The Green Bay Packers haven't played much of their offensive starters over the last couple of years, especially since Matt LaFleur took over as the head coach in 2019. It was mostly because Aaron Rodgers didn't like to play, and had his merits, because of the clear injury risk versus a limited gain. Rodgers didn't like OTAs (at least until he was traded to the New York Jets) and joint practices either.

Now that Rodgers is gone, there is a clearer path for the Packers to play most of their starters on exhibition games — and for it to make sense.

"There's benefits to going through the mental preparation of getting yourself ready for a game," head coach Matt LaFleur said last year. "Just working out the kinks of your pregame or whatever it might be. Also, just going out there and playing and having the confidence."

Starting hotter

Since 2019, when LaFleur became the head coach, the Packers have scored 10, 43, 3, and 7 points in Week 1. There is one outlier, as you can see: the 43-34 win over the Minnesota Vikings in 2020. But that was the year when preseason was canceled because of covid-19, so no team played any preseason games. In the other three years, the Packers had bad offensive performances — and in the last two, awful overall performances.

The most extreme example was 2021, when the Packers lost 38-3 to the New Orleans Saints. The team ended up winning 13 out of the last 16 regular season games, and the Saints missed the playoffs after finishing 9-8. While it might have been many factors, the Packers already have a big enough sample size to conclude that they have started cold.
So, if they play starters and lose again, we can move on and discuss other reasons. Meanwhile, it seems like preseason games have had at least some impact on their initial performance.

Reps for the young guys

The Packers don't have just a young offense. They have a historically young offense. It's the second youngest offense in the last four decades, just after the 2017 Cleveland Browns. So these young players, especially the receiving weapons, need live reps to accelerate their adaptation to the NFL game. Even Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs, who played a decent number of snaps in 2022, missed time due to injury and could use more playing time to speed up their development. This is also true, obviously, for the rookies.

It's also particularly relevant for Jordan Love. While he's a fourth-year NFL veteran, Love had no preseason in his rookie year and missed some time in the 2021 preseason. Moreover, he's had just 83 regular season pass attempts, so it's clear that he needs more playing time against NFL players to feel ready by Week 1. There are areas of his game that will be valued or exposed just when the games truly count, but preseason games might give coaches some insights or points that Love must improve before it's too late.

O-line continuity

The Packers ideal offensive line was pretty good last year, but it didn't play as much as the team would hope. Moreover, the right side of the line is pretty young with Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, and (presumably) Zach Tom. Because of all these factors, it's imperative for the unit to get some reps before the regular season. If David Bakhtiari can't play, ok, that would be understandable, and Yosh Nijman could execute his role as a swing tackle. But the rest of the line, especially the right guys, should be on the field for at least a couple of series in the first two games — the third game is just for the bottom of the roster guys anyway.

Who might not play

Besides David Bakhtiari, there's little reason to play the two main running backs, Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon. They are both experienced, the system is the same, and there's too much risk involved. Furthermore, there's real competition for the third spot behind them between Patrick Taylor, Tyler Goodson, and Lew Nichols. So these younger players deserve chances to show what they are capable of.

Defense

Rashan Gary is recovering from injury and there's zero chance he plays - rightfully so. Kenny Clark, Preston Smith, De'Vondre Campbell, and Jaire Alexander might not play much either. The defense is on a different timeline than the offense, and these older players don't need as many reps.

This year, the preseason will be incredibly fun for Packers fans. Buckle up, because the young players will take over and give us a glimpse of what they can do.

Photo: Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK