9 lead over the Bears in that eventual wild-card loss. There’s more pressure on Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and quarterback Jordan Love than anyone else in Green Bay.
We’ll see how quickly and how well Parsons recovers from his torn ACL. But beyond that, Parsons learned through four seasons with the Cowboys that he can’t will a team to glory by himself.
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