The 2023 season was always going to be a year of transition for the Green Bay Packers from the moment they traded Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets on. That looked especially so when they began the year 3-6 and traded Rasul Douglas to the Buffalo Bills for a third-round pick at the trade deadline. But after that game, the Packers won six of their last eight games and Jordan Love made the leap from question mark to star to get them into the playoffs. That means the Packers should focus on bringing back some key contributors slated to become free agents that helped propel this run in 2024 free agency, including Keisean Nixon and Bo Melton.

Keisean Nixon, Cornerback

Keisean Nixon, Packers

The Packers do not have a ton of impending free agents who were big contributors on this year's team. But one who had a big impact on the team in 2023 was Keisean Nixon. Nixon is best known for his contributions on special teams. Not only has he led the NFL in kick return yards in each of the last two seasons, but he's also earned first-team all-pro honors for his return abilities. His return prowess was on full display in Green Bay's loss against the San Francisco 49ers, where a 73-yard kick return helped set up a touchdown that regained the lead for the Packers.

Nixon is not just a kick returner, however. He really stepped up as a nickel corner for the Packers this season too. Nixon had a couple of pass deflections on the season and also had an interception against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs that helped ice that game for the Packers and was a catalyst to kickstart Green Bay's late-season surge.

The Packers could do better than Nixon from a pure nickel corner standpoint. But they can't do better than him as a kick returner. That he can provide solid play in the slot as well as bring all-pro caliber returning abilities makes him a player the Packers cannot let walk out of the building. They have to do what they can to bring him back.

Bo Melton, Wide Receiver

It shouldn't be that hard for the Packers to bring Bo Melton back. Melton is an exclusive rights free agent, which means that he cannot leave the team if the Packers extend a qualifying offer. That qualifying offer is not going to be worth an exorbitant amount of money either, so it would be pretty wise to assume that Melton is not going anywhere.

The Packers should not let Melton go anywhere either. He was a revelation for the Packers over the last month of the season as part of Green Bay's inexperienced receiver core. In the last five games of the Packers' season, Melton brought in 17 of the 25 targets that went his way for 237 yards and two touchdowns. That includes a six reception game against the Minnesota Vikings that saw him go for 105 yards and served as his breakout game. It was the first time all year a Packers receiver went for over 100 yards in a game in the 2023 season.

Bo Melton also caught a huge touchdown in the Packers' playoff to the San Francisco 49ers that gave them a 13-7 lead in the third quarter. It was his only catch of the game.

The sample size isn't very large, but Melton averaged 2.79 yards per route run this season for the Packers according to playerprofiler.com. He gave the Packers every reason to retain the former Seahawk seventh-round pick. Since it won't cost the Packers much to keep him, it seems more than likely that Green Bay will do exactly that.