The Green Bay Packers landed in the top 10 of Touchdown Wire’s pre-training camp power rankings, but just barely.
Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire ranked the Packers at No. 9, ahead of teams like the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys but behind eight other contenders, including three from the NFC.
The Packers ranked No. 8 after the draft, but the national opinion of GM Brian Gutekunst’s draft class wasn’t necessarily kind. They only dropped one spot in Schofield’s rankings, but he – like many others – wondered how the additions of Jordan Love, A.J. Dillon and Josiah Deguara at the top of the draft class would push the Packers any closer to the Super Bowl in 2020.
Still, there’s plenty of reason for optimism for a team that finished 13-3 and advanced to the doorstep of the Super Bowl last season. Aaron Rodgers and the offense are entering the second year in Matt LaFleur’s scheme, while the young, star-studded defense could ascend into the NFL’s elite tier, especially considering all the talent in the pass-rush and secondary. This is a contending team that believes it can make another Super Bowl run with Rodgers under center, even if regression in the win-loss column is likely.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs ranked No. 1. In the NFC, only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers ranked ahead of the Packers.
