The Green Bay Packers made it abundantly clear what they wanted the direction of the franchise to be after trading for superstar defensive end Micah Parsons and making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with a new contract. Add in an offense powered by Matt LaFleur, and they had all the makings of a team that could elevate into a true Super Bowl contender.
Through the first six weeks of the season, the results have been a mixed bag, with some wildly impressive victories interspersed with hugely disappointing outings. Going 3-1-1, the Packers have been great to excellent on both sides of the football.
But one analyst believes a shrewd deal could give them a dynamic edge that could take their entire operation to the next level.
Should the Packers Make Another Trade?
The defense, now bolstered by Parsons, has been among the best units in the league, ranking fifth on PFSN’s Defense Impact, even including a brutal performance against the Dallas Cowboys where they gave up 40 points.
Outside of that game, the Packers have been stifling opponents, with no team scoring more than 18 points against them. As a result, their focus for improvement has to be on the offensive end, where PFSN’s Cameron Sheath has a unique idea in mind.
Josh Jacobs has become a staple for Green Bay since coming over from the Las Vegas Raiders. Earning a Pro Bowl nod last season, he had 1,329 rushing yards and an impressive 15 touchdowns on the ground.
However, as Sheath puts it, Jacobs’ superpower is consistency, not explosiveness. As a result, he believes the Packers could get into trade talks with the New York Jets to bring Breece Hall into the mix.
A 2022 second-round pick, Hall hasn’t been offered an extension by his team so far, despite tallying over 4,100 yards of offense and 22 total touchdown over 46 career games to date. The significant cap resources allocated to Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson have served as a significant hurdle to working out a long-term deal for Hall.
As a result, a deal could be made for the right price, especially after considering the Jets have gotten off to an 0-6 start. With 410 rushing yards on the season, Hall is ahead of Jacobs’ 359 yards, albeit while having played one more game. But the key reason for the Packers to aim for a trade is Hall’s ability to break out for big runs.
Jacobs, for all of his excellence, has yet to tally a run worth more than 19 yards, while Hall already has three that qualify for big plays (20-plus-yard gains). As a result, in Sheath’s list of trade destinations for the Iowa State alum, Green Bay is near the top of the list.
“While Jacobs remains a key component of Matt LaFleur’s offense, Green Bay can lack explosive plays if it’s not a deep shot from Love. Jacobs would still be the lead back, but pairing him with Hall would add a home-run threat to the Packers’ ground game, with the team eyeing a Super Bowl in the short term.”
A franchise that has historically shied away from making trades might not seem like the ideal team to predict as a trade candidate. But after the move for Parsons, the timeline and pressure have drastically changed for the Packers.
As a result, the organization might feel obligated to make improvements, even if minor, in any way that they can.