Packers 53-Man Roster Projection as Key Battles Begin at OTAs This Week

The Green Bay Packers are taking a 90-man roster into the start of OTAs this week. In about three months, that roster will be cut to the 53 players they’ll carry into their Week 1 showdown at the Minnesota Vikings.

In the race for roster spots, here is a position-by-position forecast for the Packers. The depth chart is how the team would look if everyone was healthy and practicing. Below that is our projection of the 53-man roster that will emerge from training camp and three preseason games.

Quarterbacks

Depth chart: Jordan Love, Tyrod Taylor, Kyle McCord, Kyron Drones (undrafted).

On the 53 (2): Love, Taylor.

Analysis: This is easy. The addition of Taylor isn’t a perfect replacement for Malik Willis, but he gives the Packers a competent, experienced backup capable of winning a game if thrust into the action. The big battle will be McCord vs. Drones for a spot on the practice squad, with the winner being the early front-runner to be QB2 next year.

Running Backs

Depth chart: Josh Jacobs, Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong, Damien Martinez, Jaden Nixon (undrafted).

On the 53 (3): Jacobs, Brooks, Lloyd.

Analysis: The elephant in the room, of course, is Lloyd’s hamstrings. And ankles. And groins. And calves. Rolling with three running backs, with Lloyd among them, opens the door for the Packers to be short-handed in a hurry due to his long injury list. This could be a make-or-break summer for Lloyd. He needs to stay healthy, plain and simple, because there is no proven depth beyond Jacobs and Brooks.

Martinez, a seventh-round pick by Seattle who fits the Green Bay preference as a power back, should be right in the thick of the battle if Lloyd is banged up or the Packers want to keep four.

Receivers

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed (11) scores a touchdown against the Detroit Lions. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Depth chart: Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Skyy Moore, Will Sheppard, Jakobie Keeney-James, Isaiah Neyor, J. Michael Sturdivant (undrafted), Brenden Rice.

On the 53 (6): Watson, Reed, Golden, Williams, Moore, Bo Melton.

Analysis: Last offseason, with an abundance of receivers and a paucity of cornerbacks, the Packers moved Melton to defense. He spent most of the season practicing at that position, though all of his scrimmage snaps in the games came at receiver. Now, there’s an abundance at cornerback but a lack of receivers after moving on from Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks.

The wild cards are that cavalcade of young receivers with outstanding physical traits, such as Neyor and Sturdivant. Neyor, who joined the Packers during training camp last year so has a solid footing in the offense, will be a player to watch.

Tight Ends

Depth chart: Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, Josh Whyle, Drake Dabney, Messiah Swinson, R.J. Maryland (undrafted).

On the 53 (4): Kraft, Musgrave, Whyle, Swinson.

Analysis: This is based on the assumption that Kraft will be ready to roll for Week 1. It’s interesting that the only addition at the position was Maryland. Two attempts to get a potential blocker failed after Eni Falayi and Luke Lachey failed their physicals. That opens the door for Swinson, a huge man at 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds who will be entering his third training camp with the team.

Maryland could be a potential mismatch because of his athletic ability. If that projection pans out, could Musgrave wind up on the trade block?

Offensive Line

Depth chart: LT Jordan Morgan, LG Aaron Banks, C Sean Rhyan, RG Anthony Belton, RT Zach Tom, T/G Darian Kinnard, C/G Jacob Monk, C/G Jager Burton (fifth round), G Donovan Jennings, G John Williams, G Karsen Barnhart, G Dillon Wade (undrafted), G Josh Gesky (undrafted), G Dylan Barrett (undrafted), T/G Travis Glover, T Brant Banks, T Dalton Cooper.

On the 53 (9): Morgan, Aaron Banks, Rhyan, Belton, Tom, Kinnard, Monk, Burton, Brant Banks.

Analysis: There’s not a lot of depth on the line after parting ways with Rasheed Walker and Elgton Jenkins this offseason. Really, the only proven backup is Kinnard, who the Packers acquired from the Eagles for a sixth-round pick before final cuts last year.

There’s some potential, though. Burton could step in at right guard if Belton is deemed the backup at left tackle, for instance. Glover, a sixth-round pick in 2024, and Williams, a seventh-round pick in 2025, spent the regular season on injured reserve. Wade and Gesky were expensive undrafted free agents this year. Brant Banks showed enough at left tackle as an undrafted rookie last summer to merit a spot on the practice squad.

Edge Defenders

Depth chart: Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox, Collin Oliver, Arron Mosby, Dani Dennis Sutton (fourth round), Nyjalik Kelly (undrafted), Dante Barnett (international).

On the 53 (5): Van Ness, Sorrell, Oliver, Mosby, Dennis-Sutton.

PUP: Parsons. Under PUP rules, players who open the season on PUP can’t return to action until Game 5. Under updated rules, though, those players can start practicing after Week 2. So, that opens the door for Parsons to practice for three weeks before facing the Bears in Week 5.

Analysis: The lack of proven depth is startling. Beyond Parsons, every other player on the depth chart has a combined 15.5 sacks in the NFL, with 8.5 for Van Ness, 5.0 for Cox, 1.5 for Sorrell and 0.5 for Mosby.

With the addition of Dennis-Sutton, the group should be solid against the run. Oliver and Mosby could fit the scheme with their skill-sets and coverage potential. But will there be any pass rush whatsoever when Parsons is out of the lineup? The young guys are going to have to grow up in a hurry. Otherwise, the cornerbacks are going to get destroyed.

Defensive Tackles

Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt chases Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. | Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Depth chart: Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave, Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson, Nazir Stackhouse, Jonathan Ford, Chris McClellan (third round), Jordon Riley, Anthony Campbell, Jaden Crumedy.

On the 53 (6): Wyatt, Hargrave, McClellan, Brooks, Brinson, Ford.

PUP: Riley.

Analysis: With one more defensive tackle needed in the base 3-4 defense, it stands to reason that the Packers will keep one more on the roster. The first five players on that list are obvious. It will be Ford vs. Stackhouse to be that sixth player, a battle that won’t really begin until training camp. Ford’s size could be the, ahem, big difference.

Linebackers

Depth chart: Edgerrin Cooper, Zaire Franklin, Isaiah McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper, Nick Niemann, Kristian Welch, T.J. Quinn (undrafted).

On the 53 (5): Cooper, Franklin, McDuffie, Hopper, Niemann.

Analysis: This is a solid group with a chance to be excellent if the coaches turn Cooper loose and Franklin returns to his vintage form. Niemann was a stud on special teams last season and is the front-runner for a fifth spot, but Welch has a lot of special-teams experience, too, and Quinn is an intriguing young player who should push for a spot.

Cornerbacks

New Packers cornerback Brandon Cisse is shown at South Carolina. | Photo Courtesy South Carolina Athletics

Depth chart: Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Benjamin St-Juste, Kamal Hadden, Bo Melton, Jaylin Simpson, Shemar Bartholomew, Brandon Cisse (second round), Domani Jackson (sixth round), M.J. Devonshire, Marlon Jones.

On the 53 (5): Nixon, Valentine, St-Juste, Cisse, Jackson.

Analysis: This will be arguably the biggest battle of the summer.

With the release of Nate Hobbs and the additions of St-Juste in free agency and Cisse and Jackson in the draft, the Packers are plus-2 in terms of high-profile assets at the position.

The Packers easily could go with our projected quintet on the 53. The alternative is the young depth is so good (or Melton sticks at corner and earns the coaches’ confidence that he could play in a pinch) that Valentine, an experienced young player on an expiring contract, could be on the trade block.

Safeties

Depth chart: Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard (slot), Kitan Oladapo, Johnathan Baldwin, Mark Perry, Murvin Kenion III (undrafted).

On the 53 (5): McKinney, Williams, Bullard, Oladapo, Baldwin.

Analysis: The top four seem entrenched. Baldwin, who spent all of last season on the practice squad and played well against the Vikings, Perry, with his excellent physical tools, and Kenion, who had five interceptions last season at Nevada, will battle for the last spot.

Specialists

Depth chart: K Lucas Havrisik, K Trey Smack (sixth round), P Daniel Whelan, LS Matt Orzech.

On the 53 (3): Smack, Whelan, Orzech.

Analysis: All eyes will be on Smack vs. Havrisik in the battle to be the kicker. The Packers didn’t give up two draft picks on Smack without feeling good about his ability to be the long-term solution. But Havrisik, who kicked a 61-yard field goal at the end of the first half at Arizona, isn’t going to go quietly into the night. As the selection of Brett Conway with a third-round pick in 1997 proved, nothing is ever automatic at kicker.

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