At linebacker, I don’t think spending too much is a good process. So Jordyn Brooks is a possibility, but if the market goes up for him, Malik Harrison is an interesting alternative because he played for Jeff Hafley at Ohio State.

Saquon Barkley is a perfect match alongside Aaron Jones, but cheaper options are D’Andre Swift and Antonio Gibson.

Well, that’s actually a good exercise. Even though I suggested Saquon Barkley, I don’t think the Packers will pay big money to another running back because Aaron Jones is already expensive. So that probably excludes Josh Jacobs, Derrick Henry, and Austin Ekeler as well. Those athletic but not sound linebackers like Patrick Queen and Devin White shouldn’t be on their radar either.

In 2019, the Packers needed a quicker fix because the last few classes of Ted Thompson had been really bad. In 2015, in particular, it had been awful, so Green Bay had more cap space without internal players to extend.

Now, the Packers have a comfortable situation cap wise, but they don’t need building blocks in free agency. So I expect activity, but more on the second wave, with complementary pieces, and not many splash signings.

I mentioned Malik Harrison, because he worked with Hafley and would be an interesting fit to the new defense. Another interesting name is Jerome Baker, who was a solid off-ball linebacker for the Miami Dolphins and played under Anthony Campanile, who’s now the Packers linebackers coach and run game coordinator.