Why the Green Bay Packers should prove oddsmakers wrong in 2022
When Aaron Rodgers has been healthy the Green Bay Packers have dominated the competition in the NFC North. Oddsmakers are once again expecting a first place finish from the Packers, but one major change in Green Bay could be why one sportsbook is pessimistic about the team’s Super Bowl chances. There is no question that […]
When Aaron Rodgers has been healthy the Green Bay Packers have dominated the competition in the NFC North. Oddsmakers are once again expecting a first place finish from the Packers, but one major change in Green Bay could be why one sportsbook is pessimistic about the team’s Super Bowl chances.
There is no question that there is an elephant in the room in Green Bay. Since the team traded star WR Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, the football world is wondering aloud whether Rodgers can operate the offense at an elite level without his best weapon.
BetMGM still favors the Packers (-185) to win the NFC North, but the gap heading into the 2022 NFL season is not as wide as it has been in years past. The Minnesota Vikings (+275) are the lone threat for the divisional throne with the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions serving as the NFL’s faces for franchise dysfunction.
The sportsbook sets Green Bay’s regular season win total at 10.5 (-145). The number might be lower than some would expect due to the team stringing together 13 wins in each of the last three seasons.
While nobody in the NFL is capable of filling Adams’ shoes, he isn’t the only weapon Rodgers lost this summer. Wide receivers Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Chiefs) and Equanimeous St. Brown (Bears) also found different homes this offseason.
Adams heads to Las Vegas after setting career-highs receiving yards (1,553) and receptions (123) in ’21. He also put up double-digit touchdown numbers in five of his last six seasons. MVS totaled 430 yards on 26 catches with three touchdowns serving as the unit’s vertical threat.
To fill the holes on the outside, Green Bay signed WR Sammy Watkins in the free agency period and drafted NDSU WR Christian Watson in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Watkins has struggled in the NFL, but there are hopes the former fourth overall draft pick is able to resuscitate his career in Green Bay. After all, Rodgers has made a career out of elevating the play of those around him.
The Packers kept most of its 10th ranked scoring defense in house by re-signing first-team All Pro LB De’Vondre Campbell and veteran sensation CB Rasul Douglas. Za'Darius Smith signed with Minnesota this offseason. Prior to his season-ending back injury in 2021, Smith recorded a total of 26 sacks in from 2019-20. If the Packers’ pass rush can take a leap forward, there isn’t any reason as to why this defense can’t once again be in the top third of the NFL.
The Packers are currently listed at 11/1 to win the Super Bowl and 5/1 to win the NFC — something Rodgers has accomplished just once in his 17-year career. The Packers trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+350) and have the same odds as the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams to win the conference, per BetMGM.
As long as Rodgers is healthy the NFC North will belong to the Packers. However, Green Bay’s front office continued its negligence towards Rodgers’ need for weapons on the outside this offseason. Watkins and Watson join TE Robert Tonyan as the team’s top 3 pass catching options, which isn’t enough to strike fear into any defensive coordinators’ eyes.
The Packers get the AFC East and the NFC East on their schedule this season. There are no free wins in the NFL, but there are a few games in that stretch that should come cheap. Though there will be growing pains along the way, expect the Packers to be contending for the NFC crown in January yet again.
Featured image via Mike De Sisti / USA TODAY NETWORK
