The Packers added versatility in free agency, but the draft has to be about adding a "dude" (or two)

Aaron Banks and Nate Hobbs provide the Green Bay Packers with flexibility and versatility, but to meaningfully close the gap with the best teams in the NFL, Brian Gutekunst has to find a high-end guy.

Had Aaron Banks been on the Green Bay Packers roster in January, the Philadelphia Eagles may not have been able to pressure Jordan Love into three interceptions and an anemic start to the Wild Card tilt in Philly. If Nate Hobbs played twice against the Detroit Lions, Amon-Ra St. Brown would have had a harder time making a crucial third-down catch in Detroit or a pivotal fourth-down touchdown grab at Lambeau Field. Put them together, and who knows what might have been different about the 2024 Packers.

Green Bay doesn’t have the high-end talent of the best teams in either conference. They outperformed that talent through outstanding coaching and a lack of true weak points last season. And while skeptics will point to the lack of big-game wins, this same core of players earned a slew of marquee victories in the 2023 season with even worse talent.

They can play greater than the sum of their Green and Gold parts.

But there’s no margin for error or injury. They need another game-changer.

Elgton Jenkins leaving the game against the best front in football was a death knell. After making it through the season mostly unscathed by major injuries and winning games despite them, the Packers suffered the worst injuries at the most costly time.

They needed Jordan Love to lift them, Rashan Gary to get a key sack-fumble, Xavier McKinney to flip the field, or Josh Jacobs to put the team on his back. We’ve seen all of those players do precisely that at various points in their Green Bay careers, but the more players a team has like that, the wider their margin.

Jason broke down what Banks and Hobbs bring to Green Bay while he dispelled some myths about what those signings mean. Even the most optimistic case for them improving the team doesn’t include either tilting the field for the Pack. There isn’t a guard in the NFL who can say he does that, and while Hobbs brings a physicality and edge to the secondary, the expectation can’t be that he replicate Charles Woodson even if he’s a former Raider wearing No. 21.

They’re better with those players, but how much better? Wouldn’t Brian Gutekunst sleep better with one more true difference-maker on the roster?

Of course, a GM doesn’t go into free agency or the draft and say, “Gee, I hope we get a bunch of nice role players out of this class.” They think every player has a chance to be that player.