The Green Bay Packers made two big moves during the first day of the legal tampering period on Monday, agreeing to four-year deals with offensive lineman Aaron Banks, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, and cornerback Nate Hobbs, a former Las Vegas Raider. The deals won’t be finalized until the start of the new league year on Wednesday afternoon.

Overall, the Packers agreed to terms on deals totaling over $100 million. Banks and Hobbs will be counted on as immediate starters for Matt LaFleur in 2025.

So, did the Packers roster take a big step forward on Monday?

Here’s what to like, and what not to like from the Packers’ work on the first day of free agency:

What to like

• Few things in football are more fundamental to winning than controlling the line of scrimmage, so it’s easy to like a big investment in the offensive line, especially after the Packers struggled to block the Eagles in the playoff loss and then watched the Eagles storm to a title through line of scrimmage dominance. Banks gives the Packers at least six offensive linemen with starting capability entering 2025.
• In modern football, a title-contending team must have quality depth at cornerback. Quarterbacks and receivers and passing schemes are too good. In Hobbs, the Packers are getting a versatile cornerback who can play inside and out.
• Banks is only 27 years old. Hobbs is only 25. Both are young, hopefully ascending players in their physical primes. They both fit the mold for what the Packers like when spending money in free agency.
• Combining Banks with Sean Rhyan at guard will give the Packers two huge, physically dominant interior blockers. Both can move people at the point of attack. Throw in Elgton Jenkins’ likely move to center, and the Packers might have an offensive line capable of consistently opening holes for Josh Jacobs — who had to escape far too many blown blocks and tackle attempts at or behind the line of scrimmage last season.
• The offensive line has a real chance to improve in 2025, and the Packers offensive line was pretty darn good in 2024. Banks will likely replace middling center Josh Myers as one of the starting five, and there’s a good chance Banks is a far better left guard than Myers is a center. And considering Jenkins’ experience at center, a move to the pivot won’t be a difficult one. Finally, 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan is going to get a chance to compete to start at least one position, likely right guard against Sean Rhyan or left tackle against Rasheed Walker. True competition always brings out the best.
• On Hobbs, the Packers will have little doubts on who they are getting in terms of a teammate, professional and locker room presence. Hobbs was teammates with Keisean Nixon and Josh Jacobs and actually played under Rich Bisaccia while with the Raiders.
• Jeff Hafley will like the added versatility in the secondary. Hobbs can play in the slot or on the perimeter. Same with Keisean Nixon. Javon Bullard might start in the slot but can play safety. Evan Williams will likely start next to Xavier McKinney but can play the slot. This is a well-balanced group capable of covering for injuries.
• Hobbs’ best season came while playing in a majority Cover-3 defense under Gus Bradley. Hafley ran a ton of Cover-3 coverages as a first-year coordinator in 2024. This might be a really strong schematic fit for a young player.
• The slot is such an underrated defensive position, especially in Green Bay. Hobbs has an excellent blend of play strength, quickness and explosive movement ability to play inside if needed. Maybe this is the long-awaited investment in a true slot defender.
• The investment at cornerback is almost certainly the start of a bigger makeover at cornerback. Expect Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes to depart, and the Packers to use at least one draft pick at corner. This position needed a rehaul, and it’s getting one.
• While the money is big on both deals, the Packers appear to have structured both in their style — guaranteeing money only in the form of signing bonuses.
• The Packers pro personnel department is very good and has a high hit rate. There should be some built-in trust here.

What not to like

• This year’s one-two punch was nothing like signing Xavier McKinney and Josh Jacobs 12 months ago. While Banks and Hobbs are both starting caliber players in the NFL, neither are established difference-makers. In a far weaker free agent class featuring far fewer impact players, the Packers had to spend big money to get far lesser players. Does signing Banks and Hobbs move the needle for this team? It’s hard to say. The Packers might be only marginally better after spending a lot of money.
• Monday was the first day of the tampering period, so there’s plenty of time and opportunity to do more roster work. But the Packers did not address what many — including Brian Gutekunst — considered the team’s biggest need: the pass rush. And the veteran options to address the pass-rush are drying up in a hurry.
• With Banks locked into a starting spot, it’s fair to wonder where Jordan Morgan is going to play in 2025. Will the Packers make an attempt to trade Rasheed Walker, who is entering a contract year? Configuring the starting five is a more difficult task today. Options are good, no doubt. But there’s a chance the team’s first-round pick from a year ago could have a hard time getting on the field once again.
• Both Banks and Hobbs have missed time to injury. Banks missed four games last season and seven over the last three seasons, while Hobbs has missed at least four games in each of the last three seasons. Injures are at least part of the reason why both were available.
• Banks just enjoyed his best professional season, but will he ever be a high-end starting guard? The Packers are paying him like one, so they clearly believe his best football is ahead of him. Hobbs was terrific as a rookie, but he hasn’t quite matched those levels in the three years since. Both are big projections.
• Banks hasn’t given up many sacks in his career, but he has not been a highly graded pass protector. At 6-5 and 325 pounds, he’s a tough player to go through, but quicker, explosive pass-rushers have given him trouble. The same can probably be said for Sean Rhyan.
• The idea of a “No. 1 cornerback” is probably overrated, especially for a defense that doesn’t have cornerbacks follow receivers. But who is the Packers’ go-to cover guy?
• Hobbs has only three career interceptions, and he’s never had a season with more than seven pass breakups. He might be a more disruptive player against the run than against the pass. In fact, he has almost as many tackles for loss (14) as career passes defensed (19) — an oddity for a corner.
• Banks has played in six career postseason games. Playoff experience is a good thing, but Banks played a few of his worst career games in the postseason. Like the Packers, he’ll need to be much better in big games in 2025 and beyond.
• Hobbs was arrested for DUI in Las Vegas in 2022. The charge was later reduced to reckless driving. That same month, he was ticketed for a separate reckless driving charge after being clocked at 110 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone.