Tuesday Cheese Curds: Lots of work yet to be done in a busy Packers offseason

The Packers look quite different than they did a month ago, and there are still more changes to be made.

Once free agency dies down, it can feel like the offseason is basically over. The anticipation of the spending avalanche gives way to the excitement of new players arriving and the frustration of aging favorites departing. There’s the NFL Draft, to be sure, but that’s still an agonizing month away, and the expectations for draft picks are quite different than high-priced free agents.

But the late offseason can still bear a lot of fruit. The Packers showed last year what an impact a home-run draft class can have, and a few of the Packers’ most notable free agent signings have come pretty late in the game. Keisean Nixon signed with the Packers on this date in 2022, well past the biggest wave of free agent spending. Charles Woodson didn’t sign with the Packers until May, and De’Vondre Campbell wasn’t on board until June.

The point is, the Packers can change a lot between now and their first kickoff this fall. As much as this team has changed already, there is a lot of work yet to be done.

What Packers have, what they need heading toward NFL draft | ESPN

A good assessment of where the Packers stand a month out from the draft.

How Will Packers Handle Gaping Hole at Linebacker? | Packer Central

If the Packers have one obvious need on defense, it’s at linebacker.

Xavier McKinney checked all the boxes for Packers as a ‘unique’ free agent opportunity | Packers Wire

Xavier McKinney is expected to be a lot of things for the Packers this year, but his most important job might already be done: he gives the Packers some flexibility and insurance heading into the draft.

Jordan Love finally has the NFL’s attention, but will anyone follow the Packers’ lead on drafting QBs? | Packers News

Drafting Love and letting him sit for a few years seems to have worked for the Packers, but is it a model the rest of the NFL can actually follow?

NFL owners pass new hybrid kickoff rule at Annual League Meeting

Keisean Nixon is going to be busy!

Curious bears take a ride on swan boat | UPI

The draft is closing in but the Bears, apparently, are not all that stressed about it.