Bargain Shopping: Where the Packers can find value outside of the big names

The Packers could land a field tilter like Davante Adams or Maxx Crosby this offseason. Even if that happens, their other additions will have to come on the cheap.

For all the things that the Green Bay Packers got right in 2024, they still ultimately came up short against top competition in the regular season and playoffs. They lost all four of their matchups with the division-rival Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings and each of the two contests against the Philadelphia Eagles. Green Bay notched just two wins over playoff teams, a one-score victory over a Los Angeles Rams squad playing without Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and the other against the offensively challenged Houston Texans.

No single factor can account for the Packers' struggles against premier opponents. In some instances, the lack of a clear go-to receiver on passing downs stymied key drives. In other cases, the front four couldn't generate enough pressure or the Jaire Alexander-less secondary struggled to contain top pass catchers. During the playoffs in particular, the lack of healthy depth along the offensive line forced Green Bay to play left-handed after Elgton Jenkins went down.

So, with the Packers now fully in offseason mode, they can directly address these issues. That means adding a proven receiver like Davante Adams, trading for a star pass rusher like Maxx Crosby, and signing an impact lineman like Trey Smith, right?

While certain corners of the internet believe the Packers can solve their problems just that easily, the reality looks far different. Perhaps the team will pull off one major move in that vein, but that will require skillful negotiation and some luck. Even then, the front office will still need to tackle other areas of the roster in a cost-effective manner, and the draft won't provide Day 1 solutions in every case.

That leaves the Packers with the prospect of either living with personnel shortcomings as they try to catch up to the NFL's elite or identifying cheap-but-quality veterans to fill some of the gaps. Green Bay has grown more comfortable using the veteran market under general manager Brian Gutekunst who said the team must "ramp up" the urgency in order to secure another Lombardi Trophy.

If Gutekunst means what he said, the veteran market will have some viable buy-low candidates from which the Packers can bolster their roster.