Quarterback Jordan Love was voted the top Packer by an Acme Packing Company staff vote.
Sorry about the delay of the final leg our of series. With so much news on the Jordan Love front, we didn’t have time to run the last part of our top 25 breakdown on Friday.
Previously, we’ve unveiled #25 to #6 on our list, but it’s time to announce the top five Green Bay Packers on the 2024 roster, as voted on by Acme Packing Company’s staff. Each player was assigned a value (25 points for the first-ranked player, one point for the 25th-ranked player) during our voting. In total, nine writers gave their opinions before we counted up the scores and made our list.
Without further ado, here are the top Packers going into the upcoming season.
#5) Zach Tom, offensive lineman
The highest-ranked offensive lineman on our list is Zach Tom, who has primarily played right tackle in his career with the Green Bay Packers, but has lined up at all five spots dating back to his college career. Like Elgton Jenkins, who was ranked seventh on our list, Tom’s versatility is a premium for the Packers, who are trying to figure out their team’s offensive lineup in the post-David Bakhtiari and post-Jon Runyan Jr. era.
The fact that Tom, a great pass protector, can fill in wherever he’s needed on the offensive line allows the Packers to get their “best five” on the field, whoever they deem that to be. Since being drafted in the fourth round in 2022, the Wake Forest product has played in 26 games and made 22 starts.
#4) Kenny Clark, defensive tackle
When ESPN interviewed NFL scouts, coaches and executives to ask them who the top defensive tackles in the league were, Kenny Clark, who just signed his third contract with the Packers, was ranked ninth overall in relation to his peers. At least one voter had Clark ranked as high as the fifth-best interior lineman in football right now.
With the transition to a 4-3 defense, where Clark should be used as a more penetrating nose tackle, the sky is the limit for his production this year. Few nose tackles have the explosiveness that Clark brings to the table. Hopefully, new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley can get the most out of him.
#3) Jaire Alexander, cornerback
Despite signing his contract two years again, Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander remains the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL with his $21 million per season average. Alexander thrives in man coverage, something he didn’t get the opportunity to play often under defensive coordinator Joe Barry, but the change to Hafley’s more press-based single-high defense scheme should change some of that moving forward.
While Alexander has dealt with injuries in the recent past, the hope is that his injury woes are now behind him. Until he proves otherwise, he’s still one of the best cornerbacks in the league. With that being said, this season will be big for the perception of his game, as he’s only recorded one Pro Bowl in the last three years, in part due to injury and scheme issues.
#2) Rashan Gary, defensive end
Packers pass-rusher Rashan Gary is arguably one of the better pass-rushers in the league, though, he has yet to put together a full season of dominance. Gary has clearly broken out into the tier of elite pass-rushers, even if he’s a cut behind the likes of Micah Parsons or Myles Garrett. The reason he hasn’t had a full season of elite play, though, is because his 2022 season ended with a mid-season ACL tear and that same injury caused him to play on a pitch count to start the 2023 season.
Now that he doesn’t have to rehab throughout the spring and summer, the hope is that Gary takes that next step and becomes a week-to-week matchup nightmare going into 2024. If training camp is any example of what’s to come, expect some big sack numbers to be attached to his name this year. Gary had three sacks in four plays in one practice during the first week of camp. On Friday, he also registered back-to-back sacks in a red zone period, though, this occurred during a padless practice.
#1) Jordan Love, quarterback
Number one on our list is the $220 million man himself: Jordan Love. After three and half years of questions about whether or not he was going to be the franchise quarterback of the future, Love went on a tear to end the 2023 season. Now, he finds himself tied for the highest-paid player in the history of the sport and he received the largest signing bonus any NFL player has ever been paid.
No player is more important to the Packers’ success moving forward than Love, who the Packers allocated nearly 25 percent of their cap space in future years, assuming the cap grows at a consistent rate. Aaron Rodgers left some huge shoes to fill, but if anyone can do it, it’s going to be Love, who weathered the storm that was all of the quarterback drama Green Bay brought onto themselves from 2020 to 2024.
Thanks for following along with our series. If you want to check out our full list of the top 25 Packers going into 2024, including players who received honorable mention votes, here it is:
Full List
- Jordan Love, QB
- Rashan Gary, DE
- Jaire Alexander, CB
- Kenny Clark, DT
- Zach Tom, OL
- Xavier McKinney, S
- Elgton Jenkins, OL
- Jayden Reed, WR
- Dontayvion Wicks, WR
- Josh Jacobs, RB
- Rasheed Walker, OT
- Christian Watson, WR
- Keisean Nixon, CB/KRET
- Tucker Kraft, TE
- Devonte Wyatt, DT
- Karl Brooks, DT
- Preston Smith, DE
- Luke Musgrave, TE
- Lukas Van Ness, DE
- Romeo Doubs, WR
- Carrington Valentine, CB
- Quay Walker, LB
- Jordan Morgan, OL
- Javon Bullard, S
- T.J. Slaton, DT
- Honorable mention: LB Edgerrin Cooper, CB Eric Stokes, OL Sean Rhyan and WR Bo Melton