loading . . . Defensive Tackle WIll Be The Big Prize Of The Offseason It’s March 9th, and that means that the “legal” tempering period has finally arrived. By the time you are reading this, it may have already begun (news will start flying at 12pm EST).
Writing a “prediction” article for the Packers free agency would probably be a fool’s errand. The last time I attempted this, I was proven wrong less than 24 hours later. The utter quagmire of moving parts, shifting tides and real-time disinformation that dominates this particular stretch of the NFL schedule. Green Bay moves to the sound of its own drum. Always has, and always will. Just when you think they’ve got them pinned down, they’ll go and do something like trade for a Micah Parsons, drop an exorbitant amount of money on Aaron Banks / Nate Hobbs, and draft a wide receiver in the first round, all in the same offseason.
What we do know is that the Packers are in the middle of a championship window (despite Gutekunst’s belief that championship windows don’t actually exist. They do.). In order to make the best use of that championship window, the Packers need to find difference makers. They need to find players who change the math, who can put Green Bay over the top. Over the weekend, the Packers have put themselves in a position to focus in on one of the biggest holes on their roster.
First, let’s establish the Packers’ needs over the offseason. Among “major” needs, we can undeniably start with cornerback, defensive tackle, and center. Then, I’d argue that the “mid” tier should consist of linebacker (although there could be an argument for that being a higher need), running back, tight end, edge rusher, and a backup quarterback. Between myself and everyone else on the excellent staff of writers here at CHTV, we’ve gone over every single one of these needs. Some stem from a lack of bodies at the position, some stem from a lack of quality play already at the position, and some are in anticipation of future versions of the Packers.
Now, the Packers made a couple of moves that shake this order up quite a bit. On Saturday morning, it was announced that Green Bay had completed a rare player-for-player swap, sending DT Colby Wooden to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for LB Zaire Franklin. Then on Sunday, the team re-signed outgoing G/C Sean Rhyan to a three year deal worth $11 million a year and restructured the contract of Aaron Banks, ensuring his presence on the roster through 2026.
There’s things I like and things I don’t like here. Firstly, the commitment to Aaron Banks is a mixed bag. There’s no way to tiptoe around the fact that his first season in Green Bay was a disappointment. Banks was oft-injured, clearly hampered by those injuries when he was on the field, and did not come close to living up to his contract.
When Banks did seem to be shaking off those injuries towards the end of the season, he played much better (he was probably the best linemen on the team during the wildcard game). For the Packers to commit to keeping Banks through the season, they are banking (pardon the pun) on him playing healthy in 2026, and leaning into keeping some continuity along the offensive line. Time will tell if that strategy will pay off.
Keeping Sean Rhyan at center makes sense to me for a couple of reasons. First, we have to take a look at the supply and demand around the league. There are a lot of teams around the league that are in the market, as of now, and only one true high end solution available in free agency, now that Connor McGovern is returning to Buffalo. Tyler Linderbaum is almost certainly going to command a price tag that will be outside of the Packer’s range, which means Green Bay would be picking from a tier of players at center that includes Sean Rhyan. So it just makes the most sense to keep the player that you already know from that tier. Give Rhyan an entire offseason at center (please for the love of god, no more cross training), see what he can do. I’d also love to see the Packers supplement this signing with a rookie selection from this deep center class, but we also have to remember that there are a lot of teams looking to do the same thing. Heading into 2026 with Sean Rhyan and Jacob Monk is a distinct possibility.
This means that the 2026 starting offensive line is probably already set. It will be (barring an extremely surprising move) Morgan-Banks-Rhyan-Belton-Tom, with a smattering of backups competing behind them, hopefully with a rookie or two mixed in.
Meanwhile, acquiring Zaire Franklin for Colby Wooden has some far-reaching implications. The most obvious assertion to make is that Quay Walker will indeed be a member of a different team in 2026. This was the most likely outcome all along, since the Packers chose not to exercise his fifth-year option last offseason. Quay was never able to fully realize his potential as a linebacker, nor live up to his billing as a first round pick. Hopefully he lands in the AFC (Raiders or Jaguars would be my guess), in which case we wish him luck.
Zaire is an ideal pickup to fill his spot, despite coming off of the worst season of his career. With a cap hit of only $8.2 million this year, he’s cheaper than the Packers were going to find on the open market for a starting LB capable of running the defense. Franklin is a team captain, a second team All-Pro and a pro bowler. He’s also a former Walter Payton Man Of The Year nominee. Culturally speaking, he’s a perfect fit for what the Packers want in their players.
His inclusion on the 2026 roster means that Edgerrin Cooper will most likely not need to learn how to communicate plays via the green dot, nor will that responsibility pass onto Isiah McDuffie, who would have had to be on the field for almost every play. I do wonder how this affects who the Packers would have on the field for sets that include only a single linebacker, like dime. Taking Edgerrin Cooper off the field for Franklin would be a disappointment, and part of me still wonders whether or not Xavier McKInney could take those responsibilities over. Still, keeping McDuffie in a backup role and not forcing Ty’Ron Hopper onto the field is ideal. I do wonder how this affects Hopper’s future, going into the third year of his NFL career. Does he have a chance to compete with Franklin for that spot? If not, he might be doomed to be an NFL backup forever.
Let’s be clear however, that Franklin is not a perfect player, nor is he the “missing piece” of a Packers championship. He’ll be thirty when the season kicks off in August, and is coming off the worst season of his career. He may have been limited by an ankle procedure he underwent before the 2025 season, or perhaps he was never able to get 100% ingrained within Lou Anarumo’s defense. Whatever the case, it’s clear that the 2025 version of Franklin was not the same as the All-Pro we saw in 2024. Sure, it’s possible that he can recapture his magic. But history is against him.
The other side of this trade is the loss of Colby Wooden. For a positional group that was among the weakest on the team last year, trading away a player who saw over 600 snaps last season is pretty bold. Not only that, but out of the nine players on the Packers roster last season, Wooden had by far the most snaps at nose tackle (153 compared to the next closest player, Nazir Stackhouse with 39). Wooden also played the most snaps as a 3-tech defensive tackle on the team (368, compared to Karl Brooks’ 299. Wyatt was at 253 when he got hurt, but was on pace for 369). Wooden was also not due for the rookie pay escalator clause, meaning he would have cost only $1.3 million against the cap. It’s possible that the Colts simply would not have done the trade without Wooden, but the fact is that now after losing Wooden, Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton within a calendar year, Green Bay is sorely missing in bodies along the defensive line. Why would the Packers be willing to part with such an integral piece of their DL rotation? Methinks there is another move or two on the way…
It makes sense that the Packers believe they still have work to do along the line. Without Wooden, the team goes from needing more DTs because of a talent issue, to needing more because they just don’t have enough bodies at the position and there’s a talent issue. Karl Brooks, Jordan Riley and Devonte Wyatt are all set to hit free agency after 2026, which would leave only Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson on the roster. The team also goes from just needing a nose tackle type, to also now needing a 3-tech as well (remember all those snaps that Wooden played, that we now will need to fill). Green Bay should be looking to at minimum, double dip along the defensive line.
The good news is that with these recent moves, the Packers can afford to focus on that issue. With Sean Rhyan back, the Packers don't need to over commit to finding their 2026 starter. With Zaire Franklin in hand, the Packers don’t need to panic about finding another linebacker to pair with Edge Cooper (which I think was a bigger issue within the Packers’ organization than we may have originally thought). If we go by our tier system again, then both center and linebacker have dropped in urgency due to this weekend’s moves. The Packers are wise not to back themselves into a corner regarding any position, and can instead address them as the opportunity arises.
As far as filling these urgent positional needs that remain, the Packers have options. Something to keep an eye on over the next few days is players that have been released by their former team, rather than those whose contracts have expired. Signing the former pool of candidates would not cost the Packers any of the comp picks that will be on their way in 2027. To that end, we also have a couple of DTs who were just released by the Arizona Cardinals, thus having a connection to new Packers DC Johnathan Gannon: Bilal Nichols and Dalvin Tomlinson. Tomlinson is particularly intriguing as a NT option for the Packers, albeit being on the wrong side of thirty.
Of course, if the Packers did want to go big game hunting over the next few days, they can. Remember that the maximum number of comp picks that can be awarded to a team is four, and the Packers have five free agents that could net the Packers a pick. So, the Packers could choose to sign one big free agent this offseason, and still get four comp picks next year. Also as a reminder, trades do not affect comp picks in any way either.
Between spending that one big swing at cornerback or defensive tackle, I think the Packers just gave us a major hint at which direction they’ll be going in. By clearing Colby Wooden off their books for 2026, there is a lot of room for a new face along the defensive line. The Packers can, and should, double down on the Micah Parsons investment with a DT signing. I think the lack of juice along the defensive line became more and more obvious as the 2025 season wore on, culminating in the loss to the Ravens at home. You can’t win a Super Bowl that way, and I think the Packers have something up their sleeve to turn the tables. What it might be? I can’t say for sure, but I think there are big things on the horizon. Perhaps in more ways than one.
Filed Under: FeaturedKalani Jones
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Co-Owner of the thirteen time world champion Green Bay Packers. Sometimes I write about them. Follow me on Twitter at https://x.com/kjones_in_co and on Substack for film breakdowns!
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NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: Green Bay PackersNFL Free agentsNFLOffseason TalkJalen Carter
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