Howie Long: Micah Parsons and Matthew Golden Make Packers Super Bowl Contenders

Super Bowls aren’t won in the offseason, but Howie Long thinks that the Green Bay Packers have at least solidified themselves as a title contender with the moves they’ve made.

Of course, the Packers landed arguably the best defensive player in football when they acquired Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys in August. But in addition to that trade, Long also pointed to another move that Green Bay made to help put itself in prime position to make a run in 2025.

“They couldn’t get pressure. Micah Parsons takes care of that,” Long said. “If they get the Jordan Love that they had two years ago down the stretch, they’re golden. Speaking of [Matthew] Golden, their No. 1 pick, there’s a lot of buzz about him being the No. 1 receiver they’ve wanted for a couple of years.

“I think this team could not only win this division, but also be a Super Bowl contender with the talent that they have.”

The impact that Parsons could make to the Packers’ defense is pretty understandable. He’s arguably been the best pass rusher in football over the last few years, recording at least 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons in the league. The Packers, meanwhile, were sixth in yards allowed last season, but were 22nd in team pressure rate.

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As for why Golden could be an impactful add, Green Bay only had one wide receiver who logged over 700 receiving yards last season (Jayden Reed) and Christian Watson is also for the foreseeable future. But Golden was also touted as arguably the best wide receiver in the 2025 NFL Draft class after recording 58 receptions for 987 yards and nine touchdowns at Texas last season.

If Golden can live up to the hype, it’s easy to see a Super Bowl contending path for the Packers considering the number of games they won last season despite some underwhelming play, injuries and heir age.

“Green Bay is kind of an interesting team,” Long said. “They’re the youngest team in football. They won 11 games last year. They went 1-5 in the division. Jordan Love, injured Week 1 in Brazil, and I don’t think he was healthy for the majority of the season. I’m not sure if he was ever healthy. He struggled with turnovers. The wide receiver room struggled with drops. They were bottom five in drops.”

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