Green Bay’s 4 Most Improved Players From 2022 to 2023
Four players stepped up their play considerably from 2022 to 2023, helping the Packers into the postseason.
By markoldacres
Green Bay’s successful 2024 campaign featured excellent performances from so many rookies, whether it was the offensive exploits of Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Luke Musgrave, and Tucker Kraft, or the defensive contributions of Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Lukas Van Ness and Carrington Valentine.
But the improvement of four veterans also played a key part in the Packers’ qualification for the playoffs, and progression to the Divisional Round.
Honorable mentions must go to Jordan Love and Rasheed Walker, who simply didn't get the opportunity to play in previous seasons and potentially showcase the ability we have seen in 2023.
Darnell Savage
With the sour taste of Savage’s abysmal performance versus San Francisco still very much in the mouths of Packers fans, it is easy to look past the improvement he showed in 2024 compared to the previous two seasons.
His pick six against Dallas in the Wild Card Round was of course the highlight, and effectively the dagger as Green Bay triumphed in Jerrah World. But in a year when Brian Gutekunst effectively threw a bunch of safeties at the wall to see who would stick, Savage gave the Packers more than solid play throughout the season.
In fact, Savage graded as PFFs 15th best safety, earning a 75.5 grade, both his best marks for a season and standing in stark contrast to his 57.3 grade (72nd best out of 92 qualified safeties) and 47.5 (87th best out of 88) he received for the 2021 and 2022 campaigns respectively.
Savage is out of contract after five years in Green Bay and will hit free agency. The Packers need to get better at safety on the whole, and it is feasible both parties could want a fresh start, but they could do worse than bringing Savage back on a one-year deal to help steady the room.
Romeo Doubs
Speaking of steady presences, Doubs has been the rock of the wide receiver room in just his second year. With Christian Watson, the only other receiver on the roster with genuine NFL experience, enduring an injury-ridden second season.
While he may not have grabbed the spotlight like Reed and Wicks did at different times this season, Doubs has been a picture of consistency and more importantly, availability.
He was the only Green Bay receiver to play in every game this year, and although 674 regular season receiving yards is not much to shout about, the eight touchdowns he scored certainly is, and Doubs added 234 yards in the postseason, mainly driven by a stellar performance in Dallas.
After only logging 529 offensive snaps as a rookie in 2022, Doubs registered 938 this season, including the playoffs, and his PFF grade rose from 62.6 to 73.6, which made him their 38th best receiver on the year.
In seasons to come, Green Bay’s other receivers with more upside may pass Doubs by, but he will continue to be a valuable and reliable player going forward.
Sean Rhyan
Rhyan has quickly gone from another presumed third-round bust to a prospective starter at right guard in a relatively short period of time.
His rookie year went about as badly as possible, as Rhyan failed to log a single offensive snap and ended the season with a PED suspension.
Things started to change at training camp, though, as Rhyan caught the eye of fans and reporters in attendance, frequently dominating in the one-on-one drills.
He was relegated to the bench once the real games began, but with Jon Runyan Jr. not enjoying the same success as in previous seasons, Rhyan began to work his way into a rotation as the year went on, and his snaps steadily increased until Rhyan and Runyan were essentially splitting the workload 50/50 by season’s end.
It was far from perfect, and Rhyan took the lumps you would expect from someone playing their first significant snaps in the NFL, but entering next season, few Packers fans would have a problem penciling Rhyan in as a starter, which speaks to how far he has come.
Zach Tom
For as much promise as Tom showed in his rookie year, when he was often asked to fill in at the last minute, and did so impressively, few could have foreseen his incredible second-season rise.
Tom essentially locked down the right side of Green Bay’s offensive line, handling some of the toughest pass rushers in the league with relative ease. Right tackle became a ‘set it and forget it’ position.
Perhaps the strongest endorsement of Tom’s value to the Packers is how the offense mostly fell apart when he was forced to leave the Divisional Round matchup with the 49ers.
There is uncertainty at tackle with David Bakhtiari’s future still murky, but Green Bay can feel safe knowing they have one bookend of their offensive line in place for years to come.
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Mark Oldacres is a sports writer from Birmingham, England and a Green Bay Packers fan. You can follow him on twitter at @MarkOldacres
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Comments (28)
splitpea1
January 30, 2024 at 06:39 pm
I don't know how Rasheed Walker isn't at the top of this list. His improvement was dramatic over the course of the season, so much so that left tackle isn't the desperate need many of us thought it might be come draft time.
Conversely, I don't know why Savage is. Okay, he was a little better than he had been for the last couple of years, but that isn't really saying a whole lot. Any notions of bringing him back should evaporate after the SF game. He was always a poor tackler, and that was confirmed after he stood listlessly waiting for McCaffrey who easily blew by him for a long TD. Want to get serious about defense? Find at least one safety who can diagnose, tackle, and make game-changing plays when they come their way.
SicSemperTyrannis
January 30, 2024 at 09:19 pm
How many tackles has CMC broken this season?
splitpea1
January 30, 2024 at 09:57 pm
Don't know, don't care....It's a lot easier to break a tackle (in this case, LOL, what tackle?), when the defender is passively standing there waiting for the RB to make a cut to blow by you instead of coming up to fill the hole before the cut can be made. Savage had no chance with that approach, and it showed as he was only able to barely get an arm on McCaffrey after he was accelerating and well past.
mrtundra
February 07, 2024 at 02:50 pm
I'd have to question if what CMC did to Savage, could even be considered as "breaking a tackle." Savage was outplayed, as CMC ran past him, into the endzone. In any case Gute and Co. will be drafting DBs this draft, and it would not surprise me if Savage was released, or traded by June 1st.
Turophile
January 31, 2024 at 02:17 am
@splitpea1, you absolutely nailed it.....
Other big improves were two of the 'W's who were first round picks in 2022 (can you believe GB has 11 players with a surname beginning with W) , ILB Quay Walker and DL Devonte Wyatt.
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 31, 2024 at 11:18 am
Yeah, not sure how Rhyan is included and not Walker, when neither played last year and Walker beat out the vet Niman to start much of the season.
Grandfathered
January 30, 2024 at 07:06 pm
I would have had Jordan Love and Rasheed Walker at the top of the list.
packer132
January 30, 2024 at 07:31 pm
Zach Tom has been a huge surprise, being a 4th round pick. He and Jenkins are the core of the offensive line and expect the Packers to draft another tackle/guard/center in the 2nd or 3rd round. Injuries happen every year and you never can be too deep on the line. I am hoping that Walker continues to improve (7th round from 2022). Packers have a nice supply of draft picks this year and some think they trade up to get a top tackle. There are 5 projected to be gone by the time Green Bay picks, and I don't envy the GM. Many have GB going with DeJean from Iowa (CB/S) which is also a huge need.
TKWorldWide
January 30, 2024 at 07:43 pm
Maybe this means GB can be flexible when adding another lineman. They can see who’s available and shuffle the deck around him. I wonder if Tom and Jenkins would make a great left side and Rhyan and the “new guy” could man the right? Or if a strong center prospect could supplant Myers? GB appears to be dealing from strength rather than from glaring need. Giddy up!
SicSemperTyrannis
January 30, 2024 at 09:22 pm
Gutey needs to draft 3 O linemen, and they all need to be good. They should all be on the interior, there are OTs at 6'6" 6'7" 6'8" and 6'9".
The entirety of the depth on the interior is Sean Rhyan, and that's only if JRJ is re-signed.
Guam
January 31, 2024 at 08:09 am
SST: You are stuck on the size of C. Jones, Tenuta and Telfort. They may be big, but are they starting/reserve grade OL? Jones has never played a down in the NFL in two years and Tenuta and Telfort don't have much more experience.
I don't know what the Packers have in those three guys so I think the draft will be telling. If the Packers draft a tackle in the first four rounds, it will be pretty clear the Packers are not confident any of them are reserve caliber players yet.
SicSemperTyrannis
February 05, 2024 at 11:06 pm
No rookie is going to play as well as Mt Caleb , he dominated in TC. If none of them are good enough to play they shouldn't take up roster spots. There were times they could have played, even with all the squandered leads.
"Draft and develop" doesn't happen when you don't play depth but keep your starters in all the time even when they're injured.
Brewcity
January 30, 2024 at 09:24 pm
Zach Tom is the best all-around OL in the NFL. Guaranteed that no other player can literally sub in at every position on the line and play effectively--and he's dominant at multiple positions. I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it.
mnbadger
January 30, 2024 at 10:16 pm
Not since Elkton Jenkins as far as I can tell.
Gutey nailed both of those picks.
Keep up the good work, we need you.
GPG!
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 31, 2024 at 11:29 am
GB has found gold on the o-line in the 4th round. Bakhtiari, TJ Lang, Josh Sitton and now Zach Tom. All truly talented guys. I doubt they trade up for a tackle when they've done so well finding them in later rounds. I could be wrong, but they have Tom and Walker as potential 2024 starters, so do they spend a high pick if they thing what they need is a swing tackle?
And it might depend on what they think of the development of Caleb Jones and Kadeem Telfort, the undrafted guys from the last 2 springs.
SicSemperTyrannis
February 05, 2024 at 11:09 pm
They still need depth on the interior. If only 7 O linemen come back, Gutey needs to draft three.
BAMABADGER
January 30, 2024 at 09:09 pm
Rhyan did improve enough to be our next right guard....... Trade Runyan or let him walk. We still need an additional road-grading, run-blocking and pass blocking interior lineman and as well as a tackle. I would hope GB is looking at KSU Cooper Beebe in the second round. He is an excellent, big interior O-lineman with a very nasty streak. We need a big nasty on both the O-line and D-line. Beebe fits the need on offense. Rhyan is ready at right guard and played left tackle at UCLA. Let's work Sean R as a Swiss army knife. If he can fill the role as a tackle, try either Tom or Jenkins at center. Both played the position in college and would be better than Meyers.
IMHO, Rasheed Walker improved greatly as the season went on, I'm sure he was considered as a Top 4 improved candidate. As for Bakhtiari trade or release him (on or after the least cap damage date).
Brewcity
January 30, 2024 at 09:28 pm
Good comments. I agree, the weakness on the line seems to be interior. The one guy I can't figure out is Jenkins, he had a pretty pedestrian season. Hopefully next year he returns to pro bowl caliber form.
Agree on Meyers, he wasn't great. Too inconsistent. Glad to see Rhyan improve as he made the most of his playing time at RG.
The OL really gelling at the end of the season was IMO a major part of why they went on the run they did (that and getting A. Jones back, of course.)
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 31, 2024 at 11:33 am
You can't trade Runyan as he's not under contract. He becomes a free agent unless they make an offer, which they can't afford to do. That's why he teared up in the locker room interview at the end of the season. He loves GB but knows he's gone, even though he'd like to stay. Rhyan did great on run blocking but still has a ways to go on pass blocking. Still, he is better than the other guys currently on the roster.
Given that a tackle has to handle the opponents top pass rusher, and Tom has shown he can do that, I don't think you move him to the interior. Those guys are easier to find overall than a great tackle. You got your tackles? You don't move them.
Tom and Jenkins can both probably play most or all the spots on the line, which gives them some flexbility when shuffling due to injury. I think they need a center to push Myers and/or replace him eventually and back ups all along the line.
golfpacker1
January 31, 2024 at 12:45 pm
Bama, I don't see anything else that can be done with Bahk. If we could trade him for anything at this point it would be a win for GB. He has been a great one for us, but we can't keep paying for no playing.
SinceLombardi
January 30, 2024 at 11:25 pm
I would call savage’s season up and down at best. And he still gets hurt too often. Although missing tackles can be strenuous.
marpag1
January 31, 2024 at 02:51 am
This is wacky. How Jordan Love and Rasheed Walker are not on the list is incomprehensible to me. Zach Tom is undoubtedly good, but I thought he was about this good already at the end of last year. Doubs was more available this year (17 games vs 13) but not hugely more dynamic, IMO. And did Savage really step up this year or was it just that he fell flat on his face and sucked hard last year?
I would have said Love, Walker, Rhyan and Wyatt stepped up the most, and in that order, though if someone wanted to argue about Wyatt that could work too.
WestCoastPackerBacker
January 31, 2024 at 11:39 am
Dynamic or not, Doubs tied Reed with 8 scores during the regular season and then really stepped up in the playoffs. He is a guy you want around. James Jones was not hugely dynamic, but he sure did score, even as a 3rd WR.
stockholder
January 31, 2024 at 10:50 am
Walker and Tom. get my vote.
Savage' rating of 15 shows one thing.
That he's not worth big money.
And is one step away from being a cap casualty.
golfpacker1
January 31, 2024 at 12:56 pm
Savage being on this list is a joke. The dude can't wrap up and tackle. And other than the Dallas game, he isn't a playmaker either. His lasting images from the SF game are a dropped interception and a missed/whiffed tackle for a TD. Bring him back for less than $3 million, but I bet some foolish team will give him more. Oh well, another compensatory pick.
We need one of the top 3 Safties, I hope Kinchen because he is complete, and one of the second group of five Safeties, maybe Jaden Hicks, or Beau Brade, or Kitan Oladapo, Maybe UFDA in Jalen Carlies-Missouri.
golfpacker1
February 01, 2024 at 09:37 am
Well, a new DC that is super strong teaching D-backs to tackle. Maybe if Savage is cheap we still keep him. If they can teach him to tackle. Might be better to find a FA who already can.
murf7777
February 06, 2024 at 09:12 am
Jordan Love would be #1 on my list….oh my, how wasn’t he even included?
Coldworld
February 06, 2024 at 09:16 am
Savage was awful in 2022. Overall, this year he was pretty decent when averaged over the year. The problem with Savage is that even then, he swings wildly from game to game, as we saw in the two playoff games. So he was a huge improvement over the pit he fell into the prior year but yet still gives cause to doubt.
Rhyan is better because he played done and didn’t get himself suspended. However, he was roundly outplayed by the previously very disappointing Runyon over the last 5 or 6 games. Is he a vet long term option to start? Im still not clear. Better than Newman, perhaps less good than a healthier Runyon, if indeed that was Runyon’s issue. He’s still got a long way to climb. He’s sort of where one might hope he might be this time a year ago.
Wyatt and Slaton both come to mind as improved players worthy of this list. One could certainly argue Walker, but I think this is his year to really show.