How good does Jordan Love have to be for the Green Bay Packers tow in the Super Bowl in 2025?

How good does Jordan Love have to be for the Green Bay Packers tow in the Super Bowl in 2025?

are the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love being disrespected coming into 2025 brian Peacock and Matt Williamson thinks so the dynamic duo Peacock and Williamson on a Friday locked on Packers let’s go you are Locked on Packers your daily Green Bay Packers podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day you are locked on Packers part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day i’m Peter Bowski and I cover the Packers for the Leap a newsletter I would love for you to subscribe to follow me on Twitter peter_wowsky follow the podcast on Twitter locked on Packers like us on Facebook subscribe to the podcast iTunes Spotify Google Podcast wherever you find podcasts you’ll find Locked on Packers the number one Packers podcast on the internet and the show for fans who know what happened they want to know why and how thanks to everyone who makes Locked on Packers their first lesson every day we hope you like starting your day with us as much as we like starting our day with you today’s episode brought to you by our friends at Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code lockdown NFL for $20 off your first purchase it is always fun when I get together with Brian Peacock from lockdown 49ers and Peacock and Williamson and Matt Williamson former NFL scout um to talk about where this Packers team stands right now and the perception of this team that’s the fun part and the good news is uh you know Brian and I normally a little bit more adversarial when it comes to the evaluation of the Packers when they’re playing the 49ers you know I wonder why but he’s on board this time we’ll talk to him and Matt let’s do it right now um I know how you feel about Jordan Love and I feel like I mean we did fantasy quarterback rankings yesterday and look fantasy and in real football is different as far as value goes but I think Jordan Love was what was he Matt 18 over he was really low that was Pro Football Focuses list he was low fourth out of four NFC North quarterbacks so I mean and I hate I hate to I hate to break it to you Peter but it’s been a good run basically your entire life sorry man the Bears found a quarterback and a head coach so it’s all over now yeah it’s uh it’s been all over according to Chicago Bears fans for about uh 30 years and they haven’t been relevant since 1985 so I don’t know what to tell them at this point but maybe someday uh but today is not that day oh it’s coming uh not only Caleb Williams but JJ McCarthy was top 10 he was number one of all the NFC North quarterbacks we didn’t even see him play a regular season game yet well we always overindex we always overindex rookies in fantasy that’s just like time in memorial says that we do that um I don’t know why it would be um a quarterback like JJ McCarthy who didn’t even throw that much at Michigan um I I know that the expectation is he’s going to throw a bunch in in Minnesota because they threw a bunch last year with Sam Darnold but like this is a guy who’s a never ever in the NFL never played an NFL snap and he’s just going to walk into the league and what be Jaden Daniels last year be Justin Herbert a couple years ago even though no one thought I mean what was he QB4 in his own draft like come on like this is I I believe in Kevin Oonnell he’s a really good coach it is very annoying to me personally that Luke Braun gets to cover that guy um and Justin Jefferson and all the weaponry that they have but come on you still need to be the trigger man you still need to have someone who can get these players the ball and like I don’t know why you would believe in JJ McCarthy by the way the Packers had a better offense than the Vikings last year with Sam Darnold so is JJ McCarthy gonna immediately be better than Sam Darnold give me a break qb5 by the way was uh JJ McCarthy in the draft was he not okay nope and hey but so so the first question is then talk to me about Jordan Love because is he QB1 in the division and is he being disrespected i feel like he’s being disrespected because nobody really talks about the guy he’s been in the league for five years i barely wouldn’t recognize him if I pass him across walking past him on the street well he’s and real quick Peter I know you’re aware of this but I I really think you mentioned like pass attempts so I mean when it was all said and done Green Bay was one of the runheaviest teams in the league but I think so much of that is when Willis took over because of injury they didn’t pass the ball at all those games and then when Love got back on the field he just wasn’t the same yeah he was hurt and I think we have to remember that part of it like he he tears his uh has a knee knee ligament issue we don’t know exactly what happened but a knee- ligament issue on the ice rink that they played on in Brazil um and and that caused him to miss two games he comes back against Minnesota he’s not the same but starts to get healthier but then and you know we talked to his personal physio guy on our show on lockdown Packers and he was like “Yeah I’m not surprised Jordan Love had a groin injury against the Jaguars because you you stabilize you you compensate and so that puts strain on other parts of your body.” Then he has that injury and he told us after the year and let me be clear before Bears fans get mad um they’re already mad he was not making exc But he was saying I basically was not healthy all year and I know everyone’s banged up everyone’s got to deal with injuries but his ability to move in the pocket to make off platform throws to get his contort his body in weird angles is part of what makes him special and so it like that part of this is really important i I have said and I I told Matt Derry this going into the year I I would project Jordan Love to have the best year of any of the four quarterbacks in the NFC North but if you wanted to make the case especially based on the last two or three seasons with Jared Goff that Jared Goff deserves to be ahead of Jordan Love in the quarterback rankings it’s hard for me to argue with that because if you look at the last few years he’s one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the league okay he’s got Aman Ross St brown Jameson Williams Jir Gibbs all those guys and Ben Johnson i get it but like everyone needs help look at Patrick Mahomes his numbers like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen have vastly outstripped the production with Patrick Mahomes um and you can make the case that over the last two or three years they they’ve been the better quarterbacks but look at the circumstances the offensive line the pass catchers all those things every quarterback even one of the greatest ever arguably the greatest ever um needs that help and so um I think that for for the Packers they’re banking on Jordan Love taking another step here being healthy and if you look at his stuff Brian the the efficiency metrics the advance metrics over the last two seasons he has been a top 10 quarterback in the NFL by production by the numbers that’s what he’s been and what I’ve I’ve asked and I I’ve never asked you directly this but I think with Brock Pury you can do some because he’s been the best by EPA and those numbers over the last two seasons i think there’s plenty of parsing you can do with those numbers with Debo and KD and McAffrey and and Aayuk and all of the help that he has jordan Love doesn’t have that in terms of the weapons that he has i think Matt Laflur and Kyle Shanahan are in the same tierish when it comes to designing offenses and I think the offensive lines are close enough i don’t think you can make the same case for why those numbers with Jordan Love are elite that you can with some other quarterbacks where you’re like “Yeah but like is Jared Goff really doing that is Brock Party really doing all that?” Or is a supporting cast amplifying a a good quarterback and let me say Brian Brock Party has outperformed I’ve told you this outperformed my expectations for him last year and is a better quarterback than I gave him credit for when we talked in the playoff game two years ago he has outperformed that i still think there’s plenty of extenduating circumstances there to talk about why he’s so good well look it’s it’s a little unfair to compare anybody to Brock Pury who’s so talented and handsome looks good Joe Montana i mean come on and so let’s we probably shouldn’t go there if we’re talking about quarterbacks but yeah no I mean Kyle Shanahan’s an EPA i I hate the APA stacks that’s what all the 49ers fans use jimmy Garopppolo was like amazing EPA as well it’s like that’s a Shanahan thing over his run i think Mahomes and Breeze were the only quarterbacks that had higher EPAs or No yeah i think he was ahead of Aaron Rogers yeah in EPA in his in his time in in San Francisco so yeah I mean I think that’s also a case against Brock Pury right that like a lot of quarterback i just don’t like the EPA it’s not a quarterback stat and people put it it’s a team stat yeah yeah but team team team productivity is downstream of quarterback play so it’s related but it’s not a it’s like it shouldn’t be attached to quarterback solely quarterbacks i agree so I will say Peter I mean fantasy aside real world just for 2025 I would take love in the division to win now i would too i mean G has a strong case well the I think the supporting cast is such a big question with the Lions because Ben Johnson did such a great job of amplifying everything Jared Goff is good at and mitigating everything he’s bad at and so did this offensive line well they lost Frank Ragnau they lost Kevin Zitler and so that’s a big deal the pressure up the middle for Jared Goff is absolute stone cold death and we have no idea if this new offensive coordinator John not Johnny Morton not the receiver Johnny Morton um you know the former Josh Macau offensive coordinator Johnny Morton we have no idea what he’s going to be we know what Matt Lafleur is as coordinator we know what the Packers offensive line is and we know that the receivers are not special but we know they’re good enough this was a top five offense last year by DVOA it was a top 10 offense by EPA per play and success rate and all that good stuff we know the running game is going to be really good so like I don’t have any reason to believe Jordan Love is not going to continue to be a highly efficient quarterback and I I think I think he’s going to be a a top six to eight quarterback in the NFL this year and I think by the end of the year that will be the consensus opinion on him all right more with Peacock and Williamson remember this was from an episode of Peacock and Williamson about a week or so ago we’re having a good time we’ve got more next on Locked Unpackers guys you’ve probably heard of Viagra or Seialis maybe you’ve tried them but if you’re looking for something beyond the usual pill it’s time to meet Rouette Ready rouette Ready is the nextG prescription treatment designed to amplify arousal in the brain and boost blood flow unlike the usual pills that can take hours Riett’s 3in-1 formula dissolves under your tongue and kicks in fast on average in 15 minutes effects can last up to 36 hours so you can stay confident and in control when the moment is right plus it’s completely online rouette connects you with a board-certified doctor and ships your treatment discreetly to your door head to rouette.com/lockton NFL and use code locked on NFL to get 15% off today that’s rougeette.com/lockedonfl and use code locked on NFL for 15% off individual results may vary with prescription treatment compounded drugs are permitted to be prescribed under federal law but are not FDA approved and do not undergo FDA safety effectiveness or manufacturing review please review the Rouette website for full safety information i want to see it i want to see a healthy Jordan Love this year and I can’t wait for the NFC North i think they’re all going to be well coached teams i love the hire of Ben Johnson i think it was a home run for it hate it you still have they still have to stick that landing but one thing you have to do is you can’t say that well the Bears or the the Lions aren’t going to feel any effects from losing Ragnau and Johnson they’re gonna be just fine but then the Bears are gonna be awesome because they got Ben Johnson it’s kind of like which is it that’s where I’m at is like I’m really interested to see how both of these go uh and I think things could still go okay for the Lions but we we read the stats here Matt on the Lions offense i mean not even talking about losing their offensive coordinator which everyone is universally believes he’s one of the best in the NFL uh without Frank Ragno their success rate and their yards per play goes from like second in the NFL to 27th or something like that i mean it’s a big deal what they’ve lost on offense for the Lions and soft and the defensive coordinator and some other assistant coaches you know right yeah absolutely their window might have closed i wouldn’t say it’s closed but it’s I don’t think it’s closed but it could be closing it’s not as open as it was I think and it’s fascinating here in the North i think the the most um consistent team the team that was already good already a playoff team is now going to have a healthier quarterback and has gotten better i made the case Brian a couple weeks ago on on our show that that the best case for the Packers in the NFC period not just the NFC North is continuity because Philadelphia they lose a number of key contributors they’ve got to replace an offensive coordinator that was vital to the elevation of Jaylen Herz last year in an offense that that had major problems against pressure we went through the Lions issues the Vikings are going to take a step back I believe i know that they kept coordinator continuity but QB continuity is like the most important thing in the NFL so we have no idea if he can play and then there’s these questions I think in the NFC South about how good any of those teams actually are and the NFC West all those teams have question marks did the Rams defense actually get any better are the 49ers going to be any healthier um and and they moved on from some guys they have some guys getting older they’ve got some guys that are you know getting paid i think the case for Green Bay in the NFC period is hey it’s a defensive coordinator that looked awesome last year an offensive coach that we know has the bonafides and a really good quarterback and the youngest team in the league you would you would expect them to take a step forward nine wins 11 wins are they going to win 13 this year probably not it’s a tough schedule but they are to your point being disrespected in the view of the league right now um because they’re really really good let’s talk about weapons for Jordan Love on offense added a first round wide receiver which uh I mean which has just been a thing and I I’m kind of disappointed because we don’t get the whole Packers didn’t draft a first round wide receiver again thing anymore we finally got themselves one but to be honest with you I thought their strategy of drafting the second third fifth round guys was working out pretty well i like their group of guys and feel like there’s almost too many so uh a how’s this lineup going to look i think Jaden Reed in the slot is easy but what’s the rest going to be there for the Packers offense and how is everybody going to line up now with the rookie added to the group and B which one of those wide receivers is going to get traded to Pittsburgh well the the the name that’s been floated out there is Romeo Dobs on that last question he was someone that that Aaron Rogers really liked at least early on in that 2022 season by the end of the year i don’t know if he felt the same way but you know time with Aaron can can heal a lot of wounds that’s for sure um I was not surprised that they drafted a receiver in the first round in fact by the end of the draft pre-draft process I was predicting that they were going to draft a receiver because they have a lot of good players i was waiting to see if that that lack of true alpha one was going to hurt them and I think it did in the postseason now if you have injuries Christian Watson tears his ACL in the last week of the season jaden Reed gets hurt in the game romeo Dobs gets hurt in the game and so suddenly you’re throwing to Bo Melton you know Malik Keith and Dantavian Wixs i don’t think anyone has those guys on their starting fantasy football teams in in their fantasy playoffs i I’m a Wix truther i love Dantavian Wix well so Dantavian Wixs is the one guy and he was I think he got like 17 targets in that game ultimately because he was the only guy that they had um but there were times last year against the the best teams 0 and2 against Detroit 0 and2 against Minnesota 0 and2 against Philadelphia where you go they are they are talent-wise a guy short on offense a a playmaker short on offense and so why not go for it in the first round matthew Golden was would not have been the guy that I would have taken personally um but we have seen what this offense looks like when Christian Watson is not in it when they don’t have that vertical speed element and it is tough any offense that lacks that speed that ability to take the top off a defense you saw this in San Francisco Brian like when when you don’t have that vertical element um it just becomes so difficult to get the spacing to work and I think Matthew Golden is going to step right in as that vertical Z receiver someone who can play the Christian Watson role get everybody else open and then also create these big plays christian Watson was their cheat code against man coverage not because he’s a polished route runner but because he’s freaking fast and Matt Laflur was really good at designing man beaters where you get Christian Watson against space and a corner is going to lose that battle every single time because there just aren’t that many guys who are going to be able to run with 6’4 215 435 speed now I don’t think Matthew Golden quite plays that fast but I also think if you go back and watch Matthew Golden at Houston when he had a quarterback who could actually throw the ball down the field he looks faster it’s a weird phenomenon like he doesn’t look as fast as Texas and I truly think part of it is because Quinn Euers has a noodle arm and just like how many times he had to come back to a deep ball or the ball is nowhere near it where it needs to be on a deep throw i think like there are times you’d watch him run a post against Houston he is exploding out of that break vertically to to gain ground against Texas he like he gets out of the break but then is sort of like okay I’m going to have to wait for this ball because it’s going to float i got to be looking it it’s just a different thing so I I think that’s where he’s going to fit into all of this and and it’s not a draft pick it is a a 2023 draft pick that I think is going to ultimately be the anchor of this offense in the passing game and that’s Tucker Craft they are already talking about getting him the ball more jordan Love said on the record one of our points of emphasis this offseason is getting him the ball more getting and not in like here’s a check down here’s a dump off in like the George KD kinds of ways that San Francisco does where yes those are in there those tight end screens are in there but then let’s create a play action shot play for for Tucker Craft let’s create opportunities manufactured touches for him um and call more plays specifically to get him the ball because last year guys he led all tight ends in yards after catch per reception and there was a point late in the season um where he was averaging almost a first down after the catch per catch it was like 9.8 yards yak per reception why would you not want to get that guy the ball when when anytime you throw it to him it turns into 10 yards even if it’s just chip release kinds of opportunities um so I I think that that’s that’s going to be a much bigger part of this offense and if you add in that speed from Matthew Golden now all of a sudden you can make the geometry fit here you have Tucker Craft and Jaden Reed to attack the middle of the field you’ve got um Matthew Golden to attack vertically and then they added Savon Williams in the third round who’s a really intriguing player as your design touch I hate to say it debo Samuel type um because he’s I mean he’s 96th percentile speed score kind of guy he’s a legit 63 220 and can fly low 44s usually the Debo Samuel comps are guys who are like kind of meh athletes but run really hard after the catch and are built like running backs savon Williams is an elite athlete and I think that that could allow him at least in the manufactured touch game to be a little bit more effective than some of the guys we’ve seen come in and play that quote unquote Debo Samuel role like I think you you air chasing outliers a lot of times um this is something that that I’m sure Matt you know talks about with the with the scouting world like if you chase a lot of outliers what did Bill Parcel Parcell say you start chasing outliers all of a sudden you got a team full of outliers and and that’s not what you want um the Packers stayed true to their beliefs in big strong fast at receiver but also found a guy who can do this thing and I think that gives him a chance to succeed in this offense so Peter you mentioned that the you’re looking for an alpha receiver and I said this pretty much all over the last two years but certainly all during our 2024 coverage i really like the Packers roster i I think they’re smart team builders i think they draft well you mentioned the youth i’m a love fan but I don’t see an alpha on either side of the ball at any position you know what I mean like who put I thought maybe Rashan Garry was going to be that guy who’s Bosa Watt Parsons that puts teams away who’s that receiver or superstar or the Lane Johnson or you know what I mean like there are pro bowlers it’s a good roster but who’s a great player on this team this is a great question and um we actually did an episode last week about as I was putting my top 100 list together I was going this is not great that I’m invest this out on the rest and and looking at some of these Packers players now like ultimately Rashan Gary Zack Tom those guys made my top 100 um and so did Jordan Love but that’s it right and so maybe Edan Cooper could be that McKenna or somehow somehow Edin Cooper I got to talk to Ali Bronson about this somehow Eden Cooper did not make the list that you could vote on even though I’m pretty sure I put him on because I think I would have put him on because I think he has the chance to be like really really special um but you’re right and this is something we’ve been talking about over the last six months matt this I think you can make the case is the most whole free roster in the NFL but as part of the the question but but if you told me it’s not a top five roster in terms of talent I would say probably right like that’s the weird thing it’s hard to it’s hard to even think of a comparison right like this is just not how teams are normally built normally when you have flaws in your team building it’s because you have flaws in your team building right so you you have this this high-end group of guys and then you’re going to have some holes here and there your your right guard is not going to be up to par or your nickel corner is you know is a below average player or you know you’ve got a second linebacker who just can’t do it they don’t have any of those guys they don’t have any of the like you’re playing Kyle Shanahan this week and and Robert Salah they’re going to pick on your weak points they don’t have someone like that but when they go against the 49ers a fully healthy 49ers they don’t have anyone as good as Nick Bosa or Fred Roma or Brandon Aayuk or George KD or Cry so it’s like Yeah yeah you have to win with coaching then and you have to win with being the the more sound team and in 2023 to start the year drops missed assignments penalties that was a huge problem but by the end of the year you saw the vision of like oh wow well when they when they don’t make mistakes just being a really good roster and not being a great one is actually very very good it’s very very useful and they were one stop away from beating the 49ers in their building now the flip side of that right is if they’d had an alpha if Rashan Garry was Nick Bosa would Rashawn Garry have closed the door on Brock Pury on that last drive or if Darnell Savage were Xavier McKini does he catch the interception that Brock Perty throws into his chest in the first quarter um and by the way we should have mentioned Xavier McKini an allp pro last year an outstanding player who has been made even better by Jeff Hafley and the scheme so I I think they’re hoping that they can get some internal development and some of these guys can get there i think Josh Jacobs was an elite player last year xavier McKini was an elite player last year but like how much true do you want a running back and safety to be your best two guys exactly right right right yeah this is the problem that you run into um you’d really like your difference makers to be your pass rushers your receivers and your quarterback now we’ve still got more with Peacock and Williamson next here on a crossover locked on Packers have you ever decided at the last minute to head to a ball game with family or friends or both maybe it’s a game day and you suddenly realize hey you want to be in the stands that’s exactly where Game Time comes in it’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress with the money you save on tickets you can splurge on food drinks merch or even invite a bigger group to come with you game time makes it possible they are the official ticketing partner of Locked on MLB making it easy to browse the app for exciting upcoming Major League Baseball games take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on NFL for $20 off download the Game Time app today last minute tickets the lowest price guaranteed tell me what you guys think of this i think the Bills roster and the Ravens roster is built very similarly i think the Bills are very similar except they’ve dropped the Bills especially it’s like who is the second best player on the Buffalo Bills i actually think it’s worse than the Packers is it James Cook is it Greg Rouso like I I don’t know but they but do they have a lot of bad players maybe they’re they’re without Russell Russell Douglas their quarterback two spot is probably not not great but they have Josh Allen yeah so you need you need Jordan Love to be an easy division you need Jordan Love to be a tick better for this to work and and I do think it can be like I I think you’re right i think they have a better roster than the Bills but their quarterback is not as good as Josh Allen so if how much better does Jordan Love have to be to close that delta with say the Eagles with say the Lions with say you know the best version of the 49ers or the Rams if that offense comes together in the nuclear way that we think it could um one more tier could do it i think so i think you’re right if he’s like the sixth best quarterback this year they can win the Super Bowl i think that’s I think I think that’s that’s in in the cards especially in the NFC where you know the Eagles have taken a step back and the Lions have taken a step back i think they’ve come back to Green Bay we saw Jordan Love in the second half of 2023 be the best quarterback in the NFL by productivity standards like that’s I mean I take him over Herz who just won the Super Bowl exactly right i I think I would take Jordan Love over Jaylen Herz but the Eagles roster last year was better so what’s the difference now all that being said and all the injuries Elton Jenkins goes out Devonte Wyatt goes out in that playoff game that’s a one-sore game in the fourth quarter and so like the Packers defense kept them in it no Ger Alexander that defense blanketed AJ Brown Dvonte Smith Dallas and kept Saquon Barkley in check until the end when he Okay yes eagles fans always quick to point out Saquon took a knee okay the game was over by then okay like relax um but uh they’re they’re the Packers gave the Eagles everything they could handle in that game without five of their best players i I think that that tells you where they can go when their guys get healthy but it’s even more incumbent on them to be healthy because they don’t have Nick Bosa they don’t have uh Pukuna or an Aaron Donald who can take over a game and make up that gap of the other players who are missing when you go to a backup now the good news is the backup is not as like that gap difference is not as big so like if Zack Tom gets hurt and they got to play Anthony Belt in their second round pick well they got a guy right most teams don’t i I always say this about the Packers and I try and tell explain this to fans the Packers have seven guys that they feel comfortable starting on their offensive line how many teams have five i want to bring that up too yeah right so I think that that’s that’s um that’s a part and parcel of this roster building that and that’s a weapon like we we talk about Aaron Rogers not having first round picks they’ve spent first round picks multiple first round picks in the in Rogers era on offensive linemen he always had good offensive lines jordan Love has always had good offensive lines that is a huge huge thing and I think it could sink the Lions this year like if they don’t if their interior offensive line replacements are not as good as they think that could scuttle a potential Super Bowl season i don’t think the Packers are going to have that problem we always geek out on team building here on on Peacock and Williamson so this is a fascinating conversation and I love the the idea of you know depth versus star power and the 49ers roster is getting less deep and more old and reliant on the stars and you see last year what happens if you have a lot of injuries and then you see the Packers who are you know and I think you nailed it Matt you’re talking about okay well you don’t really want your safety and your running backs to be your your best players and and I hear people say all the time about the 49ers like “Oh Christian McCaffrey needs to stay healthy.” Well then you’re you’re sunk if you you’re incumbent on a running back being healthy right you never build the the team around that it’s nice to have a good running back and obviously it was great for Philadelphia you didn’t even lead the team in rushing in the Super Bowl win though right and and so and I mean don’t get me started on but how many running backs could you have put on that Philly roster and had them win the Super Bowl like there’s probably eight over a thousand yards before contact last year right behind the best offensive line in the league like that’s a pretty big part of it and you put a great player behind that he’s a great player then it looks awesome obviously and so I think there’s a lot of similarities with 2023 McAffrey 2024 Saquon Barkley in that regard but the the whole thing isn’t built out of the running back and that’s where people kind of get it twisted but I actually love the way that Goody has built that team i love the idea of drafting two guys at the same position in the same draft they did it again at wide receiver they did it at tight end and guess what the second tight end’s better than the first tight end right and uh and a couple of offensive linemen I believe in this draft as well and it’s a it’s a very deep football team and they’ve taken shots at star positions and star players and Gary’s kind of looked like he was going to get there and then kind of not and then you know Lucas Vaness hasn’t really been a star player or anything like that but they’re swinging it with with edge guys in the first round they’re trying to get there they drafted a first round quarterback even though they had Aaron Rogers and so they’re trying to hit home runs there and you know sometimes there’s some luck involved but I like the way they’ve built their football team they just need a little hit there and you know watching the 49ers watching the Packers watching these teams in the playoffs and it’s like you know who knocked the 49ers out well it was um it was Chris Jones making a big play in the Super Bowl and then Patrick Mahomes finishing the deal the Niners Travis Kelsey yeah and Travis Kelce and uh and then the quarterback gets knocked out by an elite edge rusher in the NFC Championship game in another year and that ruins their season so uh it’s it’s so important to be deep but you need those closers the finishers the uh the star power at key positions as well so some position I think it hurt I think it hurt the Lions um not having Aiden Hutchinson of course i mean I think that was a big reason why they they left and and they’re they’re dealing with this too right they have stars but their depth is not the same it’s not the same as it was and and we’ll see what it looks like moving forward so it is a a fascinating difference and and they take again to your point they take swings in the first round eric Stokes was a bet on athletic upside lucas Vaness Rashawn Garry um their bets on athletic upside and and the good thing about that is having the ceiling means you’re at least giving yourself the chance that you get that elite player they just don’t pick in the top 10 ever that’s right Peter like I talk about that here all the time in Pittsburgh it’s like yeah you got JJ W or TJ Watt but he was the end of the first round like it Bosa goes in the top five hutchinson goes in the top five you know like the Packers and Steelers never pick in the top five chance to get those guys so you have to kind of get lucky now TJ Watt was someone look don’t don’t let Packer fans hear you mention TJ Watt i think they would have liked him yeah because the Packers traded out of um that spot ahead right of the Steelers um to to take TJ or to take and then they took Kevin King who turned out to be you know pretty big bust of a player so yeah TJ Watt is a sore subject around the back land oh yeah those those fast tall corners late in round one early round two haven’t really worked out for the Packers no Brian Gutens loves those guys now it worked what’s interesting is it worked with Carrington Valentine he looks like he could be you know a rotation corner for them that was actually my last question for you Peter sorry for interrupting but you mentioned a team that doesn’t have holes corner is my concern you know and I and I get it um but here’s what I’ll say uh they were top 10 in defense passing defense last year um and and the reason they were is the safeties xavier McKini Evan Williams Javon Bullard teams just did not throw the ball especially deep and the the fastest way to get beat is to give up big passing plays like those that’s just the easiest way to get beat and so it’s why teams chase explosive plays but after the first month and a half teams just were like “We’re not testing Xavier McKenna.” Like cuz he is just so good at baiting you into those throws at ranging across at identifying and then Evan Williams this is very similar i compare this the other day to do you remember that that um that great Fangio Bears defense that one year where they were just incredible um and they had Eddie Jackson and Adrien Amos it reminds me a lot of that where Eddie Jackson was that was a risk taker playmaker interceptor fumble creator and then Adrien Amos just did all the dirty work he he made it so the defense still worked even if Eddie Jackson freelanced a little bit it reminds me of that Xavier McKini is everywhere and anywhere and you just know Evan Williams is going to be there you add in Javon Bullard going into year two where he’s just going to play the nickel he started as a safety um Keshan Nixon I thought acquitted himself way better than I thought he would at outside corner last year but then they bring in Nate Hobbs who was always a kind of a favorite of mine in in Las Vegas um I liked him coming out and they think the world of him they think he can play boundary they think he can play in the nickel their ability to mitigate a lack of elite talent at corner with elite talent at safety is is kind of the model right that the 49er fangio defenses used back in the day when it’s like can you name the corners on those 2011 49ers teams well maybe Brian can but like you remember Deshun Goslson you remember Dante Whitner you remember Patrick Willis and you remember the Smith brothers that was how that team was built it kind of didn’t matter um who who was playing corner for them and I think that’s kind of the defense that Pack backers are hoping that they can build plus Jeff Hafley I mean they went to more cover two last year they played more you know to cap those corners so that those those you know flaws were not exposed they they used more designer blitzes and they were able to to ham and egg it i mean look if corners are not going to kill you against the Eagles against AJ Brown and Dvonte Smith who are they going to beat you against like there was not a game last year where you can point to and go they lost because their secondary wasn’t good enough there really just isn’t a game where that’s the case and I’m talking they played Justin Jefferson twice they played you know the Lions twice lie insurance you can’t point to a game and go the secondary lost them that game it just didn’t happen so like that’s kind of a miracle but it’s also I think point that proves that coverage is a weak link position it doesn’t matter how good your best players are it’s how good or how bad in this case your worst players are and they just don’t have any bad players and they can withstand the loss of Jar Alexander probably you know he he play he doesn’t play football the problem with Jerry Alexander is he plays seven or eight games a year like he doesn’t he just isn’t having him would be great having 16 games of Jaw would be incredible it would have made this team a lot better but not having him is just like it’s kind of not that big a deal he doesn’t play all right it was great to jump on with Peacock and Williamson um check them out um they do they do a great job covering the entire league so if you want to get you know the broad strokes of what’s happening around the NFL um that is a great show to be checking out all right back on Monday um and we’ve got a we’ve got again a modified schedule next week Monday Wednesday Friday um with the holiday next week trying to give you guys a little bit of a break i don’t want anyone doing homework while you know it’s summer not everyone’s on vacation but it’s summer time the kids are on vacation if you got school age kids they are on vacation uh so I’m I’m trying to give you some some time some time and I’m trying to take some time you know that’s what we try and do around here um all right follow me on all the social medias peter_wicowsky on X and on Instagram follow the podcast wherever you find social media follow the podcast wherever you get podcasts subscribe to us there leave a rating leave a review and of course you can always watch us on our YouTube page so you can stay locked on Packers

Jordan Love may not be the best QB in the league, but how close does he have to get to make the Green Bay Packers bona fide contenders? Brian Peacock and Matt Williamson from Peacock and Williams talk with Peter Bukowski about this question and much about around the 2025 Green Bay Packers.

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPackers?sid=YouTube

📢 Follow Locked On Packers on Social!
• Instagram: https://bit.ly/3VsdxCa
• Facebook: https://bit.ly/4c0DeAK
• Twitter / X: https://bit.ly/45rZjWo
• TikTok: https://bit.ly/3VjvEKy

Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL

Peter Bukowski, co-founder of The Leap, brings you a daily look at the Green Bay Packers year round with Locked On Packers! Go beyond the latest injury news into what you’re seeing on the field, how it works, and how it might change with new players or against a division rival. It’s the podcast for fans who know what happened, they want to know why and how!

And follow Peter Bukowski on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the Green Bay Packers and talking with fans.
On Twitter: @Peter_Bukowski & @LockedOnPackers

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Rugiet
Head to Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off today.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)