Acme Packing Company
Three ESPN writers got together to rank the best lineups in the NFL, as it stands in July. While the Green Bay Packers didn’t top the list, they did rank in the top third of the league, according to the World Wide Leader’s experts.
The two big questions on the Packers’ depth chart right now are:
ESPN gave those jobs to Karl Brooks (defensive line) and Carrington Valentine (cornerback) for whatever it’s worth. The strength of the team was labeled as safety, which I think is more than fair, considering they probably have four starting-caliber players in that room, and their weakness was listed as their defensive line.
Here’s a blurb they had about the Packers’ X factor going into the 2026 season, a topic that has been talked about by Green Bay fans for years now:
X factor for 2026: Their run-pass ratio. Despite designing one of the league’s most efficient passing games, coach Matt LaFleur’s weakness has been leaning too heavily on running the ball. In 2025, the Packers recorded 0.21 EPA per play on designed pass plays (second best) and minus-0.02 EPA per designed run (16th). Despite that huge gap in efficiency, the Packers ranked 26th in pass rate over expected, per Next Gen Stats. If Green Bay puts the ball in quarterback Jordan Love’s hands more often, it should win more games.
Personally, I think the Houston Texans should be higher in the top-10 (C.J. Stroud can’t be that bad in the playoffs again, right?) and that the Detroit Lions aren’t a top-six team, but those are my only strong takes about the top-10. For what it’s worth, the Chicago Bears finished 17th and the Minnesota Vikings finished 22nd.
