2021 NFL Team Draft Page

Heading into the stretch run, Matt LaFleur and the Packers have all of their goals in front of them. Green Bay has a three-game lead in the NFC North with only five games remaining. At 8-3, they're just a game back of the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Three of their last five games are at home, and only one remaining opponent has a winning record.

At this point in the season, we could say the Packers are who they are. Aaron Rodgers is putting together an MVP-caliber season while leading one of the NFL's top offensive attacks. In their Week 11 and Week 12 matchups, the Packers scored 72 points against the league's 8th-ranked (IND) and 4th-ranked (CHI) defenses by DVOA. Yet, despite investing 8 of their last 10 RD1 picks on the defensive side of the ball, Mike Pettine's unit appears to be Green Bay's Achilles heel. The Packers have struggled to slow down opposing rushing attacks in particular, giving up an average of 4.6 ypc.

It will be tempting to add an offensive weapon or a run-stuffer, but GM Brian Gutekunst may opt to reinforce a really strong secondary. CB Kevin King, who is in the last year of his rookie deal, has missed 23 of 59 possible regular season games due to injury. King is talented when on the field, but extensions to David Bakhtiari and Kenny Clark make it unlikely they'll be able to shell out the money needed to retain him.

Gutey could look to DBU and their next man up, Shaun Wade. Playing almost exclusively out of the slot, Wade allowed a passer rating under 70 in each of the past two seasons. He came into 2020 with a lot of RD1 buzz, but has fallen from No.7 on our Big Board to No. 32 due to some growing pains while transitioning to an outside role. Though there are some question marks from his uneven play this year, Wade still has a ton of upside as an NFL prospect. If he can live up to the pre-season hype, he could join Jaire Alexander to form one of the top CB tandems in the league.

- James Siebers, Packers Analyst