Packers Youth Questioned as Inexperience Leads to Massive Drop in Rankings

After being ranked No. 9 last season, ESPN issued a huge drop to the Green Bay Packers. In their latest installment of the talent under 25 list, Aaron Schatz is not a fan of the Packers young players.

Schatz complies his list based on numerous factors. Number of stats and starts are all contributed, as well as a team’s value added from the 2025 draft.

Green Bay Packers Fall to No. 23 in Talent Under 25 List

The Packers are a team that have constantly been praised for being one of the best for their age. This is a team that Matt LaFleur has been able to lead to the postseason in back-to-back seasons under Jordan Love. They aren’t the flashiest team in the league with marquee players, but they’ve consistently got the job done.

For Schatz, he simply hasn’t seen enough. Green Bay was in the Top 10 of these rankings last season, but now they’ve fallen 14 spots. The Houston Texans remain No. 1, as they have for three straight years. Oddly enough, the Packers beat them, 24-22 in Week 7 last season.

Clearly, one win wasn’t enough for the Packers to prove Schatz wrong. CJ Stroud led his team to a Wild Card win over the Los Angeles Chargers. They ultimately fell to the Kansas City Chiefs. On the other side, the Packers were one and done as they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. Regardless, both teams lost to who appeared in the Super Bowl.

Schatz mentioned the Packers young talent, but doesn’t believe they have a single blue-chip player. To compare, he mentioned J.J. McCarthy as a blue-chip player for the Minnesota Vikings even though he hasn’t played a single snap in the league.

All 23 teams ahead of the Packers had one, if not multiple blue-chip players listed. The only teams that didn’t have anyone make the list were the bottom three teams: San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos.

Green Bay Has Four ‘Notable Graduated Players’

Seeing as this is an “under 25” list, the Packers have four explosive players who just reached that age. Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Quay Walker, and Rasheed Walker all turned 25 this offseason. They are no longer eligible for the list, attributing to the large fall in Green Bay’s rankings.

Luke Musgrave barely makes the list as he’ll turn 25 five days prior to the team’s opener on September 7. Schatz mentions him and his tight end counterpart, Tucker Kraft, as two key weapons for Love. The Packers quarterback is just 26 years-old himself, with top running back Josh Jacobs clocking in at 27.

Even their defensive difference maker, Xavier McKinney, is only 26-years-old. Packers fans realize they suffered a huge drop in the rankings, but they still have a ton of young talent. Of the 23 teams ranked above them, only the Arizona Cardinals also had four notable graduated players.

The most surprising thing on this list is Matthew Golden not being a blue-chip player. The 22-year-old has received rave reviews in training camp. Some expect him to be WR1, which would be quite the task for the rookie. Love has a soft spot for the Texas graduate who was the first wide receiver the Packers selected in the first round since 2002.