Ranking the 2015 Impact of the Green Bay Packers' Free-Agent Signings so Far
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson didn't deviate from his tried-and-true method in free agency, and it paid dividends.
While Green Bay is the only club that has not welcomed an outside player to the team this offseason, Thompson's strategy allowed them to retain two of the best players in the league at their respective positions: wide receiver Randall Cobb and right tackle Bryan Bulaga.
Even though the Packers have just retained their own players, each signing has an impact on how the 2015 squad is shaping up.
We'll take a look at the most valuable re-signings, ranked in order of how many snaps they'll play as well as their difficulty to replace should they have departed in free agency. The players who will play the most snaps in 2015 and whose absence would have caused undue hardship for the Packers will earn the highest ranking, in order from least to most important.
Though wide receiver Randall Cobb and backup quarterback Scott Tolzien were re-signed prior to the opening of free agency, I have included them in this ranking to demonstrate how much their absence, particularly Cobb's, would have impacted the team in 2015 had they left in free agency.
S Chris Banjo
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Exclusive-rights free agent Chris Banjo may have the smallest impact of the players the Packers re-signed this offseason in 2015, but that doesn't mean his presence on the team isn't valuable.
Especially with Micah Hyde likely spending more time at the cornerback position given the lack of depth there, the depth Banjo provides is important to the safety position.
Banjo spent most of the 2014 season on the practice squad but was signed back to the active roster in December and played in three games.
Banjo played in 16 games in 2013 and started one, in Week 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals, with 19 combined tackles and two passes defended.
S Sean Richardson
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With Ha Ha Clinton-Dix having settled into the starting role opposite Morgan Burnett and Micah Hyde a valuable addition to the safety group, the position should be strong heading into 2015.
But re-signing Sean Richardson, a young player with lots of potential who overcame a difficult injury, was a smart move by Green Bay in bolstering the defense.
Richardson injured his neck in Week 12 of the 2012 season and required cervical spinal fusion surgery in January 2013. He was activated off the PUP list on November 23, 2013.
Richardson didn't have huge role on the defense in 2014; he played 135 out of 984 possible snaps in 2014 as the fourth safety on the Packers' depth chart, per Pro Football Focus. But he was effective and missed just one tackle all season.
He excels against the run near the line of scrimmage and can rotate in certain defensive sub-packages. He's also a major special teams contributor.
OL Don Barclay
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If the offensive line holds up, Don Barclay may not see many snaps in 2015. But if a member of the line does become injured, especially at right tackle, Barclay's importance to the team in 2015 will skyrocket.
Barclay missed the 2014 season with a torn ACL, but his health ensures that the line will have starting-caliber depth in case of injuries.
As a backup, Barclay is versatile, stepping in for Bulaga in 2013 at right tackle after Bulaga tore his ACL at the Packers Family Night scrimmage. He started 14 games that season and four in 2012.
Barclay would also be a solid backup at either of the guard spots, giving the Packers confidence heading into 2015 should a starting member of the line become injured.
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QB Scott Tolzien
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Technically re-signed before the start of free agency, the Packers nevertheless made a wise decision in bringing back backup quarterback Scott Tolzien. Letting him walk in free agency certainly could have had a negative impact on the team in 2015.
Barring a catastrophe at the quarterback position—or, on the flip side, fourth-quarter leads so large they require pulling Aaron Rodgers—it's unlikely Tolzien will play many snaps in 2015.
That leads him to be ranked lower than starters Bryan Bulaga and Randall Cobb, but his role is an essential one, as the scramble to replace Rodgers when he was injured in 2013 demonstrated.
Tolzien has needed time to develop, which is why he was the third-string option behind Rodgers and Matt Flynn. But his natural ability has been obvious from early on—it's clear from his limited showings how much stronger his arm is than Flynn's—and the Packers have signified their investment in him by letting Flynn walk and promoting Tolzien to the primary No. 2 spot.
"By offering Tolzien more than double what he made a year ago, the Packers have vaulted him into the backup spot behind Aaron Rodgers and let him know his apprenticeship is complete," Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote.
RT Bryan Bulaga
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Bryan Bulaga was a key part of the 2014 offensive line, which was the best since Rodgers became the starter in 2008.
According to Football Outsiders' adjusted-line-yards formula, the Packers offensive line was the eighth-best in the league in run blocking last season. And Pro Football Focus graded Green Bay's line second in the league in pass-blocking efficiency in 2014.
Bulaga, who missed the entire 2013 season, returning to his natural position at right tackle was essential. He graded out as the fourth-most effective right tackle in the league in 2014 by Pro Football Focus, allowing just four sacks, two hits and 20 hurries.
The line is certainly better with Bulaga on it, but it didn't exactly fall apart when Don Barclay stepped in for him in 2013. Theoretically, if Bulaga had walked in free agency, Barclay could have stepped into the starting role again with positive results. It's hard to replace any position on an effective line, but center and left tackle are more of a exigency.
For that reason, Bulaga ranks as the penultimate re-signing in terms of the impact he'll have on the team in 2015.
WR Randall Cobb
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Was Randall Cobb or Bryan Bulaga the more important player to re-sign this offseason? There are those who fall on both sides of the debate.
Luckily, the Packers didn't have to deal with the repercussions of that Sophie's Choice; they were able to retain both of their most important free agents. But in ranking the 2015 impact of both players, Cobb edges out Bulaga.
Cobb played 1,076 of 1,216 total offensive snaps in 2014, or 88 percent, per Pro Football Focus. He had the highest wide receiver rating in the league last season, a Pro Football Focus stat that calculates the rating quarterbacks have when throwing to particular receiver. Packers quarterbacks had a passer rating of 134.3 when throwing to Cobb in 2014, the highest of any receiver with at least 80 targets.
Aaron Rodgers is a beneficiary of Cobb's playmaking ability and sure hands; he had a catch rate of 72.8 percent last season, the 10th-best of any wide receiver, per Pro Football Focus. That's 91 receptions and eight drops on 125 targets.
Cobb's presence over the middle is also vital to the Packers offense as long as they don't have a go-to tight end threat to make plays down the seam. Richard Rodgers may well develop into that player, but he wasn't there yet in 2014.
Without a tight end to bail him out, Rodgers turned to Cobb often, with favorable results almost every time. Cobb had 603 yards after the catch last season, the fourth-most among wide receivers, per Pro Football Focus.
Cobb's 91 receptions, 1,287 yards and 12 touchdowns rank seventh all-time among Packers wide receivers for a single season, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. It's just not easy to find a player who can do that, even if Thompson is one of the best in the league at evaluating wide receiver talent in the draft.
Bulaga is an essential fixture on the Packers offensive line, no question. But Cobb is lightning in a bottle, and his abilities and versatility would not have been easily replaced with any wide receivers available in either free agency or the 2015 draft class.
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