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The Green Bay Packers begin a new era in 2023 as they have turned over the quarterback duties to Jordan Love and said goodbye to future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
In reality, the Packers have had one of the most remarkable quarterback dynasties of any team in NFL history. They basically had the combination of Brett Favre and Rodgers at quarterback from 1992 through the 2022 season.
The only disappointing aspect of that is the Packers were only able to win two Super Bowls with those two talented and durable quarterbacks in the lineup.
Rodgers appeared to run out of magic last season, as his passing lacked the velocity and touch he had shown in previous season. A wrist injury may have been the reason, but the combination of his ineffectiveness and diva-like ways was more than enough for the Packers to bid him adieu.
Love will take over under center, and while he has shown some growth and skill during his first three seasons with the Packers — Love did not get in a game during the 2020 season, the same year he was drafted — it would be wrong for head coach Matt LaFleur to assume that it will be smooth sailing.
The Packers are going to have depend more on their other offensive players and their defense than they did at any point during the Favre-Rodgers era. The team had a bountiful haul during the 2023 NFL draft, and rookies Lukas Van Ness and Jayden Reed should have a chance to make vital contributions and take plays away from veterans in the 2023 season.
LB Lukas Van Ness
The Packers are counting on Van Ness to help the defense carry its weight and show quite a bit of improvement this season.
Van Ness has already made an impression while working with the team in the OTAs, and he is almost certain to take playing time away from the team's veteran linebackers who are expected to rush the passer. This includes Preston Smith, who is entering his ninth year in the NFL and his fifth with the Packers.
Smith has been a solid player for the Packers, and he is coming off a season with 59 tackles and 8.5 sacks. However, Van Ness should be able to get his own playing time, and based on his effort and workload in the offseason and during his college career with the Iowa Hawkeyes, he has the skills to become a star at some point during is professional career.
Van Ness, 6-5 and 264 pounds, was technically a defensive lineman during his career with the Hawkeyes. He is coming off a 2022 season in which he had 37 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.
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More than the numbers, Van Ness is a powerful man with exceptional strength that he should be able to put to use on a regular basis. He also has the kind of speed that will allow him to blow through blockers. His powerful bull rush will be his stock in trade, but his timing and quickness may prove to be the main difference makers.
Jayden Reed
Reed is something of a finished product as he prepares for his rookie year. He played one season at Western Michigan before playing the final three years of his college career at Michigan State.
He proved himself during his junior season with the Spartans, when he caught 59 passes for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns. He continued to play well during his senior season in 2022, but he was not able to match the production with totals of 55-636-5
Nevertheless, the second-round draft pick should fit right in and be able to make plays for Love on a regular basis. It seems quite likely that he could take some plays away from second-year receiver Romeo Doubs.
Doubs was decent in his rookie year with 42-425-3, but Reed appears to have more skills and know-how. Perhaps Reed's top asset is his competitiveness. At 6-0 and 185 pounds, he regularly faced some of the bigger defensive backs in the Big Ten, and he never backed down. He will fight relentlessly to make the catch.
He has excellent quickness and and he gets to his top speed in an instant. Reed has excellent hands and he knows how to set up defensive backs. He also has the know-how to make back-shoulder catches that will perplex defensive backs.
