The Green Bay Packers, like every other NFL team, have less than a week to make final decisions on the state of their roster. By Aug. 29, the Packers will have to sort through any remaining questions on their depth chart and pare down from 90 players to just 53.
Here’s how Green By could realign its roster by next week’s cutdown deadline.
Green Bay Packers 53-Man Roster Projection
Quarterback
- In: Jordan Love, Sean Clifford
- Out: Alex McGough
Three years after being selected in the first round of the 2020 draft, Love is finally taking the reins in Green Bay. A virtual unknown with just 83 NFL pass attempts under his belt, Love will get the next two seasons to prove he’s the Packers’ future under center.
Green Bay’s QB2 battle isn’t much of a battle at all, as the club isn’t going to cut Clifford, a rookie fifth-round pick. McGough played seven snaps in the Packers’ first preseason game and didn’t see any action last week (although he was going to enter had the game continued before Isaiah Bolden’s injury).
Running Back
- In: Aaron Jones, AJ Dillon, Patrick Taylor
- Out: Tyler Goodson, Nate McCrary, Lew Nichols, Henry Pearson (FB), Emanuel Wilson
The Packers kept just Jones and Dillon on their initial 53-man roster in 2022, but there’s a sense that they may retain a third back this season. Jones will turn 29 in December while Dillon is in his contract year, so Green Bay probably wants to get a look at at least one more option on the depth chart.
Patrick Taylor was so ready for the Lambeau Leap 🙌
📱: Stream #NEvsGB on #NFLPlus https://t.co/L9mPiySmuK pic.twitter.com/Rn5kScZJGJ
— NFL (@NFL) August 20, 2023
Taylor and Kylin Hill were the only Packers running backs aside from Jones and Dillon to handle an attempt last season. Taylor scored a touchdown against the Patriots on Saturday.
Goodson has two scores this preseason, but his lack of contributions on special teams and his inability in the passing game don’t make him a suitable RB3 candidate.
Wide Receiver
- In: Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Samori Toure, Dontayvion Wicks, Grant DuBose
- Out: Jadakis Bonds, Cody Chrest, Malik Heath, Bo Melton, Dre Miller, Duece Watts
Watson and Doubs both produced as rookies in 2022 and will be the Packers’ clear-cut starters in two-WR sets. Toure, another 2022 draft pick, only received 10 targets last season but appears to be guaranteed a roster spot.
.@jordan3love goes DEEP to @RomeoDoubs 🙌 #NEvsGB | #GoPackGo
📺: Packers TV Network pic.twitter.com/dfD8uAScHd
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 20, 2023
After using three picks on receivers last year, Green Bay did it again in 2023. Reed is already the Packers’ starting slot receiver. Wicks should be a roster lock after being selected in the fifth round, although he suffered a hamstring injury against the Patriots.
The final spot on the Packers’ WR depth chart will likely come down to DuBose, Melton, or Heath, with the early edge going to the draft pick. However, DuBose just came off the non-football injury list after recovering from a back injury, so the seventh-round rookie is behind the eight-ball.
Tight End
- In: Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Josiah Deguara, Austin Allen
Tight end is one of the least challenging positions to decipher on Green Bay’s roster. The rookie pairing of Musgrave and Kraft should see the field early and often, as both players can play as in-line tight ends.
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Deguara offers fullback versatility, while Allen — who offers intriguing size at 6’8″, 255 pounds — will make the team after fellow tight end Tyler Davis tore his ACL in the Packers’ first preseason game.
Offensive Line
- In: David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, Zach Tom, Yosh Nijman, Royce Newman, Sean Rhyan, Rasheed Walker, Caleb Jones
- Out: Jean Delance, James Empey, Cole Schneider, Kadeem Telfort
While the Packers are set at left tackle, left guard, and right guard, they’re conducting ongoing competitions at center and right tackle. Zach Tom, who appeared at four of five OL positions during his rookie campaign, is an option to start at both center and right tackle and will claim one of those spots (and it’s looking like it will be RT).
Myers started all 17 games for the Packers in 2022 but would likely become the team’s top interior reserve if he can’t win a starting role this year. Nijman, who was outstanding at LT at the beginning of the year but seemed to struggle when forced to move to right tackle, would profile as Green Bay’s swing tackle if Tom beats him out on the right side.
Newman started 16 games as recently as 2021, while Green Bay won’t give up on Rhyan after selecting him in Round 3 a year ago.
Jake Hanson’s shin injury forced the Packers to waive him earlier this week, clearing a path for both Walker and Jones to make the roster. If Green Bay decides they’re healthy enough up front, they could choose to keep nine offensive linemen and bump one of Walker or Jones off the depth chart and onto the practice squad.
Defensive Line
- In: Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, T.J. Slaton, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden, Karl Brooks
- Out: Jonathan Ford, Jason Lewan, Antonio Moultrie, Chris Slayton
Clark, Wyatt, and Slaton will start in base packages, but the Packers are looking for depth after losing Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry in free agency. To that end, Green Bay double-dipped during the draft by adding Wooden (fourth round) and Brooks (sixth round), who should see action during their rookie campaigns.
Brooks, specifically, played exceptionally well against the Patriots on Saturday. The Bowling Green product handled 37 snaps, posting two pressures and a run stop while registering the second-highest PFF grade (80.4) among Packers defenders.
Karl Brooks had some nice plays versus the Patriots. Won a lot with his hands pic.twitter.com/1NTxH3GhTp
— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) August 21, 2023
The Packers have enough edge rushers capable of sliding inside on obvious passing downs that they probably don’t need to keep a sixth defensive lineman.
However, Green Bay kept Ford on their 53-man roster for the entirety of last season even though he didn’t play a single defensive snap, indicating that they’d like to retain him on their practice squad at least.
EDGE
- In: Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Justin Hollins
- Out: Keshawn Banks, Brenton Cox Jr., Arron Mosby, Kenneth Odumegwu
Green Bay received excellent news in early August when Gary, rehabbing from a November ACL injury, was activated from the physically unable to perform (PUP) list. One of the NFL’s most effective rushers on a per-snap basis, Gary is fully expected to be ready for the start of the regular season.
Smith will start alongside Gary, while Van Ness, the Packers’ first-round pick in April’s draft, should see more snaps as the season progresses. Enagbare and Hollins received first-team reps ahead of Van Ness earlier this summer, but the rookie’s athletic profile will prove too difficult to keep off the field.
Linebacker
- In: De’Vondre Campbell, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Tariq Carpenter
- Out: Jimmy Phillips Jr., Marvin Pierre
Campbell and Walker return as Green Bay’s starting linebackers, while McDuffie and Wilson were key contributors on special teams. The same goes for Carpenter, who transitioned from safety to linebacker this offseason. Barring an injury, this will be the Packers’ five-man LB depth chart.
Cornerback
- In: Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Keisean Nixon, Corey Ballentine, Carrington Valentine
- PUP List: Eric Stokes
- Out: Tyrell Ford, Elijah Hamilton, William Hooper, Shemar Jean-Charles, Kiondre Thomas
Stokes started 23 games during his first two seasons in Green Bay, but injuries are now threatening to remove him from the Packers’ plans — at least temporarily. He’s still on the PUP list as he works his way back from foot and knee injuries, and we’re projecting him to stay there into the regular season, which will require Stokes to miss at least four games.
Ballentine can fill in on the outside if needed and sees a lot of snaps on special teams, while the Packers probably want to keep Valentine, a rookie seventh-round draft choice, especially now that he’s put up an interception and three PBUs through two preseason games.
Packers rookie cornerback Carrington Valentine did a really nice job in press in his NFL debut. Here, he matches Bengals speedster Andrei Iosivas step for step.
As our friend @gregcosell likes to say, if you can't play press coverage in the NFL, you are going to have problems. pic.twitter.com/2iggQLwK2d
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) August 13, 2023
Even with Stokes unavailable, we’re still rolling with just five cornerbacks. A few of Green Bay’s safeties have experience in the slot and can fill in if needed.
Safety
- In: Darnell Savage, Rudy Ford, Jonathan Owens, Anthony Johnson Jr., Dallin Leavitt
- Out: Innis Gaines, Tarvarius Moore, Benny Sapp III
Savage will start for the Packers at safety. This much we know. But everything behind Savage is a mystery.
Owens, a 17-game starter for the Texans in 2022, started Green Bay’s first preseason game alongside Savage. But Ford got the nod in Game 2 against the Bengals.
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Moore has a knee injury but is considered day-to-day. Leavitt will make the roster due to his special teams contributions, while Johnson — the Packers’ seventh-round pick in April — has flashed on 67 preseason snaps.
With cutdown day less than a week away, even a minor injury like Moore’s could be enough to push him off the roster. That’s how we’re currently leaning, with Green Bay instead taking a shot on Johnson’s youth and upside.
Specialists
- In: Anders Carlson (K), Pat O’Donnell (P), Matt Orzech (LS)
- Out: Daniel Whelan (P), Broughton Hatcher (LS)
Teams don’t often waive kickers they’ve drafted, but if Carlson struggles during the season, Mason Crosby is only a phone call away. Meanwhile, neither O’Donnell nor Orzech (the latter of whom signed with the Packers during free agency) is facing realistic competition for their roles.