The New Orleans Saints have watched the wide receiver market become significantly more expensive, which makes locking up All-Pro Chris Olave to a long-term extension an absolute must before his price climbs even higher. Over the past year, a number of young star receivers from the 2022 NFL Draft class have reset negotiations across the league. In 2025, Garrett Wilson landed a four-year, $130 million deal with the New York Jets and Jameson Williams agreed to a three-year extension worth up to $83 million with the Detroit Lions . While Drake London and the Atlanta Falcons agreed to a four-year, $141 million extension and Christian Watson signed a four-year, $92 million extension with the Green Bay Packers within recent months. Every one of those deals has continued pushing the receiver market upward. For the Saints, the timing couldn’t be more important. New Orleans has already invested heavily in building around its Tyler Shough , and Olave has consistently proven he deserves to be part of the franchise’s long-term future even before Shough arrived. Locking him up long-term as Kellen Moore’s new look offense continues to take shape should be at the top of the Saints’ to-do list. If they wait until after another potential breakout season, Chris Olave’s next contract may look even more expensive than it could today
Green Bay Packers second-year wide receiver Matthew Golden has clear breakout potential in Year 2 in 2026 and should get plenty more opportunities in the passing game with a year in Green Bay's offense under his belt and with the offseason departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Golden, a first-rounder last year, didn't perform up to expectations in his first year in the NFL in a crowded WR room in Green Bay. He was tied for 84th with 29 catches and 78th with 361 receiving yards, according to TruMedia. The 22-year-old product of the University of Texas didn't score for the first time until the playoffs. Golden will be a clear top-three wideout for quarterback Jordan Love alongside injury-prone receivers Christian Watson and Jayden Reed. He'll be an excellent buy-low target in dynasty formats and a nice sleeper to target in redraft drafts with plenty of speed (4.29-second 40-yard dash), even though he doesn't impress anyone with his size (5-foot-11, 191 pounds)
Felipe Rios received: Christian Watson and 2026 4th round pick. WE HAVE THE MEATS received: Tory Horton, 2026 3rd round pick, 2027 3rd round pick, and 2028 2nd round pick
In a recent write up for SI , Bill Huber asked whether Jordan Love can capitalize on his supporting cast. It’s an interesting question because so much of the national conversation assumes Green Bay ’s offense has gotten worse. Has it? Let’s walk through just a few examples. The Packers lost productivity in the receiver room. This is objectively true, but is sometimes employed in an intellectually dishonest way. Sure, Doubs is gone. Wicks is gone. They were productive. There were also way too many cooks in the receiver kitchen last year. Players knew it. The head coach has since admitted it. If you look back at last year, I think it’s fair to come away thinking Matthew Golden would have been roughly twice as productive if it weren’t for a crowded room and the mistakes of others (cough Wicks cough). His role should be greatly expanded this year, which we should all be really excited about. Also Watson is really good. The Packers don’t have an elite tight end . I mean, this is proveably false, or false-adjacent. I’ve heard multiple NFL generalist types seem pretty lukewarm on Tucker Kraft . I don’t have much to say in rebuttal, because it’s clear the people saying that didn’t actually watch the Packers last year. Once he gets back up to speed, he’s a top 5 (sometimes top 3) pass catching tight end. Period. The offensive line is a mess . Correction: it WAS a mess! Some of that was injuries, some of that was how the roster shook out, and some was probably coaching. But the Packers are entering training camp with a much more solid plan for their starting 5 than they’ve had in a few years. There’s every reason to believe that the unit will perform better than last year (and last year wasn’t terrible, just far below the typical Packers standard). Meanwhile, there’s plenty of love going around for the Bears (who are pretty well coached but also were very lucky last year) and the Lions (who actually got noticeably worse down the stretch last year – though, don’t tell the national folks that). Look, this is peak offseason content. So, thanks for clicking. I’m just anxious to get to meaningful ball so the Packers can prove folks wrong. I’m cautiously optimistic that the end product will be better than last year, not worse. What do you think? Let me hear it in the comments below. Three pivotal questions facing Jordan Love – The first practice of Packers training camp will be held on July 29, three weeks from today. To kick off a series, it’s three key questions at quarterback. Why safety Mark Perry may surprise folks – Safety Mark Perry entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and hasn’t played in a game in his career. He told Packers On SI why that could change this year. ICYMI: ESPN ranks the Green Bay Packers’ roster 10th in the NFL – The Packers came in 10th, while the Detroit LIons were listed as the 6th-best roster in the NFL. New-look Badgers to take the field at Lambeau – The Wisconsin Badgers football team has unveiled new uniforms to be worn versus Notre Dame at Lambeau Field
Our countdown of the 10 best plays of the Green Bay Packers ’ 2025 season continues with a pivotal play in the Packers’ eventual comeback victory in Pittsburgh . To watch the play, please click here . The Packers entered the game in good shape with a 4-1-1 record and as healthy as they would be all year . They would be facing old friend Aaron Rodgers , leading the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers , along with their signature solid defense, and shiny new toy DK Metcalf . After their early loss to the Browns, the offense had been humming, putting 40 on the Cowboys and 27 each on the Bengals and Cardinals, but those defenses were among the worst in the league. The Steelers would go on to win their division, and here they presented a difficult challenge as their most balanced opponent to date. This was also Christian Watson ’s first game of the season, and ended up being the only game in 2025 that the Packers had both Watson and Tucker Kraft available for a full 60 minutes. While the final score may look a bit lopsided, the Steelers took control early, drawing first blood with a ridiculous 56-yard field goal from Chris Boswell . The Packers would respond immediately with a long drive culminating in a brilliant 16-yard touchdown to Tucker Kraft, his first of the day, but the next few Packer drives would stall out due to a combination of ineffective Josh Jacobs runs (13 carries for just 33 yards on the day), especially on second-and-long. After Brandon McManus missed a 57-yard field goal to start the second quarter, the Steelers would leverage that field position into a successful 50-yarder from Boswell. After a three-and-out, they would add another 48-yarder from Boswell, and after yet another three-and-out, Rodgers and the Steelers finally hit paydirt, as the old-timer connected with DK Metcalf on a two-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a two-score lead. To make matters worse, Pittsburgh was due to receive the ball to start the second half, and after Brandon McManus missed yet another field goal, this time a 44-yarder as the first half expired, the game was in danger of getting away from Green Bay Fortunately, the Packer defense held strong, forcing a three-and-out to open the second half, but a huge punt from Corliss Waitman and a penalty on Javon Bullard pushed the first Packer drive back to the ten-yard line. On first down, Josh Jacobs was once again stuffed for no gain, and after a short throw to Luke Musgrave , the Packers were facing third-and-five at their own fifteen, trailing by nine points. It was not looking great! Tucker Kraft is great though, and it’s a good thing because he’s the main reason this play worked at all. On first watch I thought it was a complete disaster, and just a great individual effort from Kraft, but that’s not the entire story. While Pittsburgh’s pressure was effective and Love’s throw was impacted, Kraft was the correct read for a hot route, and as we learned many times in the first half of 2025, when Tucker Kraft is in single coverage, Tucker Kraft is open. The Packers lined up with Jordan Love in shotgun flanked to his left by Josh Jacobs. It’s a tight formation with Romeo Doubs slot left, and a bunch formation of Savion Williams , Matthew Golden , and our hero slot right, with Williams at the head of the triangle up on the line, Golden outside, and Kraft inside. The Steelers are showing blitz, and they bring it at the snap, with six men overwhelming Love’s protection. Zach Tom barely manages to fend off TJ Watt , while linebacker Patrick Queen bursts through the middle, depositing Elgton Jenkins on his rear end and blowing by an ineffective Jacobs, hitting Love as he throws. Because the Steelers are blitzing, they’re left with five men in coverage to deal with four Packers. Doubs runs a 15-yard in route that I suspect was intended as a double move deep shot if the Steelers had backed out of their blitz. He’s covered by Joey Porter, Jr. As it stands, the route looks incredibly awkward as Savi
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Our countdown of the 10 best plays of the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 season continues with a go-ahead touchdown to help the team earn a victory on the road. The Green Bay Packers came out of their Week 5 bye week by reeling off a three-game winning streak, defeating the Bengals, Cardinals and Steelers . The Week 8 Steelers game was one of the Packers’ best offensive performances of the season, with Jordan Love completing 20 straight passes in front of Aaron Rodgers : the man he sat behind for 3 years. (Love’s EPA in the Steelers game was +16.3, second only to his +21.7 performance against the Cowboys in Week 4.) After that high, the Packers dropped their next two, scoring a combined 20 points against the Panthers and the Eagles in Lambeau Field. So they packed up and headed to MetLife Stadium at 5-3-1 to face the 2-8 Giants . The Packers led for most of the game, but it was not a particularly pretty game. The Giants hung in and took advantage late, going on a 15 play, 85 yard drive touchdown drive to open the 4th quarter, taking a 20-19 lead in the process. The kickoff was a touchback, giving the Packers the ball on their own 35 with 7:22 remaining in the game. The Packers gained 48 yards on 7 plays (including a 33 yard pass to Savion Williams on a 3rd & 10), and now faced 2nd & 7 at the Giants 17 yard line. The Packers come out in 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) in a 2×2 shotgun spread formation. On the right side, John FitzPatrick is on the outside while Christian Watson is in the slot. On the left, Romeo Doubs is the front man in a stack, with Matthew Golden underneath. On the left, they’re running a pick-play for Emanuel Wilson out of the backfield and a delayed in-cutter from Doubs. On the right, they’re running Smash Fade, with FitzPatrick running a quick-hitch and Watson running a deep fade over the top. The Giants are showing a single-high safety pre-snap. Given the fact that the Giants’ defense didn’t disguise their defense much last season, it’s safe to assume that they’ll be running a single-high defense post-snap. The fade to Watson is a good answer to that coverage, so that’s where Love is looking to go. The snap is high and to Love’s left, which causes him to double-catch the snap. Between the single-high look, the high snap and the pressure that had been in Love’s face all day (the 44.4% pressure rate was the second-highest rate Love faced up to that point in the season), Love knows he has to get rid of the ball quickly, but he still makes sure to check the coverage. The Giants stay in single-high coverage and the boundary defender widens with FitzPatrick, so Love takes the fade to Watson. The boundary defender is able to fall back under Watson, but the throw from Love is high-and-outside. Watson goes up over two defenders to bring in the pass and the go-ahead TD. The Packers get the two-point conversion to take a 27-20 lead with 4:02 remaining in the game. That touchdown ended up being the last score of the game for either team. The Giants put together a 10-play, 51-yard drive to get in the Packers red zone with less than a minute remaining, but an Evan Williams interception ended that drive. The Giants got the ball back on their own 35 with 10 seconds remaining, but Micah Parsons slammed the door. The Packers won this game 27-20, helping to kick off a four-game winning streak (after this they won games against the Vikings, Lions and Bears). Albums listened to: Noah Gundersen – Rites of Spring ; Rocket – R is for Rocket
Acme Packing Company’s Top Plays of 2025 countdown continues today with play number 7. Week 8 of the 2025 season was Tucker Kraft’s masterclass. He had his first career 100-yard game in the Green Bay Packers’ week two win against Washington, but National Tight End day brought his game to a different level. Against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kraft demonstrated everything that he provides to the Packers’ offense, catching 7 of 9 targets for 143 yards and two touchdowns. His final catch of the game was this amazing catch-and-run to finish out the biggest performance so far in his pro career. Let’s break it down. After stumbling into their week 5 bye at 2-1-1 thanks to an inexcusable loss to the Cleveland Browns and a bizarre 40-40 tie against the Dallas Cowboys , the Green Bay Packers beat the Cincinnati Bengals in week six by a score of 27-18, then pulled out a late win in Arizona to improve to 4-1-1 after six games. That set up a huge matchup on Sunday Night Football in week 8 against the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. Most notably, however, was the fact that this game was the first time — and possibly the only time — that Aaron Rodgers would suit up against the Packers in a different uniform. That made the game an obvious prime time pick, and the national media narrative heading into the game was off the charts. Through three quarters, this game was tight. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell hit four field goals in the first three quarters — all from at least 48 yards and two from 56 apiece — as the Steelers held a 19-14 lead. A long pass to Christian Watson just before the end of the third quarter set up the Packers on the doorstep of the end zone, however, and Josh Jacobs punched across the goal line from three yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter, giving Green Bay a 22-19 lead. Green Bay’s defense forced a three-and-out, as Micah Parsons sacked Rodgers on first down to scuttle the drive early on. After an unnecessary roughness penalty on former Wisconsin Badger Nick Herbig during the Packers’ punt return, Green Bay set up across midfield with 13 minutes remaining in the game. Emanuel Wilson picked up 15 yards on the first play, then two short passes brought up a third-and-4 from the Steelers’ 24. Kraft lined up in a tight slot to the right with Romeo Doubs outside him and Jordan Love in the shotgun. At the snap, Kraft lets Doubs clear a path then runs a perfect angle route, getting separation from his defender, safety Chuck Clark . Love hits him in stride just out of his break at the 18, and Kraft sprints away from Clark and avoids Juan Thornhill , who’s unable to find an angle to bring him down before he reaches the end zone. Check out the breakaway speed from Kraft, whose acceleration pulls him away from the two flat-footed safeties and into the end zone. It’s a great encapsulation of his athletic ability, which sometimes seems to go unrecognized given his willingness and ability to break tackles and gain yards after the catch by fighting through contact. This score effectively put the game on ice as the Packers took a ten-point lead. Pittsburgh would go three-and-out on their next drive then fumble on the series after that and the Packers got two short field goals to extend their lead to 16 points, putting the game out of reach for a 35-25 final. But for Kraft, the play capped off a career game, which unfortunately was his last big performance of the season before he tore his ACL the following Sunday. Notably, this play got a #1 ranking from our Tyler Brooke, who also recently broke down Kraft’s other touchdown from this game on his Youtube channel, Best Available
As we progress through the dead of the NFL offseason, we have plenty to scan over as we prepare for fantasy football draft season. There were plenty of moves that we've been discussing at length before the 2026 regular season begins. Some of those narratives we trust and are going to take into our drafts. Others, we're not so sure about. Yahoo analyst Scott Pianowski, Joel Smyth, Matt Harmon and Justin Boone share the one offseason narrative that they aren't buying going into this season. Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2026 NFL season I understand why the public is skeptical of the Miami offense. The team is projected for a modest 4.5 wins, and the Miami WR room is the skimpiest in the league. But I still think Willis could run his way into fantasy relevance, and I discount the idea that Miami's mediocre offense is an automatic death knell to his fantasy potential. Although Willis has just six NFL starts to his name, he averaged a handy 44.8 rushing yards per game in those starts, with six overall rushing touchdowns. The Titans didn't give him much responsibility in his three starts there, but he did have QB3 and QB6 finishes among his Green Bay spot starts the last two years. I get it, Matt LaFleur and Christian Watson and Jayden Reed aren't walking through that door. But Willis is a perfect value target for anyone who plays in a league where multiple starting QBs are required, a nod to the timeless Konami Code . There will be moments this fall where the Dolphins are blown out and Willis struggles – but still puts up 18 or 20 fantasy points. It's just algebra , friends. — Scott Pianowski After OTAs and Tight End University, the hype for modern medicine and the recovery of star tight ends George Kittle and Tucker Kraft are very positive. While this can be true, a slow fantasy start can also be at play. Reminder, fantasy football managers want their starting TE to be receiving full volume Week 1 more than NFL teams with a long term focus. The Packers historically have taken a cautious approach with players coming back from injury, and the 49ers star not only had a major injury, but it happened in January, rather than early in the season. Kittle will be 33 in October, making me question how much the 49ers will push him to play his normal snap count nine months off an Achilles tear. Him and Kraft are also both yards-after-the-catch specialists, relying on their playmaking with the ball in their hands rather than seeing 150 targets. Lastly, the TE2 option for each team has proven themselves as solid successors when their number has been called, not the same mind-blowing numbers, but can fill in well during the meantime. If you draft them early, I'd prepare to have some fantasy points made up for until the middle of the season. — Joel Smyth Admittedly, when Mahomes tore his ACL late last season, I did assume that the star quarterback wouldn't be ready for Week 1. The Chiefs going out and adding Justin Fields to be the backup seemed to also point in that direction. For all of Fields' flaws, he can get you through a stretch of a few games with his mobility. That said, based on everything I've seen, and the fact that he was already, at some level, participating in OTAs, my stance has changed. At this point, I'd be pretty shocked if he's not out there for Week 1. He's one of the best players in the sport and already beat injury timelines in multiple instances through his career. If you're fading Chiefs' pass-catchers this year, you're doing it because you don't believe in their abilities or reliability — a totally justifiable stance for what it's worth — not because they'll play games without Mahomes this year. Now, there should be outstanding questions about whether Mahomes will be himself at the start of the year, which is a critical variable considering his own fantasy value was boosted by rushing output in 2025. I expect Mahomes to start Week 1 but I still don't intend to draft many Chiefs' passing-
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While the run game has seen a resurgence in both volume and efficiency in recent seasons, the NFL remains, at its heart, a passing league in the modern era. Because it is a passing league, the value of both quarterbacks and pass catchers keeps increasing. We've seen it in recent years, with an explosion in wide receiver salaries, with superstars topping $40 million in average annual value. A superstar wideout can tilt the field in the offense's favor through both his production and the attention he draws, and that has never been more valuable. But what's more valuable than one star wideout? Well, two star wideouts, obviously. With that in mind, we here at CBS Sports decided to take a look at the top wide receiver duos in the NFL. There are plenty of dual-star duos, as well as some buoyed by one mega-star who teams with another quality player to form an elite pairing. Right now, we think there is a clear-cut top two, another tier of three and then another tier of three after that. That gives us a clear-cut top eight, with the rest of the league filling in behind. In the space below, we're going to rank those top eight duos. But before we do, we also wanted to include some honorable mentions. Honorable(-ish) Mentions: Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall ( 49ers ), Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III ( Bears ), DJ Moore and Khalil Shakir ( Bills ), Emeka Egbuka and Chris Godwin ( Buccaneers ), Alec Pierce and Josh Downs ( Colts ), DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon ( Eagles ), Brian Thomas Jr . and Jakobi Meyers ( Jaguars ), Christian Watson and Jayden Reed ( Packers ), Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson ( Saints ), DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. ( Steelers ) This Seahawks pairing would be higher on the list if we had confidence in which of Shaheed or Cooper Kupp would actually be the No. 2 wide receiver, and that they would be able to consolidate that role while the other would slide further into the background. As it stands, it's more of a target vacuum in JSN, with a couple of guys competing for second-string targets among a host of tight ends and running backs. JSN is coming off one of the better receiver seasons in recent memory, though, so he alone is enough to power the Seahawks into the top 10 of these rankings. And I could easily see them ranking much higher next year, if Shaheed consolidates the role behind him. We've got another new duo on tap here, with both players new to New England this offseason. AJB is one of the small handful of best receivers in football when he is right, but he's also coming off a relatively down season (he averaged his fewest yards per game since 2021) and turned 29 years old June 30, so we don't know if he'll be able to be at his best. Doubs, meanwhile, has always been a bit of a better player than his numbers suggest, because he's always been in such a crowded receiver room. These two guys should give Drake Maye a duo that can really win in the intermediate areas of the field, and Brown, if he rebounds, can win both short and long and create a ton of yardage after the catch. This is yet another new duo, but it could be very exciting. Waddle remains a big-play threat both on deep passes and in terms of creating yardage with the ball in his hands due to his speed. Sutton works best as an isolated X receiver on the outside. The duo gives Bo Nix a pair of wideouts who challenge defenses in markedly different ways, but who can work a lot of the same areas of the field nonetheless. Sean Payton and Davis Webb should have a lot of fun scheming them into position to succeed. Jefferson is coming off what qualifies as a down season for him, with "only" 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two scores. Addison missed time again and caught 42 passes for 610 yards and three touchdowns. They were both hamstrung by the quarterback play of J.J. McCarthy , Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer , though, and we know they have considerably more upside than what they showed last season. Jefferson remains one of the small handful of [... truncated ...]
Matt LaFleur 's Packers seem to strive for good, but never great. They are not nearly aggressive enough and they too often take their foot all the way off the gas after seizing a lead. Even a soulless, agnostic NFL observer like me finds great pain in LaFleur's approach. I feel for the cheeseheads among us. Points per game: 23 (16th) Total yards per game: 333 (15th) Plays per game: 59.4 (25th) Dropbacks per game: 35 (29th) Dropback EPA per play: 0.27 (2nd) Designed rush attempts per game: 27.3 (8th) Rush EPA per play: -0.07 (21st) So, the question headed into 2026, LaFleur's eighth season at the helm, will be whether the Packers are ready to operate like the ultra-aggressive, win-now, win-always Lions and Bears, coached by men for whom no lead is enough. That LaFleur plays these two throat-stepping teams twice a season every season has been a problem. QB: Jordan Love , Tyrod Taylor WR: Christian Watson , Savion Williams WR: Jayden Reed , Bo Melton WR: Matthew Golden , Skyy Moore TE: Tucker Kraft , Luke Musgrave LaFleur seems to have taken his players’ grades to heart. Last year LaFleur, after losing to the despised Bears in the Wild Card round, was given one of the NFL’s lowest player grades. Romeo Doubs appeared all too happy to hit the road for New England during free agency, and Dontayvion Wicks wasn’t exactly heartbroken to escape Green Bay for the Eagles. LaFleur in late March acknowledged the organization-wide discontent and spoke to reporters about the issues plaguing his team. “If I’m being honest about it, I think there were some guys that were upset about roles last year, and I think that took a toll on our football team,” LaFleur said. “You need guys that bring great energy every day. I think from a coaching standpoint, role clarity is key, so we’ve got to obviously do a better job communicating with our players, ‘Hey, here’s your role and if you’re unhappy about your role, it’s on you to do something about that, to carve out a role on this football team.’ But yeah, the buy-in is absolutely critical. Getting guys in there that are juiced and ready to go to work each and every day is gonna be critical for us.” Later that same day, the immaculately-groomed Green Bay head coach dropped this little nugget, which — in one Rotoworld blogger’s opinion — has not received enough attention in real or fantasy football circles in the subsequent months. LaFleur, orchestrator of one of the league’s most reliably efficient offenses, said the Packers would “strip everything down and start like it’s Year 1 all over again” in 2026. “I just think reinstalling and trying to go through — it might take a little bit more time — but really get into the details because that’s usually the separator.” We could — if LaFleur was serious about starting again on offense — see a far more pass-heavy Packers offense this season. This would hinge on the team finally allowing Jordan Love to cook a year after he ranked second in EPA per drop back, trailing only Drake Maye . Not everyone is sold on the idea of a major overhaul of the Green Bay offense. That includes Jason Hirschhorn , writer and analyst for The Leap , an excellent Packers-focused newsletter. 'More Granular Focus' "When LaFleur mentions going back to the start, I suspect he means in terms of instruction and installation of the offense rather than a complete rethink of what the system looks like and how it works," Hirschhorn told me, adding that the team's passing offense has "lacked detail" in recent seasons. "Like most of the Kyle Shanahan -influenced schemes in the NFL, mastering the little nuances unlocks everything (marrying run and pass concepts so they present identically to the defense before the snap, syncing up timing between route depth and a QB's dropback, and so forth). These are the details that, at least in my reading of LaFleur's words, the Packers believe will need a more granular focus akin to a Year 1 install." A massively pass-heavy Packers offense, [... truncated ...]
As we turn toward the 2026 season, it’s time to take a short look back at 2025. Over the past few weeks, the APC staff has been voting on and discussing the Packers’ top 10 plays of 2025, and we’re happy to unveil our list starting with number 10, when Dontayvion Wicks showed the whole city of Detroit that the Packers could be just as aggressive as the Lions. After the Packers took down the Lions in Week 1, boosted in large part by their very late acquisition of Micah Parsons , their rematch on Thanksgiving shaped up to be one of the most highly anticipated matchups of the second half of the season. The two teams careened into their Week 13 appointment about as close in the standings as they could be: the Packers’ Week 12 win over the Vikings had moved them to 7-3-1 on the year, while the Lions had beaten the Giants in overtime to move to 7-4. Now, squaring off on a holiday on short rest, the teams had a chance to settle what they’d started in Week 1. Could the Packers maintain their midseason momentum, or would the Lions get revenge for the Parsons-shaped surprise sprung on them in the season’s first game? The Packers took the opening kickoff and marched neatly down the field on their first drive. Brandon McManus knocked through a 45-yard field goal to give them a 3-0 lead, and from there the teams settled down to trade punches for the rest of the first quarter. Neither team managed to capture much momentum throughout what remained of the first frame, and neither managed to cross the midfield stripe until the Packers took over with a little more than three minutes to go in the quarter. Bolstered by a 29-yard Josh Jacobs scamper, the Packers were soon threatening deep in Lions territory, and as the second quarter began, Jordan Love and company found themselves facing a 2nd and 12 on the Lions’ 31-yard line. Jacobs powered up the middle for nine, setting up a short third down play, but Love threw incomplete to Christian Watson on second down to bring up a key decision: kick another field goal, or attempt a conversion on 4th and 3. A year earlier, the Lions had beaten the Packers in Detroit in part because of their boldness on fourth downs. Late in that game, the Lions had a chance to kick a relatively short go-ahead field goal on a 4th and 1, but chose instead to go for it. They converted and ran the clock down to practically all zeros before kicking the final field goal, leaving the Packers no time to mount any counterattack. Perhaps with that bold approach in the back of his mind, Packers coach Matt LaFleur decided to pass on the field goal, sending the Packers out to go for it all on fourth down rather than settle for a mere six-point lead. The Packers made it clear they were going to put the weight of the decision on Jordan Love’s shoulders from the moment they broke the huddle. Coming to the line in 11 personnel, the Packers deployed Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs , and Dontayvion Wicks (who had yet to make a catch that day) in a bunch formation to the right. As the play clock dwindled, Wicks broke from the formation and motioned right to left, turning up field along the left sideline at the snap. Love looked briefly to his right before turning to Wicks, lofting a pass that landed in Wicks’ outstretched arms in a narrow space between Detroit defensive backs Brian Branch and Thomas Harper. Wicks deftly tapped his toes as he absorbed a glancing blow from Harper, securing the touchdown to put the Packers up 9-0. A review confirmed Wicks’ score, and Brandon McManus kicked the PAT to give the Packers a double-digit lead. “We knew it was going to come down to the end, so we had to go make the plays that counted,” said Wicks postgame when asked of his score. He wasn’t kidding. True to form, the Lions played the Packers close throughout the game, fighting back from three different double-digit deficits to keep the game within a score. But Wicks’ score, one of two on the day, would prove to be the difference, as the Pack
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A former Green Bay Packers tight end once had a slogan: “Year of the Takeover,” abbreviated to YOTTO. Jermichael Finley was a productive, playmaking tight end during his brief career, to be sure, but the promised takeover never quite arrived, with his 2011 season being his high-water mark (55 catches, 767 yards, 8 TDs). That year came in the context of the entire Packers offense being exceptional, as each of those numbers ranked him third among the Packers’ wealth of receiving options. Although Tucker Kraft hasn’t eclipsed any of Finley’s 2011 numbers in a single season yet, he was well on pace to shattering them in 2025 prior to his ACL tear. His stat line over 8 games (32 catches, 489 yards, 6 TDs) put him on track for more than 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. But most importantly, he was the Packers’ go-to receiving weapon over that span, leading the team with 4.0 receptions per game. Kraft had the takeover season last year — or at least he was headed for that before his knee fell apart. Now, with the tight end on the verge of returning during training camp and likely to get a contract extension before or during the 2026 season, it’s up to him to continue the trajectory he set for himself, though now he’ll be able to play off a healthy Christian Watson after the two played less than 90 minutes of football together in 2025. Let’s look at how Kraft became a focal point in the offense last season as we look ahead to how the offense will work in 2026. How Tucker Kraft became star of Packers offense in 2025 | Packers Wire Comparing Kraft’s numbers from 2024 to 2025 shows that his target rate increased massively and he came in second in the NFL in yards per route run. Ranking WR, TE, RB groups for 2026: Best and worst NFL teams | ESPN If Kraft and Watson can both stay healthy, they should boost the Packers’ 17th-place ranking on this list. Youth movement set to power Packers’ offensive line | Packers.com Meanwhile, the team is set to hand over the left tackle job to a third-year pro while a player in his second season is likely to also benefit from a changing of the guard. Four things to watch, including MarShawn Lloyd, when Packers start camp | Packersnews.com A healthy Lloyd should be fun to watch as well, if his offseason work can actually deliver him a healthy season. Ohio Police Retire “Robocop” After It Heroically Made Zero Arrests and Issued Zero Tickets in Nearly 10 Months | On Tap Sports Net I have parked in this garage on multiple occasions and I never even saw the robot cop. Maybe every time I visited it was out on a donut run
Both Marvin Mims, Jr., and Troy Franklin can see the writing on the wall: Jaylen Waddle was signed because the receiving room needed a boost. I honestly have a lot of love for both Mims and Franklin. They’ve been warriors in their time with the Broncos. For Mims he’s a special returner but is limited in route diversity. He’s also not quite as tall or athletic as Sean Payton prefers. On the plus side, the guy is a football player. He’s a guy that give his all to make a play and has been a play maker when he does get opportunities in pressure situations. For Franklin he’s got all the route-running abilities you want in a receiver. He’s both fast and quick. The problem with Franklin is his inconsistency in making catches. Waddle is everything these two couldn’t be in the past couple of years for the Broncos. He’s fast, quick, an excellent route-runner, and has great hands. For Mims, this is a contract year. He’s either fighting to get an extension from the Broncos or make enough noise to secure a nice payday in 2027. Franklin has two years left on his contract. He’s playing to carve out a role on the team so he can have a better opportunity to fight for a contract next season. Broncos have gotten two good years from Brandon Jones; is an extension in the cards? Marvin Mims knows 2026 might be his last year with Broncos: ‘I’m just going to enjoy it to the fullest’ NFL Network: Falcons TE Kyle Pitts agrees to three-year, $54M contract NFL Network: NFL informs teams, Brendan Sorsby it won’t hold supplemental draft in 2026 2025 collapse ‘fueling’ Christian Watson, Packers: ‘Finish is a big emphasis for us this year’ Seahawks QB Sam Darnold laments his Super Bowl performance despite career-changing win Raiders rookie QB Fernando Mendoza leaning on Tom Brady as he acclimates to NFL Wetzel: NFL’s denial of Brendan Sorsby sends the right message Cops investigate Jets QB Geno Smith after battery accusation Bills great Jim Kelly says he recently had stroke but feels ‘good’ 2026 NFL offseason: Judging biggest overreactions to moves Two Offensive Players Poised to Breakout in 2026 Everything to Know About the NFL’s 23 Joint Practices in 2026
The Packers lost four consecutive games to close out the regular season. They then blew an 18-point halftime lead — and a 27-16 lead with 6 minutes left — to lose to the Bears 31-27. The Packers are using the collapse(s) as motivation heading into 2026, receiver Christian Watson told NFL Media on Tuesday. " It’s definitely fueling us , 100 percent," Watson told Patrick Claybon and Judy Battista. "Obviously, we'd like to move on from those things, but it's hard to move on from the reason behind losing those games." A few years ago, the Cowboys' season motto after a similar collapse the previous season was "Finish." That is the Packers' mindset for 2026. Clean it up and close it out. "I think it really comes down to just not being able to finish in crucial moments, in crucial games, just not being able to finish," Watson said. "That's been a huge staple for us in terms of our mindset throughout this offseason of just consistently finishing. Finishing everything. Finishing every drill, every practice, every play. "We've got to be able to build on that and carry that into this training camp and start the season that way so we can finish it that way. I think 'finish' is a big emphasis for us this year."
