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Many of the big names for the Green Bay Packerstook a step forward in performance during the 2025 season, but just as many took a step back, and a few of the biggest regressions -- namely at kicker, within the spine of the defense and along the offensive line -- helped explain some of the struggles for Matt LaFleur's team down the stretch in 2025.
Two of the elites from last season, Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs, weren't among the elites in 2025. Two defensive tackles took big steps back. Two linebackers regressed, to varying degrees. And the offensive line had three starters who did not improve over 2024. Throw in a disappointing season from Rashan Gary opposite Micah Parsons, and the Packers were not able to overcome the loss of several top players to end the season.
Regression is unavoidable within a roster. But the Packers had too many declining performances from important players in 2025.
Here’s a closer look at the players who regressed most for the Packers in 2025, using individual overall grades from Pro Football Focus as our guide:
Wilson's average per rush went down from 4.9 to 4.0 in 2025, and he forced only 17 missed tackles after creating 27 in 2024. He also had just one run of at least 15 yards after producing seven in 2024. Wilson struggled as a pass blocker (five pressures allowed, 49.5 pass block grade).
McManus missed two extra points (zero misses in 2024) and eight field goals (two misses in 2024) during a disappointing 2025 season. All eight of his misses (6-for-14) were from 40 yards or longer, including two crucial misses in the playoff loss.
His pass-rushing lost efficiency; Brooks created only 29 pressures on 420 pass-rushing snaps. And his run defense grade (38.9) was among the worst among all defensive tackles in the NFL. Playing a career-high 664 snaps did him no favors.
His pass-rush grade held firm at 71.4, the exact same grade he received in 2024. Wyatt's regression was a product of failures against the run. His run defense grade ended at 38.7, a career worst. Of the 111 defensive linemen with at least 150 run defense snaps, Wyatt's run defense grade ranked 98th.
His run defense grade dropped to 54.4, and he ranked as one of the worst coverage linebackers in football. Walker gave up 67 completions and six touchdown passes and intercepted zero passes, and quarterbacks had a passer rating of 122.2 when targeting him. He tackled well (only nine misses and a 6.7 percent miss rate) and set a career high in stops (46), but his season was poor overall.
Cooper played almost double the snaps of his rookie season, but his frequency of impact plays wasn't as high. After creating 39 "stops" on 549 snaps in 2024, Cooper had 50 on 1,089 snaps in 2025. Fifty is still a great number, but the number of big-time flash plays behind the line (only four tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks) was disappointing. He missed 19 tackles, resulting in a poor tackle grade (57.9).
In a contract year, Walker gave up more pressures (40 in 2025, 37 in 2024) and more sacks (5 in 2025, 3 in 2024) and committed more penalties (11 in 2025, 9 in 2024). His pass-blocking grade dropped from 80.1 to 69.3. He did play over 1,000 total snaps for the second straight year.
His run grade dipped after an elite season in 2024. Jacobs forced 48 missed tackles (78 in 2024), averaged 3.0 yards after contact (3.49 in 2024), produced 24 runs of at least 10 yards (34 in 2024) and finished with 285 receiving yards (382 in 2024). A knee injury hampered his second half of the season.
McKinney graded out as one of the NFL's best safeties, but he failed to reach the lofty heights of his first season in Green Bay. The former Giant was excellent against the run (82.8 grade, career best) and once again tackled well (five misses, 4.5 percent miss rate), but his coverage grade fell sharply, largely because he intercepted only two passes after picking off eight in 2024.
What a weird season. Gary produced 60 pressures, but he didn't have a sack over the final 10 games and his pass-rush win rate dropped. Among edge rushers with at least 60 pressures, Gary had by far the lowest overall pass-rushing grade. He was good against the run (71.2) but simply lacked impact as a rusher despite rushing 446 times. His "stops" dropped from 33 in 2024 to 26 in 2025.
Jenkins' pass-block grade dropped to 72.5 from 81.6 despite moving to center. He gave up 10 pressures (2 sacks) and committed four penalties over 537 snaps. His final grade ranked 24th among centers in 2025.
Valentine actually improved against the run, but he missed 10 tackles (21.2 percent miss rate) and allowed 13.7 yards per catch, six touchdown passes and a passer rating of 103.4 into his coverage.
Rhyan played three different positions, and eventually settled in as the starting center after Elgton Jenkins went down, but his pass block grade dipped significantly, from 65.6 in 2024 to 42.4 in 2025. He did cut his penalties from seven to five and improved as a run blocker, finishing with a career best grade of 65.6 in the run game.
DE Brenton Cox Jr. (-13.0): Over limited snaps, Cox took a step back against the run, and he had six pressures on 51 pass-rush snaps after producing 18 pressures over 112 snaps last year.
S Kitan Oladapo (-15.7): His "regression" was based almost entirely on his performance in the regular season finale. He was good in Week 18 in 2024; not as good in Minneapolis in 2025.
LG Aaron Banks (-9.8): The Packers signed Banks to a big deal, believing his best football was ahead of him after an underrated 2024 season. Injuries played a role, but Banks struggled as both a pass protector and run blocker during a disappointing first season in Green Bay.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 13 Packers who regressed the most in 2025
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Two of the elites from last season, Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs, weren't among the elites in 2025. Two defensive tackles took big steps back. Two linebackers regressed, to varying degrees. And the offensive line had three starters who did not improve over 2024. Throw in a disappointing season from Rashan Gary opposite Micah Parsons, and the Packers were not able to overcome the loss of several top players to end the season.
Regression is unavoidable within a roster. But the Packers had too many declining performances from important players in 2025.
Here’s a closer look at the players who regressed most for the Packers in 2025, using individual overall grades from Pro Football Focus as our guide:
RB Emanuel Wilson
- 2024 grade: 82.9
- 2025 grade: 63.7
- Regression: -19.2
Wilson's average per rush went down from 4.9 to 4.0 in 2025, and he forced only 17 missed tackles after creating 27 in 2024. He also had just one run of at least 15 yards after producing seven in 2024. Wilson struggled as a pass blocker (five pressures allowed, 49.5 pass block grade).
K Brandon McManus
- 2024 grade: 81.6
- 2025 grade: 63.5
- Regression: -18.1
McManus missed two extra points (zero misses in 2024) and eight field goals (two misses in 2024) during a disappointing 2025 season. All eight of his misses (6-for-14) were from 40 yards or longer, including two crucial misses in the playoff loss.
DL Karl Brooks
- 2024 grade: 61.8
- 2025 grade: 46.3
- Regression: -15.5
His pass-rushing lost efficiency; Brooks created only 29 pressures on 420 pass-rushing snaps. And his run defense grade (38.9) was among the worst among all defensive tackles in the NFL. Playing a career-high 664 snaps did him no favors.
DL Devonte Wyatt
- 2024 grade: 66.4
- 2025 grade: 52.9
- Regression: -13.5
His pass-rush grade held firm at 71.4, the exact same grade he received in 2024. Wyatt's regression was a product of failures against the run. His run defense grade ended at 38.7, a career worst. Of the 111 defensive linemen with at least 150 run defense snaps, Wyatt's run defense grade ranked 98th.
LB Quay Walker
- 2024 grade: 57.2
- 2025 grade: 46.0
- Regression: -11.2
His run defense grade dropped to 54.4, and he ranked as one of the worst coverage linebackers in football. Walker gave up 67 completions and six touchdown passes and intercepted zero passes, and quarterbacks had a passer rating of 122.2 when targeting him. He tackled well (only nine misses and a 6.7 percent miss rate) and set a career high in stops (46), but his season was poor overall.
LB Edgerrin Cooper
- 2024 grade: 85.6
- 2025 grade: 75.8
- Regression: -9.8
Cooper played almost double the snaps of his rookie season, but his frequency of impact plays wasn't as high. After creating 39 "stops" on 549 snaps in 2024, Cooper had 50 on 1,089 snaps in 2025. Fifty is still a great number, but the number of big-time flash plays behind the line (only four tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks) was disappointing. He missed 19 tackles, resulting in a poor tackle grade (57.9).
LT Rasheed Walker
- 2024 grade: 68.7
- 2025 grade: 62.4
- Regression: -6.3
In a contract year, Walker gave up more pressures (40 in 2025, 37 in 2024) and more sacks (5 in 2025, 3 in 2024) and committed more penalties (11 in 2025, 9 in 2024). His pass-blocking grade dropped from 80.1 to 69.3. He did play over 1,000 total snaps for the second straight year.
RB Josh Jacobs
- 2024 grade: 92.3
- 2025 grade: 86.1
- Regression: -6.2
His run grade dipped after an elite season in 2024. Jacobs forced 48 missed tackles (78 in 2024), averaged 3.0 yards after contact (3.49 in 2024), produced 24 runs of at least 10 yards (34 in 2024) and finished with 285 receiving yards (382 in 2024). A knee injury hampered his second half of the season.
S Xavier McKinney
- 2024 grade: 84.7
- 2025 grade: 78.6
- Regression: -6.1
McKinney graded out as one of the NFL's best safeties, but he failed to reach the lofty heights of his first season in Green Bay. The former Giant was excellent against the run (82.8 grade, career best) and once again tackled well (five misses, 4.5 percent miss rate), but his coverage grade fell sharply, largely because he intercepted only two passes after picking off eight in 2024.
DE Rashan Gary
- 2024 grade: 73.0
- 2025 grade: 68.9
- Regression: -4.1
What a weird season. Gary produced 60 pressures, but he didn't have a sack over the final 10 games and his pass-rush win rate dropped. Among edge rushers with at least 60 pressures, Gary had by far the lowest overall pass-rushing grade. He was good against the run (71.2) but simply lacked impact as a rusher despite rushing 446 times. His "stops" dropped from 33 in 2024 to 26 in 2025.
C Elgton Jenkins
- 2024 grade: 65.7
- 2025 grade: 62.0
- Regression: -3.7
Jenkins' pass-block grade dropped to 72.5 from 81.6 despite moving to center. He gave up 10 pressures (2 sacks) and committed four penalties over 537 snaps. His final grade ranked 24th among centers in 2025.
CB Carrington Valentine
- 2024 grade: 65.1
- 2025 grade: 63.5
- Regression: -2.4
Valentine actually improved against the run, but he missed 10 tackles (21.2 percent miss rate) and allowed 13.7 yards per catch, six touchdown passes and a passer rating of 103.4 into his coverage.
OL Sean Rhyan
- 2024 grade: 61.3
- 2025 grade: 59.2
- Regression: -2.1
Rhyan played three different positions, and eventually settled in as the starting center after Elgton Jenkins went down, but his pass block grade dipped significantly, from 65.6 in 2024 to 42.4 in 2025. He did cut his penalties from seven to five and improved as a run blocker, finishing with a career best grade of 65.6 in the run game.
Others
DE Brenton Cox Jr. (-13.0): Over limited snaps, Cox took a step back against the run, and he had six pressures on 51 pass-rush snaps after producing 18 pressures over 112 snaps last year.
S Kitan Oladapo (-15.7): His "regression" was based almost entirely on his performance in the regular season finale. He was good in Week 18 in 2024; not as good in Minneapolis in 2025.
Newcomers
LG Aaron Banks (-9.8): The Packers signed Banks to a big deal, believing his best football was ahead of him after an underrated 2024 season. Injuries played a role, but Banks struggled as both a pass protector and run blocker during a disappointing first season in Green Bay.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 13 Packers who regressed the most in 2025
Continue reading...
