Biggest Packers Winners and Losers After Draft, Free Agency

For general manager Brian Gutekunst, the heavy lifting is complete. With maybe an exception or two, the players who will be on the Green Bay Packers’ roster to start the season probably are on their roster today.

With six draft picks and four veterans, there have been 10 key additions to the roster. That means there are winners and losers.

Winner: Jonathan Gannon

The Packers have a new defensive coordinator, and Gutekunst gave him a welcome package that included defensive tackle Javon Hargrave in free agency, linebacker Zaire Franklin in a trade, cornerback Benjamin St-Juste in free agency and cornerback Brandon Cisse, defensive tackle Chris McClellan and edge defender Dani Dennis-Sutton with the first three picks in the draft.

The Packers entered the offseason with weaknesses at cornerback, where Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine weren’t good enough; defensive tackle, even before the trade of Colby Wooden; and at defensive end, where Micah Parsons is injured, Rashan Gary was traded and Kingsley Enagbare was lost in free agency.

Gutekunst took care of each of those needs. From a personnel standpoint, Gannon’s first defense is more talented than last year’s defense.

“They got a lot of talent,” Gannon said last week. “Matt and Gutey, the whole personnel side, has done a really good job. They’ve done a really good job, in my opinion, of acquiring talent (and) good players.

“It’s a good mix of some younger players, we got some vets that are some really good players. That sweet spot. (Xavier) McKinney, you think he’s been playing forever because he’s such a high-performing vet, but he’s still pretty young. And then you got some guys that are younger and in their first contract that have played really good football. We should have a chance.”

Winner: Jayden Reed

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed (11) makes a touchdown catch vs. Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. | David Banks-Imagn Images

With a contract extension averaging $16.75 million per season, Reed ranks 29th among receivers. He’ll have to stay healthy to earn it, but it’s a big commitment to a player who should have a bigger role after missing most of last season with a broken collarbone.

“That’s big time,” coach Matt LaFleur said after the draft. “I think you talk about a guy that’s a culture setter and the epitome of what we want representing our football in regards to just how he prepares and how he goes out there and plays. He never takes a play off, and you’re always going to get his best. I think one thing that’s unique about him is just his ability to bring others with him. I think he’s a real leader for us.”

Winner: Matthew Golden

The Packers culled the herd, so to speak, by letting Romeo Doubs go in free agency and trading Dontayvion Wicks. With the lone additions being Skyy Moore, who caught only five passes the last two seasons, and J. Michael Sturdivant, an undrafted rookie, Golden has gone from somewhat of an afterthought in the receiver rotation to one of the main characters.

Last season, Doubs and Wicks combined 131 targets and 80 receptions. Those will have to go somewhere, and Golden should be a big beneficiary after not getting more than four targets in any of the last 11 games.

“We try to give guys two to three things to work on” at the end of the season, passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said last week. “When he came back, he said, ‘I watched more tape on myself, and just guys around the league in our offense,’ and he’s like, ‘My biggest jump, I already know, is just the mental part.’ It’s just the mental part, the details and how they matter, why they matter, and being able to play fast. Because he’s like, ‘I was watching the tape, I just wasn’t playing as fast as I wanted, and I could see it on tape, just a little bit of hesitation at times, you know?’

“Like I said to him, he’s always been able to catch the ball and run through the football – and that’s what great receivers do. His hand-eye coordination, I’d say, is one of the better ones I’ve been around. So, he can do that, but now the mental part, he’s starting to become a lot more confident. And I can feel it.”

Winner: MarShawn Lloyd

The Packers lost Emanuel Wilson in free agency but opted not to draft a running back. Rather than giving up on Lloyd, who has played in only one game due to a mile-long list of injuries during his first two seasons, the door is wide open for him to play a key role behind Josh Jacobs.

“Obviously, we all know who we’re waiting (on),” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “MarShawn (has) been looking really good. He feels really confident. Feels like the things he did in the offseason has gotten him to the point where he feels good that he’s ready to come in and contribute.”

Winner: Messiah Swinson

Green Bay Packers tight end Messiah Swinson (48) catches a pass during Green Bay Packers Family Night last year. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Packers’ best blocking tight end, John FitzPatrick, remains unsigned following last year’s torn Achilles. They didn’t draft a tight end this year, and the one they wanted to sign in college free agency, Wake Forest’s Eni Falayi, failed his physical.

That puts Swinson – an enormous man at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds – in position to make the roster. An undrafted free agent in 2024, he spent training camp and most of his rookie season on Green Bay’s practice squad, with a short stint on Carolina’s 53-man roster. He fell short of a roster spot last year and spent the season on the practice squads of the 49ers and Cardinals. The Packers brought him back at the end of the season.

Loser: Carrington Valentine

Aware of their shortcomings at cornerback, the Packers signed St-Juste and drafted Brandon Cisse and Domani Jackson.

Valentine is going to have to fight to keep his starting job. As he enters the final season of his rookie deal, his ability to hold off the newcomers is going to have a major impact on his next contract. The reality for Valentine is the Packers would prefer their top draft pick, Cisse, to be more than just a backup.

Loser: Brandon McManus

After drafting Trey Smack in the sixth round, the Packers released Brandon McManus last week. He missed three kicks in the playoff loss to Chicago after missing zero kicks during the final seven games of the regular season.

Loser: Jacob Monk

Actions speak louder than words. Gutekunst, in particular, praised the play of Jacob Monk in last year’s Week 18 loss to the Vikings. Monk might have been good, but he wasn’t good enough to prevent the team from drafting Jager Burton to play that same center-guard utility role.

“Throw the film on the Minnesota game, it’s pretty cool to watch,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “We’re spending time watching cut-ups right now, and there’s some really great examples of him coming off the ball and moving defenders. It was Minnesota’s starting defensive line, so some of the things he did of managing the game, one, and, two, his physical ability to move people off the football was really, really cool.”

Loser: Ty’Ron Hopper

Green Bay Packers linebacker Ty'ron Hopper (59) intercepts a pass intended for Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland. | Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Packers define themselves as a draft-and-develop organization. Typically, a player like Hopper, who was drafted in the third round in 2024, would be developed to eventually replace Quay Walker.

However, after Walker signed with the Raiders in free agency, the Packers traded for Zaire Franklin. A 3-4 defense requires only two off-the-ball linebackers, with Edgerrin Cooper and Franklin manning those positions. While there might be packages to get Hopper on the field, he’s going to have to make his mark on special teams.

Loser: Bottom-of-Depth-Chart Cornerbacks

The Packers are loaded at cornerback from a numbers perspective with Keisean Nixon, Valentine, St-Juste, Cisse and Jackson. What does that mean for returning players such as Kamal Hadden, Shemar Bartholomew and Jaylin Simpson? An uphill battle, that’s what.

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