Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur is hard at work preparing himself for what he knows lies ahead.
“Every year’s a new challenge,” LaFleur said in a video posted to Twitter on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of unknown out there, but again there’s a lot of time between now ’til when we kick off in about six months, so I’m sure there’s going to be even more change that will take place.”
At this point, LaFleur readily admits his team stands to have a look so different even he isn’t sure what to expect. Already this offseason, the Packers have lost top receivers Davante Adams, who was traded to Las Vegas; and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who signed with Kansas City as a free-agent.
“Certainly, if you look at our roster right now, we definitely need to get some speed in that room,” LaFleur said in a Wednesday NFL.com report. “We need a legit guy that can take off the top of the coverage. We lost a guy that was pretty good at doing that.”
As it is, MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers can only count fifth-year pro Allen Lazard, 31-year-old Randall Cobb and second-year pro Amari Rodgers as potential targets.
While trades are always a possibility and free-agents—such as Will Fuller and DK Metcalf—have also been mentioned, chances are the team will use the two first- and second-round picks it has in the upcoming draft to address the shortage.
“It’s like putting a puzzle together; you’ve got to find those pieces that you’re missing and put it all together,” LaFleur said in the report. “How that’s going to look in the end? I have no idea right now.”
Packers GM Brian Gutekunst is also busy trying to figure it all out—especially the part about replacing Adams, who is widely viewed as the league’s top receiver.
“To replace a guy like Davante Adams is gonna be kind of a multifaceted approach,” Gutekunst told ESPN. “It won’t be like a singular guy.”
As for Rodgers, LaFleur said he’s ecstatic to have the 38-year-old quarterback back in the fold after the team recently inked the veteran to a three-year, $150 million extension.
“I think he’ll go as long as he wants to go,” LaFleur said in the ESPN report. “Those aren’t conversations that we have regularly. So we’re just going to take advantage of the time that he is with us and continue to try to work and grind to hopefully someday be able to get a Super Bowl.”
