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Seven Packers You’ve Maybe Never Heard of With Golden Opportunities at OTAs

Here are seven relative unknowns on the Green Bay Packers’ roster who are in position to compete for roster spots.
Bill Huber|
Green Bay Packers defensive back Johnathan Baldwin catches a pass during minicamp last year.
Green Bay Packers defensive back Johnathan Baldwin catches a pass during minicamp last year. | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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Green Bay Packers

Week 2 of Green Bay Packers OTAs are off and running, with Tuesday’s practice open to reporters.

Obviously, no roster spots will be won or lost in June. However, what happens during these spring practices can set the tone for the rigors of training camp. A player who surprises now will get more opportunities at camp and in the preseason.

Due to injuries and other circumstances, several unheralded players have been given golden opportunities to show what they can do. Here are seven players looking to use these practices as a springboard.

RB Pierre Strong

With Josh Jacobs absent due to legal issues, Damien Martinez injured and MarShawn Lloyd limited to individual drills when reporters were present last week, the Packers were three men down in the backfield. That left only Chris Brooks, Pierre Strong and undrafted rookie Jaden Nixon, with Strong getting a lot of work alongside Jordan Love and behind the No. 1 line.

Strong was a fourth-round pick by the Patriots in 2022 who spent most of last season on Green Bay’s practice squad. In 99 career carries, his average is 5.0 yards. He does not fit the big-back mold the Packers typically prefer, but he’s got breakaway speed, which could give him a chance to make the roster as a change-of-pace back.

“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 last month. “So, his addition 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 addition for us from that standpoint.”

LT Brant Banks

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Brant Banks (72) blocks a teammate during training camp last year.
Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Brant Banks (72) blocks a teammate during training camp last year. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Brant Banks was an undrafted free agent last year. Green Bay loves to move its offensive linemen around, but that was not how Banks was used. Rather, the coaches stuck him at left tackle and kept him there.

After a strong preseason, Banks did not make the 53-man roster and landed on the practice squad. Aside from a one-week stint on the Titans’ 53, Banks spent the entire season on Green Bay’s practice squad.

Last year, if Rasheed Walker had been sidelined by injury, Jordan Morgan was the obvious next man up. This year, with Walker leaving in free agency and Morgan taking over as the blindside protector, there is no obvious backup.

If Morgan were to go down, the Packers could opt to shuffle their linemen around to compensate. Or, maybe, Banks will show he should be the next man up.

G/C John Williams

Cincinnati offensive lineman John Williams (OL48) runs in the 40-yard dash during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
Cincinnati offensive lineman John Williams (OL48) runs in the 40-yard dash during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

John Williams might not fit with the headline, but you’d be forgiven if you had forgotten about him.

Williams was a seventh-round pick last season after being a two-year starting left tackle at Cincinnati. He missed the entire offseason, training camp, preseason and most of the regular season following back surgery. The Packers designated him for return late in the season, which at least gave him his first three weeks of practice time as a pro.

With Jacob Monk and Donovan Jennings sidelined, Williams took second-team reps at left guard and center last week. 

Monk, a fifth-round pick in 2024 who started in Week 18 at Minnesota, and Jager Burton, a fifth-round pick this year, lead the race to provide interior depth. Williams, though, will be in the mix to give the team the depth it lacked last season.

T/G Karsen Barnhart

With Zach Tom rehabbing following end-of-season knee surgery, Darian Kinnard took the No. 1 reps at right tackle. Karsen Barnhart, who is listed as a guard, took the second-team reps.

Which begs this question: Who is Karsen Barnhart?

As a senior at Michigan in 2023, he started four games at left tackle, eight games at right tackle and the final three games at right guard for the national champions. In five seasons, according to PFF, he played 1,083 snaps at right tackle, 548 at left tackle, 219 at right guard and 174 at left guard.

Barnhart went undrafted in 2024 and spent his rookie season on the Chargers’ practice squad. The Packers signed him to their practice squad late last season.

While he has not played in a regular-season game, his versatile background should make him an appealing option when it comes to picking the final lineman or linemen for the 53.

DT Jaden Crumedy

With Devonte Wyatt rehabbing last year’s season-ending injury and Jonathan Ford out, as well, everyone on Green Bay’s defensive line gets to move up a couple notches. That includes Jaden Crumedy, a sixth-round pick by the Panthers in 2024.

He played in five games as a rookie and three games in 2025 with a total of 165 snaps. The Packers signed him to a futures contract after the season.

While Crumedy hasn’t panned out, it’s hard to resist the physical tools.

DB Johnathan Baldwin

Johnathan Baldwin went undrafted last season and made his NFL debut by playing almost every snap of the Week 18 loss to the Vikings.

Baldwin’s versatility should be an asset. He played safety and slot at UNLV, which is exactly the role he’s played with the Packers. At OTAs last week, he took the second-team reps in the slot. The Packers are a man down at safety with Zayne Anderson signing with the Dolphins in free agency.

His former position coach at UNLV had high expectations.

“He’s going to stick because he’s a glue guy in the locker room,” former NFL defensive back Akeem Davis told Packers On SI last year. He’s smart, he’s got good football intelligence, he can play the game from the neck up, and then he’s going to be a four-core special teams guy.

“He’s going to be all gas and no brakes, and that’s kind of what that Green Bay culture is over there. He’s a hard-working, blue-collar-type guy that’s going to create value for himself somewhere. And it’s going to be hard for them to get rid of him because of all of that value he’s going to add.”

S Mark Perry

As mentioned a moment ago, the Packers need to replace Zayne Anderson at safety. Their only addition was undrafted free agent Murvin Kenion, meaning there’s a spot on the 53 there for the taking.

Perry has an enticing physical skill-set at 6-foot and 211 pounds with 4.40 speed in the 40.

He went undrafted in 2024 and signed to Green Bay’s practice squad late last season. The Packers are his sixth team; he has not played in a game. He spent last week alongside Kitan Oladapo as the No. 2 tandem at safety.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.