Week 10 has arrived, and with every NFL team having played at least eight games, the midseason picture is clear enough to start sorting out award races. For the Packers, that means asking a simple question: who, if anyone, has a real shot at major individual honors?
The answer starts with Jordan Love. He has played well enough to enter the All-Pro conversation, but he is not alone in that race.
Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy also have strong cases, and unlike Green Bay, neither of those teams is sitting in the basement of its division right now. That can change, but AP and PFWA voters are going to notice where the teams stand when the ballots get filled out.
At running back, the Packers don’t have a realistic All-Pro candidate. The Leap’s Peter Bukowski will get as many All-Pro votes as any Green Bay back this season. As the piece puts it, “Say what you will about Pete, but his 0.0 rush EPA would beat any qualified back in Green Bay by at least 5.2.”
Wide receiver is where Green Bay has its best chance to land someone on an All-Pro team. The AP and PFWA handle the position differently, with the AP naming three receivers and the PFWA only two, so the Packers have a better path with the AP than with the PFWA. Getting on both lists is still on the table.
Christian Watson is the Green Bay receiver with the strongest case at the halfway point. He ranks third in receiving EPA at plus-41.2 and 10th among qualifiers in yards after catch over expectation at plus-71. The traditional numbers are just as eye-catching: he is second in touchdown catches with seven and third in receiving yardage with 879.
Even so, Watson is chasing a crowded field. The Seattle Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba has essentially locked down one of the spots already, with a statistical profile that leads the position across the board despite middling quarterback play and without another pass catcher consistently taking attention away from him. That leaves Watson needing to finish as one of the clear top two or top three wideouts in the league if he wants the All-Pro recognition.
Matthew Golden could also enter the discussion, but his drop problems are likely to work against him with voters. His numbers look strong compared with last year, yet his underlying production does not quite stack up with Watson or the other elite receivers. There is still time for him to close that gap over the next two months, but sharing an offense with Watson makes that a tougher climb.
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Jordan Love figures to be central to whatever Green Bay does next, especially with Minnesota bringing a defense that has been difficult to crack. The matchup has drawn plenty of attention from around the league, including a round of Bleacher Report predictions that leaned toward the Packers, which only adds to the sense that this is more than just another division game. For Green Bay, it is a chance to answer a familiar opponent on its own turf and make the rematch count. [Read more 🡒]