With Free Agency mostly finished, all attention has turned to what the Packers may do in the draft. Rightfully so as it’s the last big opportunity to shape the roster ahead of the 2025 season. We’ve talked a lot about what Green Bay needs to add to the team in order to compete for a Super Bowl, but what about the players already on the roster?
There are three players in particular that have a lot to prove in 2025. If they can live up to expectations they could be far more important than the players the Packers may have added in Free Agency.
Lukas Van Ness
Van Ness was going to be a project coming out of college. This was universally known. He has also not produced at a level that would justify the 13th overall pick. This is the make or break season. He has all the tools you need. And while he was raw coming out, its not as though he didn’t produce at Iowa.
Of the three players we’ll talk about, LVN taking a step would be the most impactful. The team clearly needs more from it’s pass rush. Barring an unexpected trade, the Packers are either looking at a draft prospect, or for a guy on the roster to step up. We often talk about players needing time to adjust to new schemes (particularly when we discuss offense) but this comes up far less frequently when we talk about defense.
Green Bay fired its defensive line coach for a reason. With real experience under his belt now and better coaching, it wouldn’t be insane to see Van Ness take a big step forward this season.
Jordan Morgan
Another first round pick, Morgan was on track to play guard last year for the Packers until a shoulder injury derailed his rookie campaign. Right now we have a few certainties . Zach Tom is the RT, Aaron Banks is the LG and thanks to Brian Gutekunst we now know that Jenkins will be sliding to center.
That leaves the RG and LT spots up for debate. Based on last year the conventional wisdom would be that they let Morgan and Rhyan battle it out for RG while keeping Rasheed Walker at LT.
However, from the time they’ve drafted Morgan they’ve said repeatedly that they view him as a tackle, a point they reiterated at the owners meetings this past week.
This could potentially have both short and long term implications. In the short term, ideally your first round tackle should be able to beat out the guy taken in the seventh round. If he can do that and you get better play at LT that helps the offense as a whole. There’s also the long term. Walker will need to be paid soon if he continues to hold down that spot. If Morgan can take it you can hold off on that bill, which is especially important given that they just paid Banks a hefty contract, and will likely do the same for Zach Tom prior to the start of the season.
Luke Musgrave
This last one has flown a bit below the radar. There has been a lot of talk about Green Bay and needing a WR to fill in for the injured Christian Watson. It is definitely a need, and one Green Bay likely looks to fill in the draft.
Injuries have derailed the start of Musgraves career, and combined with the emergence of Tucker Kraft, he’s been a bit forgotten. But there have been flashes of what a player like him could mean to this offense. He can stretch the field from the inside in a way that no other player on the roster can. Combine that with his size and you have a player that could provide a massive advantage for Green Bay that very few teams would have an answer for.
Tight end is a difficult position to play coming into the NFL. Don’t be surprised if in year three Musgrave shows what made him such a high pick just a few years ago.
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