Ranking Every Player on Packers Roster, Part 5: Battle for QB2 in 2027 Starts Now

The Green Bay Packers might have a need for an explosive running back. They definitely have a need for a developmental quarterback.

Part 5 of our annual roster rankings continues with the two candidates to be the No. 3 quarterback, with the winner of the competition perhaps jumping to the front of the line to be next year’s backup to Jordan Love.

No. 75: RB Jaden Nixon

In a perfect world, the Packers will roll into the season with Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks as the three-man backfield. As Lloyd, in particular, can attest, the NFL is not a perfect world.

Given Lloyd’s injury history, the Packers could have an opening for a No. 3 back. Nixon is an interesting candidate. He was incredibly explosive in college, especially during his final season at Central Florida. He’s not big – which scouts obviously knew – and the explosive ability he showed on the field didn’t show up on the stopwatch.

Jaden Nixon is a RB prospect in the 2026 draft class. He scored a 3.20 RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1543 out of 2268 RB from 1987 to 2026.https://t.co/Dg1D00mbQx pic.twitter.com/JR8D8p9nBa
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) April 2, 2026

Nonetheless, after three years at Oklahoma State and one season at Western Michigan, Nixon in 2025 at UCF rushed for 554 yards and averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Among the 197 FBS-level running backs with at least 71 carries (Nixon’s number), he finished third in yards per carry and first in percentage of yards that came on runs of 15-plus yards.

Of his seven rushing touchdowns, four were longer than 50 yards. In the second game of the season against North Carolina A&T, he rushed four times for 156 yards – including touchdowns of 87 and 66 yards – and returned a kickoff 96 yards for another touchdown.

“My speed, it’s one thing that’s key to my game,” he said. “I see a hole and I’m gone. Like, once I hit it, I can get loose quick. And then another thing is my vision. You can’t just hit it. Sometimes, you have to hit and hope for the best, run through the smoke. But sometimes, you got to read it out, and those decisions got to be quick sometimes.”

The Packers gave Nixon a $15,000 signing bonus. He will be a player to watch in the preseason.

No. 74: RB Pierre Strong Jr.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) greets Green Bay Packers running back Pierre Strong at minicamp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Strong was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in 2022. With New England in 2022 and Cleveland in 2023 and 2024, he carried the ball 99 times for 499 yards and two touchdowns and added 26 catches for 193 yards. He’s got experience on special teams as a kickoff returner and in coverage.

Before the 2022 draft, he measured 5-foot-11 and 207 pounds with 4.37 speed in the 40.

“He’s one of those guys that’s more of a speed guy and use him in space (and can) make things happen in the pass game,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “His addition, bringing him along was kind of to give us that phase of it besides he’ll be good enough for our outsize zone stuff and things in between the tackles. Definitely a really good and great addition for us from that standpoint.”

Strong spent last season on Green Bay’s practice squad. He was added to the gameday roster a few times but did not get on the field.

No. 73: TE Drake Dabney

After concluding his college career at TCU in 2024, Dabney went undrafted in 2025. He competed in training camp with the Titans and spent two weeks on their practice squad. The Packers signed him to their practice squad in the wake of Tucker Kraft’s injury.

Dabney played in two games late in the season. He caught one pass for 3 yards in 45 snaps against Minnesota in Week 18.

He sat out the offseason practices with an undisclosed injury, which was a setback in his push to make the roster.

In 53 college games with Baylor and TCU, he caught 84 passes for 1,066 yards and eight touchdowns. He missed most of the 2022 season with a broken leg. If football doesn’t work out, he might be interested in joining a NASCAR pit crew.

“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do if football didn’t work out, so I was like, this may be something to keep me around that team environment,” Dabney said. “I was actually surprised how many people saw that and reached out and had connections for me.”

No. 72: QB Kyle McCord

Green Bay Packers quarterback Kyle McCord (18) throws a pass at minicamp. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

McCord was a sixth-round pick by the Eagles last year. He spent most of his rookie season on their practice squad, then joined the Packers at the end of the season.

McCord threw 24 touchdown passes at Ohio State in 2023 but transferred to Syracuse to close his career. All he did was throw for 4,779 yards and 34 touchdowns.

“We really liked his moxie,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “He won a bunch of games there, at both places. From the scouting process always had an eye on him, and when he became available, we thought it made some sense.”

While he didn’t play in a game as a rookie, he’s “100 percent” better as a player.

“I think, obviously, always refining my skills and getting better in terms of mechanics and stuff like that,” McCord said in May. “I think last year, I almost viewed it as a redshirt year. You get to see how things are run in the NFL and different defenses being in an NFL system.

“Obviously not Green Bay's, but still an NFL system in Philly. I think just having that year of experience, although didn't play obviously, I think is helping me tremendously.”

No. 71: QB Kyron Drones

The Packers had arguably the best backup quarterback in the NFL last season with Malik Willis. With a rifle arm and electric athleticism, he was a threat at any moment – and the stats backed it up.

The Packers gave Drones a $5,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent. He has a big arm and elite athletic ability, too. The stats at Virginia Tech show he’ll be a project, but the raw ingredients give some Willis vibes.

“They see me for long term, not short term, just how they see me bringing qualities like Malik brought,” he told Packers On SI. “And then when my name’s called, they know I’m going to put the work in and try to do whatever I can to win games.”

Drones, who is cousins with young Titans quarterback Cam Ward, had a quiet set of offseason practices – partially a byproduct of learning the offense and playing alongside a bunch of young players who also are learning the offense. But he did throw some impressive passes that hint at the possibilities.

“It was good,” he said of the two weeks of OTAs and the minicamp. “Some ups and downs, but that’s always learning the game and learning how the NFL really is. So, I’m excited for the opportunity that I had and that I’m going to have when we get back.”

Veteran Tyrod Taylor will be Jordan Love’s backup this season but he’s a couple weeks from his 37th birthday. It’s possible Taylor will be a one-year rental and this year’s No. 3 passer will move up a rung next year.

Here's our 25 most important Packers for the upcoming season, with quick-hitting looks at each player and links to full feature stories on those players, along with the start of the annual 91-to-1 series. ⬇️https://t.co/ezDAkl7vmd
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 17, 2026

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