The Green Bay Packers have been active in free agency under Brian Gutekunst. The team might not sign every available veteran the way some teams do, but they’ve made high-cost investments that play an increasingly impactful role now more than ever before.
Brian Gutekunst made a splash in 2019 with Adrian Amos, Billy Turner, Preston Smith, and Za’Darius Smith, who all played big roles for the team. Last season, Gutekunst signed Josh Jacobs and Xavier McKinney, who brought an influx of talent and leadership to the team. Both players made the Pro Bowl after their first season in Wisconsin.
However, the early returns on Gutekunst’s latest investments, cornerback Nate Hobbs and guard Aaron Banks, aren’t great.
The Packers signed Hobbs as a potential upgrade to Eric Stokes. Meanwhile, Banks was supposed to elevate the offensive line from their former weakest link, center Josh Myers, and to use his size to aid the lackluster run blocking.
Thus far, neither has been a net positive. It’s too early to declare these signings as foreboding “busts,” but it’s not looking like a good ROI for Green Bay.
The Packers view both the offensive line and secondary as “weak link” systems. As long as there’s continuity, the sum can be greater than the parts. Currently, neither position group appears particularly strong, and the new hires are a significant part of the issue.
On the offensive line, Banks is far from the sole problem. The entire unit is dealing with injuries, the team is still trying to find the best spot to play former first-round pick Jordan Morgan, and Elgton Jenkins hasn’t fully adjusted to his new life as a center. It hasn’t helped that Banks missed significant time in both training camp and the regular season, playing in four of Green Bay’s six games and exiting early in some of them.
Banks received a high-level contract (eighth-highest for guards) for what had been an average-to-slightly-above-average career. The Packers believed Banks had his best football ahead of him and that his size profile — large for Green Bay’s usual linemen profile — would allow him to be a mover in the run game.
When available, he’s been consistently one of the worst-graded Packers on offense, with a 49.3 PFF grade. Other than Morgan’s 48.4, Banks’ grade is the lowest along the offensive line. And, in fairness to Morgan, he’s had more responsibility because the Packers needed him to play multiple positions in relief of other linemen.
Banks hasn’t been good as a run blocker and a pass protector. Ideally, being healthy and building continuity can improve his play. Right now, it’s not looking like a great signing.
Hobbs is looking even more dismal.
Despite signing a contract consistent with slot cornerbacks, the Packers have played Hobbs primarily on the outside, and it hasn’t been working.
Hobbs is an unfortunate co-star in clips that fill the Arizona Cardinals’ highlight reel from Sunday’s victory. Hobbs consistently allowed the Arizona offense to stay on the field by giving up four catches on five targets, including major gains to Marvin Harrison Jr. on two third downs. A holding call gave the Cardinals another crucial first down, and his missed tackle on tight end Trey McBride led to a touchdown. He allowed a 109.7 passer rating when targeted.
Though fellow starting corner Keisean Nixon also had a rough day, Nixon has been much more consistent and has been a pass-breakup machine.
When offenses are embracing the quick game to minimize Green Bay’s effective pass rush, the cornerbacks have struggled, especially Hobbs. He’s been the true weak link of the system, which isn’t great, especially considering Eric Stokes, who he replaced, is doing fine in Las Vegas.
Matt LaFleur still believes in Hobbs, even after the rough game.
“[Nate is] a competitive dude and takes a lot of pride in his work,” LaFleur said. “He loves ball and I think he’ll rebound and, in the end, he’ll be better for it. There were some rough moments — I think that’s one of the beauties, especially playing that position. You better be resilient in this league, because there’s going to be some times where you get beat.”
The Packers moved Hobbs to the slot late against the Cardinals, after his struggles kept Arizona in the game for far too long. That needs to be the plan moving forward, even if the Packers do like Javon Bullard there. At this point, Carrington Valentine needs to be the other starting outside corner. Still, having to adjust your entire secondary because your big off-season investment is playing poorly is far from ideal.
There’s a lot of season remaining, and the Packers are one of the NFC’s top teams. No squad in the conference appears to be a true juggernaut. But two of Green Bay’s biggest weaknesses are coming from groups they heavily invested in this spring.
Neither player is actively losing the team games, but they aren’t trending in the right direction. Don’t expect the Packers to give up on their investments this early, but the team needs much more from these highly paid veterans.