The Most Important Packers: No. 26 — P Daniel Whelan

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The Green Bay Packers were arguably the most disappointing team in football last year. And perhaps no one did less with more than Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur.

Green Bay headed into the 2025 season with one of the NFL’s top rosters, then traded for star defensive end Micah Parsons 10 days before the year began. Suddenly, Packer Nation was dreaming of their first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.

Instead, Green Bay went a remarkably unsatisfying 9-8-1 overall and was the NFC’s No. 7 seed for a third consecutive year. The Packers then blew a 21-3 halftime lead in the Wild Card round against Chicago, gave up 25 fourth quarter points and eventually suffered a shocking 31-27 loss to the arch-rival Bears.

“No way you should lose games in this league when you’re up that much,” running back Josh Jacobs said.

Green Bay, which began the year 9-3-1, finished the season with five straight losses. The Packers now enter 2026 with the league’s fourth-longest losing streak.

Collapsing late in games was the story of Green Bay’s 2025 campaign.

Green Bay had double digit leads in the final minutes twice against Chicago and also vs. Cleveland and somehow went 0-3 in those games. The Packers’ odds of losing all three contests were 1-in-250,000, yet they somehow did it.

“That (expletive), it’s starting to get damn-near embarrassing,” safety Javon Bullard said.

Rebounding won’t be easy as the Packers were hit hard in free agency and didn't have a first round draft pick.

Green Bay’s first training camp practice is July 29. Between now and then I will count down the ‘30 Most Important Packers’ heading into the 2026 campaign.

At No. 26 is punter Daniel Whelan.

No. 26

Daniel Whelan, P

Last season

Whelan set the single-season franchise record with a 51.7-yard gross average and a 43.9-yard net average. His gross average ranked No. 1 in the NFL and was the third-best single-season mark by an NFL punter (min. 40 punts) in league history. He also became the first Green Bay punter to lead the league in that category since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Whelan had 32 punts of 50-plus yards, which ranked fourth in the NFL. That was also the most by a Packer in a season dating back to 2000. Of Whelan’s 49 punts, 32 (65.3%) were 50-plus yards, which led the NFL (min. 40 punts). Whelan also had 18 punts downed inside the 20.

Career to date

Whelan, a native of Ireland, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New Orleans Saints in May, 2022, then was released two months later. Whelan played for the D.C. Defenders in 2023, earning All-XFL honors after ranking No. 3 in the league in both punting average (45.6) and punts inside the 20-yard line (11).

Whelan signed with Green Bay in May, 2023, and posted a 46.2-yard gross average in 2023 and a 46.1-yard mark in 2024. Those marks ranked No. 2 and 3 in franchise history, then Whelan shattered those numbers last season.

In 2024, Whelan became the first punter in team history to average 46-plus yards per punt and 40-plus net yards in a single season. Then he blew those stats out of the water in 2025.

After Whelan’s terrific start, the Packers signed him to a two-year, $6.2 million contract extension in Sept., 2025, which will keep him in Green Bay through the 2027 season.

Outlook

Kicking in Green Bay is not conducive to winning punting championships. Far from.

Whelan did just that, though, in 2025, and at just 27 years old, he should be in his prime years the rest of the decade. The 6-foot-5, 216-pound Whelan is long, wiry and still improving.

“He’s been outstanding,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said of Whelan. “He’s a real weapon. He’s a great dude, great in the locker room, but he’s a real weapon out on the field in terms of being able to flip the field. I feel like anytime we’ve gotten in some of those critical moments where we really need a great kick, he’s come through for us.”

They said it …

“Bombs. Honestly. From the day he showed up from the UFL, it was immediately obvious that his leg explosion was pretty impressive. I’ve never seen somebody who hits 5.0-plus punts consistently. Even in crazy wind or cold, there’s still going to be a 5.0 on the chart for the day, which is unbelievable. It’s crazy.” — Packers long snapper Matt Orzech on what he’s seen from Whelan

“Obviously had a tremendous year last year. We’ve sat down, we’ve talked. I tell the guys, we’re either getting better or we’re getting worse. You’re never really going to stay the same, so our goal’s every day to get better, and he’s been attacking it that way, he’s been great so far. Obviously limited interaction with him, so we’ll continue to get better. We’ll see where it goes.” — Green Bay special teams coach Cam Achord on Whelan

“Yeah, I’m definitely proud of myself. Obviously, a lot of work went into it, but the work doesn’t stop. Got to beat it (in 2026) and so on and so on. Just happy with where we’re at.” — Whelan on his terrific 2025 season

“I think he’s a young player who has shown a ton of growth and is going to be a real weapon for us. I told him I’d rather only see him go out there and hold, but in the event that we have to punt, I have a lot of confidence he can be a real game-changer for us in regards to playing the field-position battle.”— Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Whelan