If The Packers Hope To Rise In 2026, These 5 Players Must Shine

JORDAN MORGAN, LT

The Packers’ 2024 first round draft pick couldn’t win the left tackle job in either of his first two seasons.

Now, with Rasheed Walker in Carolina, the job is Morgan’s.

Morgan has made 13 starts in two seasons — including seven at left guard and three at right guard — and his play has been mediocre, at best.

Can Morgan perform at the position he was drafted to play?

“It feels good. It feels really good,” Morgan said last week of playing left tackle. “I finally get the spot that I like, that they know I’m good at, and that they drafted me at. They drafted me as a tackle. So I get to line up outside out there. And so I’m doing really good right now.”

ZAIRE FRANKLIN, LB

When the Packers decided not to pick up linebacker Quay Walker’s fifth-year option in 2025, it became clear his days in Green Bay were numbered. That’s exactly what happened when Walker signed a three-year, $40.5 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Green Bay covered its tail, though, by trading defensive tackle Colby Wooden to Indianapolis for linebacker Zaire Franklin two days before Walker and the Raiders agreed to terms.

Franklin led the NFL with 173 tackles in 2024, made his first Pro Bowl that year, and was named a second-team All-Pro. Franklin didn’t play as well in 2025, but brings a nastiness with him and should be a good fit in coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s defense.

Franklin, who shines against the run, but struggles in coverage, led the Colts with 1,112 snaps last year. Gannon may choose to have Franklin play strictly on early downs, but that remains to be seen.

“On the field, I’m just a dog,” Franklin said. “I ain’t gonna lie to you. That’s just how I like to play. I like to get into issues and make plays and take the ball away. It’s been fun playing with the guys and building that camaraderie.”

MATTHEW GOLDEN, WR

Golden, Green Bay’s first round draft pick in 2025, finished his rookie season with somewhat pedestrian numbers of 29 receptions for 361 yards, an average of 12.4 yards per catch. Golden’s lone touchdown came in the Packers’ playoff loss to Chicago.

That 23-yard touchdown reception was arguably Green Bay’s biggest highlight-reel play of the year, though. And Golden — who finished that playoff game with four catches for 84 yards — showed that night why Green Bay selected him in the first round.

Now, with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks gone, Golden will have the chance for more snaps and greater production.

“To be honest, I don’t feel like (people) have seen anything yet,” Golden said. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and I know what I have done. To me, it wasn’t anything yet. I know it’s a lot more out there. I’m excited for it.

JAVON HARGRAVE, DT

Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst made a very un-Gutekunst-like move in free agency by signing the 33-year-old, defensive tackle to a two-year, $23 million deal. Now, Hargrave must prove there’s still tread on the tires.

Hargrave, a 10-year veteran, is a two-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2023) with 49 career sacks. Hargrave had 3.5 sacks and 31 pressures for Minnesota last season, and according to Pro Football Focus, ranked 17th in pass-rush win rate (12.4%) among defensive linemen with at least 100 pass rushing snaps.

From 2023-’25 — when Hargrave was in San Francisco and Minnesota — he ranked sixth among defensive linemen in pressure rate (12.2%) and second in quick pressure rate (5.4%).

Still, the Vikings released Hargrave in March for salary cap reasons.

Since the start of free agency in 2025, Green Bay had lost defensive tackles T.J. Slaton (signed with Cincinnati), Kenny Clark (trade) and Colby Wooden (trade). Can Hargrave help solve some of the issues created from those losses?

“I think I fit great,” Hargrave said last week. “Veteran leadership and just being one of the oldest of the group, just bringing what I know, what I’ve learned through the years. There’s so much talent on this team and on the D-line, I just try to input and help them in as many ways as I can.”

AARON BANKS, LG

Banks signed a four-year, $77 million free agent contract with the Packers in March, 2025, then didn’t give Green Bay nearly enough bang for the buck.

Banks battled ankle and groin injuries a year ago, but was ordinary, at best in his 14 starts.

Banks is healthy again and the Packers believe he can still be a highly productive player. For Green Bay’s offensive line to take a step up, the investment in Banks needs to start paying off.

“Some of the things he went through were unexpected,” Gutekunst said of Banks. “I really thought he played well toward the end of the season, once he got healthy.”