Packers Training Camp Depth Chart: Who’s Starting, Who’s Fighting for Their Job?

Next week, Green Bay Packers training camp will begin. The practices and preseason games will determine who starts, who makes the roster and who might be looking for a new line of work.

Here’s a look at where things stand on the 91-man roster, including who probably will be among the starters for the first day of practice on July 29, their security in the starting lineup and who will be fighting for backup jobs.

Quarterbacks

Starter: Jordan Love.

Backups: Tyrod Taylor, Kyle McCord, Kyron Drones.

Fighting for job: The depth chart seems pretty clear cut, with Love locked in for Year 4 as the starter. McCord or Drones would have to be beyond sensational to unseat the steady veteran Taylor the No. 2 job.

Running Backs

Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs (8) laughs alongside Pierre Strong during OTAs. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Starter: Josh Jacobs.

Backups: Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd, Pierre Strong, Damien Martinez, Jaden Nixon.

Fighting for job: Jacobs as the No. 1 back and Brooks as the third-down protector will be key players this season. Lloyd might be fighting his injury history, though a strong offseason has buoyed expectations for the former third-round pick.

Receivers

Starters: Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden.

Backups: Savion Williams, Bo Melton, Skyy Moore, Will Sheppard, Isaiah Neyor, J. Michael Sturdivant, Brenden Rice.

Fighting for job: The starters are locked and loaded. After those three and Williams, all bets are off. This will be Melton’s fifth year in the NFL. How many chances should a player get before it’s time to give someone else a chance on the roster, no matter his value on special teams and as a glue guy? Moore’s spot on the roster will be determined by his ability to cleanly field punts and make good decisions as a returner.

The young players are impressive but are going to need to consistently impress, even with the lack of proven production at the bottom of the depth chart.

Tight Ends

Starter: Tucker Kraft.

Backups: Luke Musgrave, Josh Whyle, Messiah Swinson, Drake Dabney, R.J. Maryland, Luke Lachey.

Fighting for job: If healthy, Kraft will start. Kraft says he’ll be healthy. With even a little uncertainty at tight end, is there a world in which Musgrave is on the hot seat? The former second-round pick was a nonfactor when the Packers really needed him down the stretch last year. But someone’s got to beat him out.

Offensive Line

Green Bay Packers tackle Travis Glover (79) greets fans during training camp last year. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Starters: LT Jordan Morgan, LG Aaron Banks, C Sean Rhyan, RG Anthony Belton, RT Zach Tom.

Backups: T/G Darian Kinnard, C/G Jager Burton, C/G Jacob Monk, T/G Travis Glover, G/C Donovan Jennings, G/C John Williams, G/T Karsen Barnhart, T Brant Banks, T Dalton Cooper, G Dillon Wade, G Josh Gesky, G/C Dylan Barrett.

Fighting for job: Barring an injury, the starting five seems chiseled into granite. Kinnard and Burton will be locks, too, as the top backups.

After that, who knows? Three former draft picks will have to fight to keep their place with the team. Williams, a seventh-round pick last year, spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve due to a back injury that required surgery. Monk and Glover were sixth-round picks in 2024 who must stay healthy.

Edge

Starters: Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell.

Backups: Brenton Cox, Dani Dennis Sutton, Collin Oliver, Arron Mosby, Nyjalik Kelly, Dante Barnett (international), Micah Parsons (PUP).

Fighting for job: This is going to be a battle royale. Sorrell is the front-runner to replace Parsons in the starting lineup. While it’s not out of the question that Cox or Dennis-Sutton breaks through the competition, you could use a good bit of pressure on a pencil in writing in Sorrell’s name.

As for the depth, Cox showed he could rush the passer during the second half of 2024 and Oliver was an excellent pass rusher in college, but both players missed most of last season due to injuries. So, health is their starting point. Kelly is the wild card. He is the highest-paid undrafted rookie in Packers history. Clearly, the team sees something in him that was impossible to see during the shorts-and-helmets spring practices.

Defensive Tackles

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Karl Brooks (94) runs through a drill during the first day of training camp in 2024. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Starters: Devonte Wyatt, Chris McClellan, Javon Hargrave.

Backups: Karl Brooks, Warren Brinson, Nazir Stackhouse, Jonathan Ford, Jordon Riley, Anthony Campbell, Jaden Crumedy.

Fighting for job: Wyatt and Hargrave are locks, and it will be McClellan vs. everybody for the starting job at nose tackle. Well, not everybody, but close to it. Stackhouse and Ford will challenge and Riley might, too, if he is cleared soon enough following last year’s torn Achilles. Heck, even Brinson got some work at nose tackle.

Brooks has been a valuable role player the last three seasons, but Year 4 won’t be handed to him.

Linebackers

Starters: Edgerrin Cooper, Zaire Franklin.

Backups: Isaiah McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper, Nick Niemann, Kristian Welch, T.J. Quinn.

Fighting for job: The intrigue is who will provide the depth behind Cooper and Franklin. Before McDuffie was given a contract extension, it seemed possible he could be on the trade block before the end of training camp. Not anymore. Welch, a Wisconsin native with special teams pedigree, is going to need a huge training camp after falling short each of the last two years.

Cornerbacks

Starters: Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine.

Backups: Benjamin St-Juste, Brandon Cisse, Kamal Hadden, Jaylin Simpson, Shemar Bartholomew, Domani Jackson, M.J. Devonshire, Marlon Jones.

Fighting for job: Valentine was a seventh-round pick in 2023 with 30 starts under his belt. Of the returning and/or projected starters, he’s definitely on the thinnest of ice.

The Packers signed St-Juste in free agency. He’s played some high-level ball but missed the offseason practices due to an injury. Cisse was this year’s second-round pick. At some point, both players are going to get their shot with the No. 1 defense. If one of them unseats Valentine in the starting lineup and Jackson, a sixth-round rookie, shows something after missing the offseason, he could be on the trade block.

Safeties

Green Bay Packers safety Kitan Oladapo (27) is entering his third season. Who will join him on the depth chart? | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Starters: Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard (slot).

Backups: Kitan Oladapo, Johnathan Baldwin, Mark Perry, Murvin Kenion III.

Fighting for job: This position doesn’t have any mystery at the top of the depth chart. If the Packers keep five, it will come down to Baldwin, who spent the spring in the slot, Perry, who spent the spring alongside Oladapo with the No. 2s, and Kenion, an undrafted rookie with strong ball production in college.

Specialists

Starters: K Trey Smack, P Daniel Whelan, LS Matt Orzech.

Backups: K Lucas Havrisik.

Fighting for job: It will be Smack vs. Havrisik (vs. every unemployed kicker on earth and perhaps the galaxy) in the battle to be booting field goals at Minnesota in Week 1. This might be the hottest position battle in training camp. It also will be the easiest to judge. Both players have above-average leg strength. So, who can make kicks?

Big training camp questions: Here are three questions about the receivers, offensive line, tight ends, running backs and quarterbacks. And on defense, it’s the safeties, cornerbacks, linebackers, defensive tackles and edge defenders.

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