It was certainly an active and surprising first week of free agency for the Green Bay Packers. Now, it's been seven days since the new league year began, but actually nine days since teams were allowed to talk to free agents.

The Packers signed safety Xavier McKinney and running back Josh Jacobs, but released running back Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari.

Now, let's evaluate the losers of these moves.

Packers outside run game

Josh Jacobs is a complete running back. But let's be fair, it's almost impossible to find a better back than Aaron Jones to run outside plays. His speed and balance are off the charts, while Jacobs is more natural running between the tackles.

AJ Dillon is certainly better running inside as well, which means that the outside run game will probably regress in 2024.

The Packers will obviously utilize Josh Jacobs in some of these concepts, and Emanuel Wilson also has the potential to execute it. But the draft seems like the last chance for Green Bay to find a Jones' replacement in terms of style.

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Offensive line depth

The Packers have only nine offensive linemen on their 90-man roster after cutting David Bakhtiari and letting Yosh Nijman walk in free agency. The situation is particularly concerning on the interior, where Royce Newman is the only backup — seriously.

At tackle, the options are all developmental pieces: Caleb Jones, Luke Tenuta, and Kadeem Telfort.

The Packers could have signed a veteran or two to supplement the position, but they haven't done it so far. Brian Gutekunst has taken three offensive linemen in the same draft class three times since he took over as the general manager in 2018, and with 11 picks in the draft, don't be surprised if he does that again.

Meanwhile, the O-line depth is a big point of attention.

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Linebacker hopes

Patrick Queen, Azeez Al-Shaair, Frankie Luvu, Jordyn Brooks, Blake Cashman, Josey Jewell, Jerome Baker. All of these linebackers were free agents, but they have signed new deals, and none of them is with the Packers.

Now, it has become hard to find a difference-maker, and as we mentioned on the winners' piece, it looks like the Packers like Isaiah McDuffie more than most outside people.

The best available linebacker at this point is probably Isaiah Simmons, but he is a situational player who participated in only 30% of the New York Giants' defensive snaps last year. Moreover, his skill set doesn't complement what Quay Walker has to offer.

The Packers kept Kristian Welch and will possibly re-sign Eric Wilson, who are mainly special teamers, but there isn't a good answer to start at middle linebacker.

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Emanuel Wilson

When the Packers released Aaron Jones minutes after signing Josh Jacobs, the initial perception was that Emanuel Wilson would be the running back 2. Sure, they could sign a cheap veteran or draft someone, but Wilson has been in the system and is a good complement to Jacobs' skill set. He could really be Jones' replacement, even if without the same level of ability.

But when the Packers re-signed AJ Dillon days later, Wilson was probably the most affected player. Dillon also knows the system and, even though they are different types of players, the former second-round pick is widely expected to be the primary backup behind Jacobs.

If the Packers draft a running back, which is likely at this point, Wilson not only will have a small role, but his fight will be for a roster spot.

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Cheap safeties

I know, this is the part of free agency that can happen later. But most people expected the Packers to sign not only one, but multiple safeties. They agreed to a four-year deal on day 1 of the legal tampering period with Xavier McKinney, but haven't done more than that since.

Right now, Anthony Johnson Jr. is the starter alongside McKinney, and that's certainly a less than ideal scenario.

Gladfully for the Packers, unlike the linebacker market, there are still several decent options. Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams, Eddie Jackson, Micah Hyde, Tracy Walker, Marcus Maye, Tashaun Gipson and even Rudy Ford are all available.

For now, though, that's still a huge question mark.

Ascending player is expected to have a much bigger role after Packers’ moves in free agency

Green Bay decided to go ahead with their youth movement