The Green Bay Packers need to get faster this offseason. According to Brian Burke, who does sports analytics at ESPN, the Packers were the second-slowest team (only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were slower) in terms of overall team speed in the NFL in 2022.
Here is a look at the team-by-team rankings:
Here's a fun mini-project I did last year for an article–team speed. Updated for 2022. Tracking via NextGen Stats. pic.twitter.com/9ZS0hNxqEt
— Brian Burke (@bburkeESPN) February 15, 2023
To compile the data, Burke got some help from Next Gen Stats’ tracking system and took the mean of each player’s 2nd through 6th fastest max speeds on all non-special teams plays, noting that “fastest speed is often a blip in the data.”
The average of each team’s top 2 QBs, 3 WRs, 2 TEs, 4 DBs, and 3 LBs were then weighted by snaps. Team speed is evenly weighted by offense and defense.
The unit to measure player speed is yards covered per second. Because miles per hour is almost exactly double, that would mean 10 yards per second is approximately 20mph.
Looking at Burke’s chart, defensive backs were Green Bay’s fastest position. Tight end was the slowest, with linebacker and quarterback not far behind.
To their credit, the Packers have tried to add speed in recent years. In 2021, they drafted Eric Stokes in the first round after he ran a 4.25 in the 40-yard dash at his Pro Day. Then last year, they traded up to select Christian Watson with the 34th overall after he displayed some freakish testing. Watson ran a 4.36 at the NFL Combine and was later responsible for the fifth-fastest play of the 2022 season, according to Next Gen Stats.
Overall, Green Bay has prioritized bringing in good athletes, whether it be through the draft or free agency, but clearly, it hasn’t been enough.
They could certainly use another speed threat opposite Watson, and it also wouldn’t hurt to add a speedster at running back. Aaron Jones is quicker than he is fast, and AJ Dillon is a 250-pound power back who runs through guys more than he runs away from them. Drafting a burner may be the finishing touch this backfield needs.
Tight end should be an easy position to solve. If 38-year-old Marcedes Lewis retires, that would trim off some of the sluggishness. There’s also a good chance the Packers will address the position through the draft, which comes at a great time seeing that this year’s batch of tight ends is filled with athletes.
Quarterback will tougher to fix, especially if Aaron Rodgers returns. At 39, Rodgers can’t run like he used to, but thankfully, Jordan Love would give the team some fresher legs if he becomes the starter.
Defensively, it’s interesting that Green Bay’s linebackers were the slowest in the league, if Burke only measured inside linebackers. Quay Walker was the first linebacker off the board in 2022 and ran a 4.52. That said, it’s possible his timed speed is different than his play speed. Meanwhile, De’Vondre Campbell is also decently fast (ran a 4.58 in 2016) but suffered a knee injury halfway through the season. Hopefully, Walker will start to play faster with more experience, and Campbell will come back healthy next season to recapture his 2021 form.
Of course, speed isn’t everything, and doesn’t necessarily equate to wins, but it definitely helps.
This year’s Super Bowl Champion, the Kansas City Chiefs, finished 11th in Burke’s rankings, while their opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, finished 7th.
Luckily, speed is relatively easy to find and should be a priority for the Packers this offseason.
