The news hit Packerland like a bolt from the stars. Or one star, at least. A particularly blue one.
Just a week ago, Micah Parsons, perhaps the best individual defensive force on Planet Football, sensationally became a Green Bay Packer. Disgruntled over his contract with those star-wearing Dallas Cowboys, Parsons arrived for the high cost of two first-round draft picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, as well as a new four-year, $186 million contract. It’s the type of dramatic, team-defining trade that merits 5,000 words of investigative ESPN sports writing under a double byline (with contributions from four other reporters). And by most accounts, it’s a bargain.
The metric test, the eyeball test, and surely your favorite Rorschach test paint Parsons as a generational pass rush talent who’s at peak effectiveness. He is the quintessential difference-maker, a one-man wrecking crew whose presence makes an entire defense better. And almost immediately, his arrival begat the most complimentary of comparisons, ones that invoked the two most sacred words in Packers defensive lore.
So yes, anticipation blooms bold for the Green and Gold. An already-optimistic Packers fan base is now positively giddy about the forthcoming season, which starts tonight when those Parsons-less Cowboys take on the defending Super Bowl champ Philadelphia. And as promising as Parsons may be, he’s far from the only reason that Packers fans think their club might usurp those Eagles for the throne.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Remember that scene just four short months ago? When the Packers still hadn’t drafted a first-round wide receiver since 2002. When all of Green Bay turned up for Lambeau’s NFL Draft party. Which quickly turned into a concert of cacophony as Matthew Golden strode on stage, looking every bit the part of football rock star.
Preseason impressions are most wisely approached as if a siren’s call, but the enthusiasm for Golden has only grown. He’s got the full confidence of quarterback Jordan Love, who’s hinting at feeding his new wideout like Italian nonnas feed their grandkids.
And speaking of Love, now one year removed from his then record-breaking contract extension, this could be the year he goes from good to great. As he embarks on year three as Green Bay’s starter, Packers fans are salivating at the kind of third-year leap that saw Josh Allen join MVP conversations and Joe Burrow lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl.
The leadership quality is certainly there, as is the pure talent. And now, Golden just might solidify a surrounding cast, co-headlined by Josh Jacobs, that produced the NFL’s fifth-most yards per game last season.
It all seems so finely poised for the Packers, like a football on the tee just waiting to be booted toward the goal line.
Let the games begin.
