After a disappointing 6-9-1 finish to the 2018 season, the Green Bay Packers are gearing up for busy offseason as they attempt to bolster the roster in order to maximize the rest of Aaron Rodgers' time with the team.
Rodgers will turn 36 in December and has struggled with injuries for the past two years, so Green Bay has to make his last few seasons count.
Armed with 10 picks in the 2019 NFL Draft, including two in the first round, the Packers have the ammunition to significantly upgrade the team. They also have about $34 million in cap space, with the potential for over $40 million free if they decide to move on from Jimmy Graham and Tramon Williams.
Some of that money will go towards re-signing a few key players, but after that, there will be enough to make a splash in free agency.
Linebacker depth is one need for Green Bay's defense, but the real problem is pass-rushing. The Packers finished eighth in the league in sacks with 44, but only three players finished with more than four sacks.
The interior of the defensive line is solid, with Kenny Clark and Mike Daniels both excellent players. The edges are weaker. Kyler Fackrell led the team with 10.5 sacks, but other than him, Green Bay doesn't get much pressure outside.
A premier free agent pass-rusher hit the market, and the Packers would've done well to target him before he signed with the Detroit Lions.
Trey Flowers hits free agency after four seasons with the New England Patriots. He has 14 sacks over the past two seasons when he started full-time.
Don't let his sack numbers fool you; he is one of the most disruptive defenders in the game. He has logged 45 QB hits since 2017, a fantastic number. QB hits are a better measure of a pass rusher's effectiveness, as although it's nice for a player to get the sack, if he at least hits the passer, he's affecting the QB's internal clock, throwing mechanics, etc.
Flowers is also a force against the run. His solid 6-foot-2 265-pound frame gives him leverage against taller offensive lineman, allowing him to hold his ground and set the edge.
He also has a tremendous amount of versatility. He has played every spot on the defensive line, and has lined up over the center, guards, and tackles. That versatility will be important in Mike Pettine's defense, especially if Green Bay selects a pass rusher like Florida's Jachai Polite in the draft.
On third downs, the Packers could have employed a five-man defensive line with Clark in the middle, Daniels and Flowers outside of him, and Fackrell and Polite rushing from the two-point stance.
Adding Flowers and Polite would have take care of the front seven, allowing Green Bay to focus on reinforcing the secondary with the remainder of their picks.
Jaire Alexander, Josh Jackson, Kevin King, and Bashaud Breeland make up a great CB room, but with no more Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, safety is a problem. Deionte Thompson, Nasir Adderly, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson would all be excellent picks at 30th overall. All of a sudden, the Packers would have one of the more talented defenses in the NFL.
With another receiving weapon or two and a healthy Rodgers, the offense would be back to normal, and new head coach Matt LaFleur's first squad would have a good chance at reclaiming the NFC North title from the Chicago Bears.
It sounds crazy to call an Aaron Rodgers-led team a sleeper, but that's exactly what they are right now after the way the past two seasons have gone. They have a first-time head coach who didn't exactly set the world on fire as an offensive coordinator. They have a collection of young players at wide receiver and defensive back. But the Packers still have Aaron Rodgers, and as long as he is healthy, they will be competitive.
Adding Trey Flowers to the defense would have done wonders for both the pass rush and the run defense, and improving that side of the ball will take some of the pressure off of Rodgers.
Signing Trey Flowers would have been a great way to shore up the defense and set the Packers up for success in 2019. Instead, they need to look else where at the rest of the free agent market for a similar player.
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