Updating Packers Roster Battles Before Preseason Opener vs. Jets

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Training camp is important, but roster spots will be won and lost based largely on what happens during the Green Bay Packers’ three-game preseason, which will kick off on Saturday night against the New York Jets.

“I just think how guys react to every situation, both positively and negatively,” coach Matt LaFleur said of what he’ll be looking for. “If you make a bad play, can you regroup and recover the next play? Just how guys are competing, how they’re running to the football, just all the little things they’re doing away from the ball are equally as important.”

Here’s a fresh look at the positional roster battles.

Quarterbacks

The top two of Jordan Love and Malik Willis are set in stone. Sean Clifford, who will be playing in his third preseason, and Taylor Elgersma, an undrafted rookie from Canada, are competing for what almost certainly will be a spot on the practice squad.

Neither have taken control – they alternate the No. 3 snaps at practice – which might be good news for Elgersma, who lacks Clifford’s experience running Green Bay’s offensive system and competing against NFL defenders.

“He’s got the arm talent,” LaFleur said. “It’s just the consistency, and it’s always hard for a guy where a majority of the reps are going to Jordan and Malik. Both he and Sean, they’ve got to maximize their opportunities.”

Running Backs

There’s little doubt that the running backs on the 53-man roster will come from the four-man group of Josh Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson, MarShawn Lloyd and Chris Brooks. So long as they’re all healthy, which is not the case entering Saturday with Lloyd (groin) and Wilson (knee) are out of commission. That has created a glimmer of light for the young group of Israel Abanikanda, who was drafted by the Jets in 2023, and undrafted rookies Amar Johnson and Jalen White.

“Iz got a little bit of stuff to him,” Jacobs said of Abanikanda.

For the backs, this will be their first opportunity to show they can block blitzers and break tackles.

Receivers

There are two battles being waged at receiver.

First, who will be the primary players at the position? The Packers usually work their draft picks into the action slowly, with 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan and 2023 first-round pick Lukas Van Ness being obvious examples. However, first-round pick Matthew Golden has been superb throughout training camp. He’s routinely gained separation and caught the football.

Golden has to play, but at the expense of who? Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed have been tremendous all summer, and Dontayvion Wicks has shown his usual route-running excellence with better hands.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Malik Heath (18) catches a pass over cornerback Micah Robinson on Family Night. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The other battle is for the sixth player on the depth chart. The four players listed above are locks, as is third-round pick Savion Williams. Unless the Packers find a way to keep seven, Mecole Hardman vs. Malik Heath could be a fight to the finish. The wild card will be returns, where Hardman figures to get a lot of chances the next few weeks. The Packers might prefer to take the return burden off of Reed and Keisean Nixon, but Heath is at least on par with Hardman as a receiver and is the better blocker.

Tight Ends

John FitzPatrick appears to have emerged from the pack in his battle with Ben Sims, Messiah Swinson and Johnny Lumpkin to be the third tight end behind Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. FitzPatrick was a complete nonfactor as a receiver at Georgia but has shown he can be much more than just an extra lineman. Now, he’s got to show it in the games, because Sims is no slouch and Swinson and Lumpkin are big-bodied blockers, as well.

Offensive Line

With two-year starting left tackle Rasheed Walker likely to be out on Saturday as he works his way back from a groin injury, Jordan Morgan will start and probably get a lot of action.

During his before-practice press conferences, LaFleur typically offers rave reviews about every player he’s asked about. On Thursday, he offered this tepid response about Morgan’s play at left tackle:

“Some good and then some where he’s got to get better. I think you can say that about everybody. Again, he’s a young player, but he’s getting a lot of exposure at that spot, so with that comes a lot of opportunity.”

That’s an accurate assessment of Morgan’s play. He has not been good enough to take Walker’s spot. Maybe Morgan will dominate against the Jets. If not, once Walker is healthy, it will be interesting to see if Morgan locks in more at right guard to challenge Sean Rhyan.

Defensive Tackles

Green Bay Packers defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse (93) high fives fans while riding to training camp. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Behind Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks, it seems to be a three-man battle for two spots. Colby Wooden was a fourth-round pick in 2023 who has almost 500 snaps worth of regular-season experience. He’s being pushed by Warren Brinson, a sixth-round pick out of Georgia this year, and Nazir Stackhouse, an undrafted rookie this year and college teammates with Brinson.

For most of last week, Stackhouse and Brooks formed the No. 2 tandem, but Brooks worked more with Wooden this week. Brinson, meanwhile, has been coming on strong.

“It feels super-comfortable having a Georgia Bulldog next to me,” Brinson said. “It just reminds me of where I came from and it makes it easy. Having Stack with me is a really good thing. It just helps me feel comfortable because I know my boy’s going to do his job, I’m going to do my job and we’re going to feed off each other.”

Defensive Ends

Fifth-round pick Collin Oliver still has not practiced, meaning he’s being left in the dust. Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness will start, and Kingsley Enagbare’s second-team reps have been split evenly with Brenton Cox and fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell.

At this point, it would be an upset if this is not the five-man group entering Week 1.

Linebackers

The only open spot in the starting lineup on defense appears to be at linebacker. Quay Walker and Edgerrin Cooper will be the every-down players at the position. Who will man the third spot in the base defense? Isaiah McDuffie started every game last season and has earned the trust of the coaches. Isaiah Simmons, however, offers the possibility of a trio with elite athleticism.

“When these guys are locked in, dialed in, cleats in the ground, they’re tough to block on the second level,” LaFleur said this week of Cooper, Walker and Simmons. “There were a couple plays [on Family Night] that really showcased that. All those guys have the athleticism that we’re looking for, and they’ve just got to continue to showcase that, knowing what to do, getting their cleats in the ground, being ready to play and reading their keys.”

Cornerbacks

Green Bay Packers cornerback Bo Melton (16) and wide receiver Matthew Golden (22) fight for a pass during Family Night. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nate Hobbs’ knee injury offers some upside in helping the Packers determine how they’ll fill out their depth chart behind the starters, Keisean Nixon and Hobbs, and top backup Carrington Valentine.

Bo Melton has defied all expectations in his transition from receiver. Even his own expectations. At this point, he seems to be more than just a lock to make the roster. He might wind up being the fourth corner and tasked with playing meaningful snaps this season.

“I feel I did pretty good, made some plays. Still got a lot of corrections I have to do, get used to the defense, but for the most part, I’m getting used to it. I’ve got a lot of good guys supporting me. I feel like I’ve been making some plays here and there, some splash plays. It’s been fun, too.”

Who will round out the depth chart? Kalen King, a seventh-round pick last year, appears to be the front-runner, though Micah Robinson, a seventh-round pick this year, has flashed, and it’s not too late for Kamal Hadden, who is out with a hip injury. Someone is going to have to definitively win this job so general manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t feel compelled to go shopping after league-wide roster cuts.

Safeties

The battle between Evan Williams and Javon Bullard to start alongside Xavier McKinney hasn’t materialized and might never materialize. Before Hobbs’ injury, at least going with Nixon and Valentine at cornerback with Hobbs in the slot and McKinney and Bullard at safety was an option. With Hobbs out of action, it’s clear the best secondary the Packers can field has Nixon and Valentine at corner and Bullard in the slot.

Not even Omar Brown’s three interceptions on Family Night changed the top five of McKinney, Williams, Bullard, Zayne Anderson and Kitan Oladapo.

With McKinney out on Thursday, the Packers went with Williams and Bullard at safety in the base defense and Williams and Anderson at safety with Bullard in the slot in nickel.

“That's why we practice. That's why we go into these preseason games,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said of the safeties recently. “You want guys competing. I think good teams have competition. You want guys pushing each other. If I'm Javon Bullard, I'm proving to everybody right now, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Like, it’s not happening. I’m playing every down.’ And if I’m Evan Williams, I hope he's saying the same thing and I hope Zayne Anderson’s right behind them, because then what happens is guys push each other and we get better and I think that's our job as coaches.”

Specialists

There is no mystery here at all. The three returning players, kicker Brandon McManus, punter Daniel Whelan and long snapper Matt Orzech, have been superb. Orzech is having a much better camp this year than last year.