How Matt LaFleur reshaped the post-Aaron Rodgers offense (and why Dontayvion Wicks is further along than you think)

The transition to a post-Aaron Rodgers offense required months of trial and error, but the Packers gradually built a new approach and identity around Jordan Love and a young receiving corps.

From the moment Aaron Rodgers announced his intentions to play for the New York Jets, the Green Bay Packers faced an identity crisis. Rodgers, a Super Bowl champion and four-time MVP, had served as the tip of the team's spear for 15 seasons. The franchise made every major decision with him in mind, including the transition from longtime head coach Mike McCarthy to Matt LaFleur four years earlier.

With Rodgers no longer in the fold, the Packers had more than a quarterback to replace; they had a new offense to build. LaFleur, the head coach and offensive play-caller, would have to guide the NFL's youngest roster and a first-time starter under center into an uncertain future.

"I think offensively, you're going to see probably a little bit more of Matt's true offense," team president Mark Murphy said at the Packers' annual shareholders meeting last July. "Obviously, when you have a great quarterback like Aaron and somebody who's been in the league as long as he has, we gave him the flexibility to change plays and get in and out of things that really helped, but I would anticipate a strong running game and play-action off of that."

For his part, LaFleur downplayed that notion: "I don't know what that means. It's always our offense, and it's not about one person in this building. It's about us, all our players, all our coaches, and how we want to attack. I would say it's a very fluid process. Sure, we got our core beliefs and our foundational values, but it's how we do what's best for our football team."

Whether or not LaFleur has a "true" offense, the Packers' approach looked markedly different last season than in the years with Rodgers at the helm. Not only did the unit struggle to find its footing until November, but the complexion of the play-calling shifted rapidly. Certain staple plays from the height of the LaFleur-Rodgers era eventually fell out of use. Some concepts evolved new wrinkles to better fit the young personnel while others made triumphant returns after falling out of prominence years earlier.

Though the transition involved months of missteps and adjustments, the Packers cemented a fresh offensive identity around Jordan Love and his stable of first- and second-year receivers in time for the team to secure a playoff berth. The post-Rodgers unit shares the same foundation as past Green Bay offenses, but the featured concepts and players have changed in one way or another.