Packers Put on Notice in NFL Free Agency

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Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton didn’t rank the Green Bay Packers with one of the best 13 NFL rosters after the first week of 2026 free agency.

In the middle of March, the roster building has just begun for general managers such as Brian Gutekunst. But with the Green Bay Packers, Gutekunst might have a lot more work to do than he thought.

Well, that’s the case according to a few analysts grading roster moves early in NFL free agency.

SI on Packers’ Bill Huber argued the additions Gutekunst made early in free agency isn’t enough to move the needle.

As a final grade to the first few days of free agency, Huber gave the Packers a D-plus.

“As far as winning the Super Bowl, which should be what matters in Titletown, the whole season might boil down to if or when Parsons and Kraft return to form. A roster that wasn’t good enough to overcome their injuries last season hasn’t been sufficiently upgraded this offseason,” wrote Huber.

“There’s a saying that states if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. It’d be hard to argue the Packers have gotten better.”

Pro Football Focus’s Gordon McGuinness didn’t disagree. While grading the entire league’s free agency moves one week into the new year, the PFF analyst gave the Packers a D.

That was the worst grade McGuinness gave any team Monday.

Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton didn’t give the Packers a bad grade. However, he just omitted Green Bay entirely while listing the top 10 rosters around the league as of Monday.

Moton also included three “honorable mentions” on his list. The Packers, though, remained nowhere to be found.

That means, at best, Moton sees Green Bay as having about an average roster around the league.

Brian Gutekunst’s Packers Getting Poor Marks in NFL Free Agency

Other analysts have been more favorable to Green Bay with offseason grades this month. Still, it’s never a good sign that any pundit has the ability to give a team a D-grade in free agency.

In Green Bay’s case, it’s multiple pundits.

The most alarming diss for the Packers, though, might have been missing the top 13 roster rankings list at Bleacher Report.

There’s a lot of subjectivity to grades and exactly placement on rankings list. But for Moton to feel confident enough that Green Bay wasn’t even worth an honorable mention when talking about the best rosters around the league is a strong statement.

It’s simple not where the Packers, who have been to the playoffs six of the past seven years, are used to being.

At one point a few months ago, Green Bay arguably had one of the best rosters in the league while sitting at 9-3-1. But the franchise started heading in the wrong direction in the middle of December and arguably have yet to truly turn back into the right direction.

Packers Roster Exposed Late in 2025 Season

Green Bay suffered several key injuries in Week 15 versus the Denver Broncos. The biggest of which was to superstar edge rusher Micah Parsons.

After that week, the Packers didn’t win another game last season.

It’s hard in the NFL to overcome injuries to superstars. It’s the superstars that often win championships, and to have superstars, teams have to pay them like stars. They account for a big chunk of the salary cap.

No defender is more expensive than Parsons.

That can cause a roster to be top heavy, which is a problem when the stars aren’t in the lineup.

Without Parsons for the final four games, Green Bay gave up an average of 27.5 points per game including the playoffs. In three of those four contests, the Packers also allowed at least 400 yards.

During the postseason, the Chicago Bears posted 31 points and 445 yards.

Yet through the first week of free agency, Green Bay’s biggest external defensive additions were 33-year-old defensive tackle Javon Hargrave and cornerback Benjamin St-Juste.

Analysts who saw Green Bay’s roster as an issue during the five-game losing streak to end 2025 are unlikely to feel differently about it now.

That’s a problem for Gutekunst. According to some analysts, the roster needs a lot of work.

Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb