It’s going to be a tough season ahead for the Green Bay Packers. The departure of now-former cornerstone quarterback Aaron Rodgers turns a page in the history books of this franchise, and as it seems, there could be some dark days ahead for Green Bay.
ESPN has already come out with its pre-season rankings for all 32 NFL teams. The Packers aren’t exactly at the bottom of the pack, but at the same time, the future is not very bright for them — at least for the upcoming campaign.
ESPN Ranks Packers As 23rd Best Team In NFL For 2023
From being ranked as the No. 6 team in the league around this time last year, the Green Bay Packers have fallen all the way to 23rd ahead of the 2023 season. That’s clearly the Aaron Rodgers effect as the departure of the four-time MVP has led to his former team dropping a whopping 17 places in the rankings.
Below is ESPN’s full rankings courtesy of NFL insider Dov Kleiman:
ESPN ranked all 32 NFL teams by rosters, here’s their list from best to worst:
1) #Chiefs
2) #Eagles
3) #Bills
4) #Dolphins
5) #Bengals
6) #Cowboys
7) #Chargers
8) #49ers
9) #Browns
10) #Jets
11) #Ravens
12) #Seahawks
13) #Broncos
14) #Steelers
15) #Jaguars
16)… pic.twitter.com/yiR1oyaFUL— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 2, 2023
One caveat here is that these rankings could change significantly depending on each team’s offseason moves. After all, so much can still happen between today and when the new season officially starts on September 7th.
Either way, though, things aren’t looking very peachy for the Packers. It’s looking likely that this team is going to lose a lot of games this year, with a postseason appearance an unlikely aspiration for them.
Lions, Bears, Vikings All Rank Higher Than Packers
Packers fans won’t be happy to see all three of their AFC North rivals have been ranked higher than them for the upcoming season. ESPN has the Minnesota Vikings at 16th, followed immediately by the Detroit Lions at 17th. The Chicago Bears are at 22, which is just one rank higher than Green Bay.
I guess the silver lining here for the Packers is that all AFC North teams are expected to be middle-of-the-pack sides this coming season. All of the teams are ranked at the bottom half of the 32-team list, save for the Vikings who barely made the top-half cut at 16th.
At the end of the day, these are all just on paper. I guess we’ll find out once the season kicks off. The Packers battle the Bears on September 10th and on January 7th — their last game of the regular season. The Lions travel to Green Bay on September 28th, while the reverse fixture will be on November 23rd. The Packers against the Vikings at Lambeau Field is scheduled for October 29th, and finally, Green Bay heads to Minnesota on December 31st.
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1 Comment
Last time I checked, Bears, Lions, Packers, and Vikings are all in the NFC North!!