After a breakout 2023 season, Love slogged through an injury
plagued 2024. Early season knee and groin injuries, combined with
the decimation of his receiver corps left the 5th year quarterback
a barely usable option during the 2nd half of the fantasy season.
2025 gives Love and this Green Bay offense a chance to reload
and reset. All of the skill position starters return, and the
Packers even spent a 1st round pick on a receiver in Notre Dame’s
Matthew Golden! By adding the speedster to an already crowded
receiver room, Love has a bevy of options to target at all levels,
and hopefully won’t be plagued by a league-leading 23 dropped
passes again.
Health, a stable of air weapons and a solid pass blocking line
are checks in the positive column, but the presence of Josh Jacobs,
and a brutal divisional schedule should temper expectations. The
Pack were one of four teams in the NFL to run the ball more than
they passed it last season, and as long as Jacobs remains healthy,
this should be the case again in 2025. It’s incredibly difficult
to reach QB1 status with such low volume (30th in team pass attempts),
especially since Love offers very little as a runner and passing
touchdowns can be fluky. But even with the negatives, Love is
a solid option for teams fading the position until late in the
draft. Should something happen to Jacobs, Green Bay has the coaching
and receivers to make Love an incredible value.
To put it mildly, Jacobs was a wrecking crew in the Packers backfield
last season. Looking very much like the 2022 version of himself
in Vegas, Jacobs piled up a career high 15 rushing scores, and
even tallied his first career receiving touchdown! His 1,600-plus
total yards and 36 receptions gave him plenty of multi-format
value as well. At 27, he’s still in the prime of his career,
and remains the clear alpha runner on a balanced, efficient offense.
The 16 total scores will be tough to repeat, but barring injury,
the touch and yardage totals shouldn’t go anywhere. While
he’s a locked-in top-10 option at the position, he struggled
mightily in 2023 after coming off a 340-carry season. His 301
carries a year ago were 2nd most in his career, so it will be
interesting to see if he can play a full 17 game season once again.
Wilson entered the 2024 as a bottom of the roster player after
being waived by the Broncos in 2023. Solid special teams play
and a need for positional depth kept him on the roster in 2024,
but he ended up filling an important role after early season injuries
to MarShawn Lloyd and AJ Dillon. Wilson was an effective breather
back, as he tallied 500 yards and four scores on the ground, but
ultimately, he is a 26-year-old undrafted back playing behind
a workhorse, and competing with a much more talented former 3rd
round pick. Leave him on the waiver wire and check in if injuries
hit.
A dynamic athlete who simply never got a chance to get started
in his rookie year, the Packers have high hopes for Lloyd in 2025.
His speed and acceleration package give the backfield a different
dimension, and Green Bay would love to be able to lessen the load
on Jacobs without sacrificing offensive efficiency. If Lloyd can
continue to be healthy into the preseason, he should have the
talent to lock up the backup job and be worth a late-round flier
as a Jacobs handcuff, or injury lottery ticket.
Reed erupted in the 2024 opener in Brazil with a sizzling 4-138-1
receiving line, tacking on a 33-yard rushing touchdown as well.
But the breakout that started in the 2nd half of 2023 never quite
carried over into the entirety of 2024, as the lower leg injuries
to Jordan Love, and the emergence of Josh Jacobs sunk the Green
Bay passing game. Reed saw nearly 20 fewer targets last season,
and was basically a boom-or-bust option for most of the season.
The road to more looks got a lot more complicated as Green Bay
added Matthew Golden in the first round, and unless one of last
year's starters is cut or traded before the season, Reed will
have a tough time getting to 70 receptions despite being the “WR1”
on the team. With big play ability, and a nose for the endzone,
I wouldn’t count Reed out entirely. In standard leagues
he’s a decent WR2, and in PPR leagues he profiles as an
upside WR3.
Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Doubs is coming
off a trying season. Injuries, multiple concussions, and a team-sanctioned
suspension put a damper on his future with Green Bay. As one of
the team’s best redzone assets, and chain moving possession
receivers, Doubs does have a niche in a crowded receiver room,
but he simply won’t get enough volume in an offense that’s
built to spread the ball around. Due to his contract status and
place in the receiver pecking order, I wouldn’t be surprised
if he’s dealt to a receiver needy team later this offseason.
As it stands, he’s a standard league WR4/5 at best.
For the first time since the Bush administration, Green Bay spent
1st round capital on a receiver. While that may have left Aaron
Rodgers stretching his head, Jordan Love should benefit greatly
from Golden’s skillset. He’s a strong route runner,
has the speed to command safety help, and more importantly, can
play the X, Z, and slot, which is especially important if he plans
on carving out space in this offense. He’s landed in a prime
spot for long term fantasy relevance, and there’s the catch.
Unless this receiver core is trimmed by injury or otherwise, it’s
hard to see a path where Golden leads this team in receptions.
He’s a fantastic long-term hold for the season, but I think
his biggest value is in 2026 and beyond, making him at best a
late-round stash in non-dynasty leagues.
Kraft was a nice surprise last season, busting out for 50 receptions,
707 yards, and seven scores. He was a legit big play threat from
a position that the Packers have struggled to fill recently, as
Kraft was 2nd among all tight ends with a 14.1 yards-per-catch
average. With the renewed health of Jordan Love, and another defense
stretching threat in Matthew Golden, Craft should have plenty
of room to work, and is a strong bet to repeat his top-10 positional
finish from a year ago.
