Sportsnaut
The Green Bay Packers are widely viewed as one of the best teams in the National Football League entering the summer ahead of the 2026 NFL season. While many believe this team can contend for the Lombardi Trophy, that doesn’t necessarily mean those inside the league view the Packers roster as being loaded with stars.
ESPN is releasing its annual top-10 positional list at each spot, with NFL executives, scouts and coaches polled on the best players at each position. Here’s a breakdown on how Packers’ stars fared on said lists. If a starter isn’t excluded, they didn’t make either the top 10 or the honorable mentions.
Evidently, the majority of NFL personnel polled by ESPN aren’t particularly high on Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Not only did he finish outside the top-10 in voting, but he even seemed to place behind Sam Darnold and Jayden Daniels in the ‘honorable mentions’ section.
“I don’t think he gets enough credit for playing the position consistently well, and he has got the athletic traits to match it.”
Anonymous NFC scout on Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love
That’s hard to explain considering that Love ranked second in Adjusted EPA per Play (0.289) last season and posted the seventh-best Success Rate (51.4 percent). Putting him behind Caleb Williams also feels inexcusable considering how the two career resumes compare.
Josh Jacobs ranks 11th among the highest-paid running backs in the NFL this season ($12 million AAV) and it’s safe to say many around the league believe the Packers are receiving modest value on the deal. Jacobs finished atop ESPN‘s honorable mention list, just behind Breece Hall in 10th place.
“Still a really quality back but has probably slowed down slightly. Can still hit singles and doubles but not a lot of home runs as far as explosive plays. Still really good between the tackles.”
Anonymous NFC executive on Green Bay Packers RB Josh Jacobs
Jacobs, who replaced fan-favorite Aaron Jones ahead of the 2024 NFL season, has amassed 2,258 rushing yards with 30 total touchdowns and averaged 4.2 yards per carry during his time with Green Bay. Heading into his age-28 season and facing legal issues, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this is his last season with the Packers.
Even coming off an ACL tear suffered in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, top minds around the league view Tucker Kraft as one of the best NFL tight ends in 2026. ESPN‘s panel of coaches, scouts and executives voted Kraft as the sixth-best player at his position right now. We are a bit surprised, however, that Kraft was ranked below Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (fourth) given that LaPorta put up worse numbers in nine games and is also coming off a serious injury.
“His speed and [run-after-catch] ability really stand out. He was just scratching the surface before the injury. And...
