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The Packers' season kicks off in just two days, and there hasn't been this much excitement surrounding the team since the end of the Aaron Rodgers era. The addition of Micah Parsons should turn what was already a playoff team into one of the few legitimate Super Bowl contenders in the NFC.
A move like that can sometimes bring too lofty expectations for any team, but I truly believe that the sky is the limit for this young and uber-talented roster.
I usually like to keep my expectations low and then be pleasantly surprised, but I can't help myself this year, so let's have fun and break down my five boldest predictions for the 2025 Packers.
Micah Parsons and Rashan Gary combine for 25+ sacks
There was no way I wasn't going to immediately talk about Parsons. He's incredible, and there isn't much explanation needed as to why I believe he'll have a minimum of 12 sacks this season. What I find really exciting about adding him to the defense is what he'll do for the rest of the players on the defensive line.
When you have a player like Parsons, it forces opposing offenses to game plan for him and focus most of their attention on slowing him down. You know what that means? Much less attention on Rashan Gary. The former 1st round pick has been solid but has never reached 10 sacks in a season, and I think that finally changes this year. Gary may not be equipped to consistently beat double-teams, but now with Parsons across from him, I expect to see a ton of one-on-one matchups for 52.
Parsons has reached at least 12 sacks in all four years of his career and 13+ in three of four seasons. If he can just repeat that number of 13, all it will take is 12 sacks from Gary to reach 25 combined. I think that number is well within reach for one of the NFL's newest and best pass-rushing duos.
Edgerrin Cooper will be First-Team All-Pro
All the excitement around Micah Parsons seems to have made people forget about another elite young player on this defense named Edgerrin Cooper. As a rookie, Cooper was dominant, wreaking havoc in opposing offenses' backfield. He finished the season with 13 tackles for loss in only 14 games played. There was not a single inside linebacker with more tackles for loss than Cooper in 2024.
The 33rd Team has a statistic called "havoc plays," which is pretty self-explanatory, and guess who finished the year with the most? You guessed it, Edge Cooper with 21 havoc plays. Nobody else in the league had more than 17. Remember, he did this in only 14 games.
Now, as he enters his second season in the NFL, he should only improve as he continues to master Jeff Hafley's defense, and unlike last year, he will enter the season with a clean bill of health. Cooper to the moon in 2025.
Matthew Golden will lead the team in receiving yards and touchdowns
The Packers finally drafted a wide receiver in the 1st round, and by all accounts, they seemed to have nailed the pick. No player on the team has gotten better reviews than Golden throughout training camp. From his speed to his hands to his route running, it's all there for the rookie.
Jordan Love has already singled him out multiple times, talking about how quickly he's picked up the offense and how reliable his hands are. That's going to be what separates him from the pack. There were way too many drops on this team last year, but it doesn't seem like that will be an issue for Golden. Based on all the reports that I saw out of camp, there seemed to be only one dropped pass from Golden throughout the entire offseason. Love is going to pepper him with targets, knowing that he can rely on him to come down with the football.
Even if everyone were healthy, I'd still have confidence in this bold prediction, but unfortunately, we've already seen a slew of injuries in the wide receiver room, which should only mean more targets for Golden. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he finishes the year with over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Carrington Valentine finishes the season as the clear CB1
There isn't a position group on this team with more question marks than at cornerback. Right now, the only experienced guys we have there are Valentine, Nate Hobbs, and Keisean Nixon. On paper, it's not exactly the most inspiring group.
Many fans have voiced their concerns about it, and I understand that, but I have a lot of confidence in the trio, especially Valentine. As a rookie in 2023, Valentine broke up nine passes and allowed only a 55.6 completion percentage. Out of 75 qualifying cornerbacks, he ranked 13th in completion percentage allowed and 19th in passer rating when targeted. Remember, Valentine was a 7th-round pick. The fact that he was even playing as much as he did was an accomplishment, let alone how well he played.
His sophomore season wasn't as productive, but he was also dealing with injury throughout a portion of the year and was put in a strange rotation with Eric Stokes, which never allowed him to get into a rhythm within an individual game. I expect him to start on the outside all season long and excel while doing it.
Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave will combine for 15+ touchdowns
This is a fun one and possibly the boldest. I think everyone is expecting a full-on breakout season from Kraft this year, but Musgrave is where the questions begin. Through two seasons, Musgrave has only been active for 18 of a possible 34 games due to injury. It's pretty hard to be productive when you're not on the field, but that should change this year.
Musgrave will enter the season at 100% and Matt Lafleur has repeatedly spoken about how good he's looked all throughout training camp. Tight ends notoriously take longer to develop than most positions, and that's without dealing with injuries. Now that he's healthy, I'm expecting a lot of two tight end sets for this offense with Kraft dominating the shorter area of the field while Musgrave stretches the defense vertically down the middle.
The Packers drafted both of these guys early in the 2023 draft for a reason, and I think that reason was to utilize them at the same time, stressing the linebackers and safeties of opposing defenses. Very few teams have the capability to cover two dynamic tight ends like this. I think something like nine touchdowns for Kraft and six for Musgrave is well within reach.