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After taking a look at the Green Bay Packers players who improved the most from the start of the 2025 season to the end, let’s now flip the script and discuss the players whose performance declined as the year wore on.
Most of the Packers who showed growth were on offense, and it transpires that the vast majority of the players who faded later in the year were on defense. Maybe it is no surprise that Green Bay made no significant additions on offense via the draft or free agency, and plenty on defense.
Here are the players who had the greatest negative disparity between how they played early, compared to late in the campaign, using PFF grades:
With Jaire Alexander out the door and Nate Hobbs dealing with injuries, Valentine had an opportunity to grab a starting job and show he could be a long-term piece of the defense.
Early in the season, it looked like that was possible. He posted an average PFF grade of 66.7 in the first nine games in which he played more than two snaps, and after removing the three games he did not play at least 25 snaps, his grade was 70.55 across six games.
It seemed the coaching staff never truly trusted Valentine, regularly attempting to play other corners instead of him, and down the stretch his play fell off significantly, with an average grade of just 53 in the final seven games.
The Packers drafted two cornerbacks and signed Benjamin St-Juste this spring, indicating Valentine’s chance to establish himself as a legitimate starter may have now passed.
The more snaps McDuffie played in a game, the worse he got by PFF’s grading. In his first six games, averaging 23.2 snaps per game, his grade was 71.5, but dropped to 56.9 in his final ten appearances, when he averaged 39.9 snaps per game.
Across the whole season, McDuffie had his best year in the NFL with a 65.5 grade, but his decline when playing more snaps shows he is not suited to a full-time role, with his issues in coverage becoming more prevalent.
In Jonathan Gannon’s 3-4 defense which features only two off-ball linebackers, it looks like he will be demoted to a backup role.
Brinson did not see his first NFL action until week six of his rookie year, and started off pretty well, especially for a sixth-round pick, averaging a grade of 70.1 in his first three games, before slumping to a 48.7 grade in his final seven games.
It was likely a combination of him hitting the ‘rookie wall’ later in the year, opposing teams getting more tape on him, and having to do more than should be asked of a late-round rookie after Devonte Wyatt went down for the season.
His decline started in the same game Wyatt broke his ankle, against the Lions on Thanksgiving. In a more rotational role, perhaps Brinson can improve in 2026.
Brooks played the most snaps of his career last season, and it seems he may have worn down as the season went on, as well as perhaps struggling with his increased role after Wyatt’s injury.
His average grade went from 59.5 in the first seven games to 50.3 in his final nine appearances. He had 21 pressures in those first seven games, but only eight from there on.
Like Brinson, Brooks is probably not cut out to be a full-time player, and with Wyatt getting healthy, and Javon Hargrave and Chris McClellan added to the mix, he could benefit from a lower snap count this year.
The fact Parsons is on this list more speaks to how hot of a start he got off to as a Packer. He averaged a PFF grade of 83.9 in his first six games, but dropped down to 73.8 in the next eight, before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in Denver in Week 15.
There were still some real highs during his ‘less effective’ stretch, including grades of 89.6, 82.9 and 90.8 against the Giants, Lions and Broncos, respectively, although he was kept relatively quiet by the Steelers and especially the Panthers in the middle of the season.
Still, there is nothing to worry about with Parsons, who was everything Green Bay could have hoped for after trading for him. Getting him back healthy, and as early in the year as possible, will be the focus entering 2026.
Williams was also on this list last year, and while he had a very good season overall, he did top out early, averaging a grade of 67 in the first eight games and 60.6 in the final eight, disregarding the meaningless Week 18 game versus Minnesota.
His best performance of the year came in week one against Detroit, when he had an interception and posted a 90.5 grade overall. Williams has already become an extremely valuable member of Green Bay’s defense, but can he take another step to be one of the NFL’s best?
Two other names to throw in, with the caveat that their decline was most likely caused by injury, are Devonte Wyatt and Christian Watson.
Wyatt averaged a 68.5 grade before hurting his knee against Dallas, and still managed to post a 68.5 grade when he returned against Pittsburgh in Week 8, but averaged a grade of just 44.3 before suffering a season-ending injury on Thanksgiving.
Starting off the season on fire before being derailed by injuries has been a bit of a theme for Wyatt in recent years, so the Packers will be hoping he can stave off the injury bug this year.
Watson was electric after returning from his torn ACL against the Steelers in Week 8, averaging a 77.1 PFF grade in his first seven games. Including the game against the Broncos when he left with a shoulder injury, his grade was a more modest 67.2 in his last four games.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 6 Packers who declined most during 2025 season: Defensive dip evident
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Most of the Packers who showed growth were on offense, and it transpires that the vast majority of the players who faded later in the year were on defense. Maybe it is no surprise that Green Bay made no significant additions on offense via the draft or free agency, and plenty on defense.
Here are the players who had the greatest negative disparity between how they played early, compared to late in the campaign, using PFF grades:
CB Carrington Valentine
With Jaire Alexander out the door and Nate Hobbs dealing with injuries, Valentine had an opportunity to grab a starting job and show he could be a long-term piece of the defense.
Early in the season, it looked like that was possible. He posted an average PFF grade of 66.7 in the first nine games in which he played more than two snaps, and after removing the three games he did not play at least 25 snaps, his grade was 70.55 across six games.
It seemed the coaching staff never truly trusted Valentine, regularly attempting to play other corners instead of him, and down the stretch his play fell off significantly, with an average grade of just 53 in the final seven games.
The Packers drafted two cornerbacks and signed Benjamin St-Juste this spring, indicating Valentine’s chance to establish himself as a legitimate starter may have now passed.
LB Isaiah McDuffie
The more snaps McDuffie played in a game, the worse he got by PFF’s grading. In his first six games, averaging 23.2 snaps per game, his grade was 71.5, but dropped to 56.9 in his final ten appearances, when he averaged 39.9 snaps per game.
Across the whole season, McDuffie had his best year in the NFL with a 65.5 grade, but his decline when playing more snaps shows he is not suited to a full-time role, with his issues in coverage becoming more prevalent.
In Jonathan Gannon’s 3-4 defense which features only two off-ball linebackers, it looks like he will be demoted to a backup role.
DL Warren Brinson
Brinson did not see his first NFL action until week six of his rookie year, and started off pretty well, especially for a sixth-round pick, averaging a grade of 70.1 in his first three games, before slumping to a 48.7 grade in his final seven games.
It was likely a combination of him hitting the ‘rookie wall’ later in the year, opposing teams getting more tape on him, and having to do more than should be asked of a late-round rookie after Devonte Wyatt went down for the season.
His decline started in the same game Wyatt broke his ankle, against the Lions on Thanksgiving. In a more rotational role, perhaps Brinson can improve in 2026.
DL Karl Brooks
Brooks played the most snaps of his career last season, and it seems he may have worn down as the season went on, as well as perhaps struggling with his increased role after Wyatt’s injury.
His average grade went from 59.5 in the first seven games to 50.3 in his final nine appearances. He had 21 pressures in those first seven games, but only eight from there on.
Like Brinson, Brooks is probably not cut out to be a full-time player, and with Wyatt getting healthy, and Javon Hargrave and Chris McClellan added to the mix, he could benefit from a lower snap count this year.
DE Micah Parsons
The fact Parsons is on this list more speaks to how hot of a start he got off to as a Packer. He averaged a PFF grade of 83.9 in his first six games, but dropped down to 73.8 in the next eight, before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in Denver in Week 15.
There were still some real highs during his ‘less effective’ stretch, including grades of 89.6, 82.9 and 90.8 against the Giants, Lions and Broncos, respectively, although he was kept relatively quiet by the Steelers and especially the Panthers in the middle of the season.
Still, there is nothing to worry about with Parsons, who was everything Green Bay could have hoped for after trading for him. Getting him back healthy, and as early in the year as possible, will be the focus entering 2026.
S Evan Williams
Williams was also on this list last year, and while he had a very good season overall, he did top out early, averaging a grade of 67 in the first eight games and 60.6 in the final eight, disregarding the meaningless Week 18 game versus Minnesota.
His best performance of the year came in week one against Detroit, when he had an interception and posted a 90.5 grade overall. Williams has already become an extremely valuable member of Green Bay’s defense, but can he take another step to be one of the NFL’s best?
Two other names to throw in, with the caveat that their decline was most likely caused by injury, are Devonte Wyatt and Christian Watson.
Wyatt averaged a 68.5 grade before hurting his knee against Dallas, and still managed to post a 68.5 grade when he returned against Pittsburgh in Week 8, but averaged a grade of just 44.3 before suffering a season-ending injury on Thanksgiving.
Starting off the season on fire before being derailed by injuries has been a bit of a theme for Wyatt in recent years, so the Packers will be hoping he can stave off the injury bug this year.
Watson was electric after returning from his torn ACL against the Steelers in Week 8, averaging a 77.1 PFF grade in his first seven games. Including the game against the Broncos when he left with a shoulder injury, his grade was a more modest 67.2 in his last four games.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: 6 Packers who declined most during 2025 season: Defensive dip evident
Continue reading...
