Grading Every Position of Packers’ 70-Man Roster

With the 17-man practice squad set, here is a look at the 70 players the Green Bay Packers will be taking into the practice week for the season-opening showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) during warmups prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at Lambeau Field. / Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

 

GREEN BAY, Wis. – It’s Game Week.

The Green Bay Packers will take their 70-player roster onto the practice field for the first time on Sunday, the first of three practices before departing for Brazil for their Week 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

While the focus for the past month has been on the race for spots on the Packers’ 53-man roster, the team views it as a 70-man roster that includes the 17 players on the practice squad.

Last year, eight members of the initial practice squad eventually played in at least one game, including receiver Bo Melton and cornerback Corey Ballentine, who emerged as key players.

“These guys have got to understand, whether you’re on the active roster or whether you’re on the practice squad, the way we view it, it’s a 70-man roster with the ability to call people up,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “So, you’ve got to get yourself prepared to play each and every week, and you better be getting better throughout the course of the season.”

Here is a look at the 70-man roster, including position grades.

Quarterbacks

On the 53 (2): Jordan Love, Malik Willis.

Practice squad (1): Sean Clifford.

Love will face a talented Eagles defense on Friday night having played just three preseason snaps. In his last meaningful action, he picked apart a superb Ravens defense at the joint practice. It was perhaps his best day of the summer.

With a record-breaking contract, the expectation is Love can routinely play to the dominant form he showed during the second half of last season.

Speaking of expectations, general manager Brian Gutekunst acquired Willis, a former third-round pick who had first-round hype before the 2022 draft, to be Love’s backup.

“I think there were some underwhelming performances [by Clifford and Michael Pratt] at times but, at the same time, Malik is in his third year and he really has shown a lot of progression, particularly this preseason,” Gutekunst said.

“It was an opportunity for us to add a guy that I think can not only make plays with his arm but with his legs, as well. I’m excited to get him, get him in the building and see where that goes.

Given the late arrival off Willis, it’s possible that Clifford will be Love’s backup for the opening game. And given the Packers only gave up a seventh-round pick to acquire Willis, they’re really not tied to him over the long run.

“I told Sean, I think we’ve seen him play better than all the things we saw throughout the course of the offseason, from training camp and in those preseason games,” LaFleur said. ‘He’s just got to get back to really the core fundamentals that allow you to play the game fast. Reading with your feet is one of those. But we certainly still have a lot of confidence in Sean. It’s just the circumstance we’re in right now.”

Grade: B-plus due to uncertainty at backup, which in a perfect world won’t matter.

Running Backs

On the 53 (3): Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd, Emanuel Wilson

Practice squad (2): Ellis Merriweather, La’Mical Perine.

Here is the question that could define the season: Did the Packers give a four-year, $48 million contract to the 2022 NFL rushing champion or the back who ranked toward the bottom of the NFL in yards per carry and yards after contact per carry in 2023?

Jacobs has a history of being a workhorse. That’s not LaFleur’s preferred way of doing business, but they might have to ride him to start the season with Lloyd recovering from a hamstring injury and AJ Dillon out for the season.

“What’s nice is he’s been in those roles where you can really lean on him in the run game and everything else. He’s used to that,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said.

Wilson had a strong preseason again – he ranked second among running backs in rushing yards and broken tackles and first in yards after contact. Because of hip and hamstring injuries, Lloyd barely practiced in training camp and got just two preseason touches.

The Packers added Perine, a former fourth-round draft pick, to the practice squad on Friday.

Grade: C-plus going into Week 1, with room for growth if the depth shakes out.

Receivers

On the 53 (6): Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton, Malik Heath.

Practice squad (2): Julian Hicks, Jalen Wayne.

The whole “No. 1 receiver” thing was offseason filler, of course. For the Packers, the strength is in the numbers. If Wicks is deemed the No. 4 receiver by the defense, what team has a fourth cornerback capable of stopping him?

Judging by how Love conducted the offense during training camp, the Packers might not have a receiver who finishes with 80 catches or 1,000 yards, but Love might still hit 4,500 yards.

“We definitely have guys that you can create some really good matchups with, that’s for sure,” Stenavich said.

Hicks and Wayne emerged from the bottom of the training camp depth chart to earn spots on the practice squad.

Hicks was signed after trying out at the Packers’ rookie camp. He has trained under former NFL standout Mohamed Sanu, who counts 49ers star Brandon Aiyuk among his clients. Speaking of big names, Wayne is the cousin of NFL legend Reggie Wayne.

Grade: A-minus, with A-plus potential if Watson stays healthy and looks like he did during the second half of 2022.

Tight Ends

On the 53 (3): Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Ben Sims.

Practice squad (2): Messiah Swinson, Andrew Beck (fullback).

Other than perhaps the Raiders, who boast Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer, there isn’t a team in the NFL with a young tight end tandem as good as the Packers with Musgrave and Kraft. Last year, they combined for 65 receptions even with Musgrave missing six games with an injured spleen and Kraft not really having a role in the passing game until Musgrave’s injury.

Kraft missed the first half of training camp recovering from a torn pectoral but was dominant at times. Musgrave had a quiet camp but his field-stretching ability is an X-factor.

“I’m excited to see him play,” Stenavich said. “He flashed some really special things out there at times.”

The Packers added Beck, who could eventually reprise the Josiah Deguara role as a fullback/tight end. He started 12 games for the high-powered Texans last year and returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Grade: B-plus, with A-plus potential as Musgrave and Kraft enter Year 2.

Offensive Line

On the 53 (10): LT Rasheed Walker, LG Elgton Jenkins, C Josh Myers, RG Sean Rhyan, RT Zach Tom, G/T Jordan Morgan, G/C Jacob Monk, T Andre Dillard, T Kadeem Telfort, T Travis Glover.

Practice squad (2): Lecitus Smith, Donovan Jennings.

The starting five is solid. Walker and Tom might be the best-kept secrets in the NFL at the tackle spots. The backups are an unknown. Assuming Rhyan starts at right guard, the top reserves figure to be Morgan and Dillard.

Morgan, this year’s first-round draft pick, didn’t play in the preseason due to a shoulder injury. Dillard, a former first-round pick by the Eagles, gave up the most sacks in the league last year with Tennessee even while starting only 10 games. He had a good second half of camp, though.

The Packers gave Jennings $100,000 in guaranteed salary as an undrafted free agent, but a knee injury prevented him from competing much during camp. Now, he’ll get an extended look alongside Smith, a former Cardinals draft pick who started a couple games as a rookie.

Grade: C-plus, with B for starters and D for depth.

Defensive Ends

On the 53 (6): Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare, Brenton Cox, Arron Mosby.

Practice squad (1): Deslin Alexandre.

There are high hopes but significant questions here.

Can Gary finally have that breakthrough season? A year beyond the torn ACL that ended his season in 2022, the 2019 first-round pick is still looking for his first 10-sack season.

Can Smith remain a productive player at age 31? The oldest player on the youngest team had a quiet camp.

Can Van Ness, last year’s first-round pick, have a breakout season after finishing last season on a high note? He had an excellent camp.

Can Enagbare be productive while playing on last year’s ACL injury? Camp was encouraging.

The Packers went heavy at end by keeping Cox and Mosby.

“I’m grateful that we kept them,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. “If you watched over the course of training camp and what they were able to do in the preseason games, they’re talented pass-rushers and they’re young. You can’t find those guys everywhere.”

Grade: B, but with obvious A potential if Gary and Van Ness thrive.

Defensive Tackles

On the 53 (5): Kenny Clark, TJ Slaton, Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden.

Practice squad (1): James Ester.

These five players participated in all 17 games last season and are expected to be driving forces in the new defensive scheme.

No longer will the defensive linemen be asked to read and react and take up blocks. Now, it’s foot on the gas, get in the backfield and cause mayhem. That style should suit Wyatt, in particular, and he had a strong training camp.

“He’s done an unbelievable job of splitting double-teams this whole offseason,” Rebrovich said. “And learning how to play with leverage, learning how to more play through his hands and not just to his hands. Those are all things and concepts we work in our room. We challenged him. Said ‘Hey, man, this is something similar to maybe what you did in college but this is what we’re going to do here’ and, you know, embrace it. All those guys did.”

Grade: B, with A potential if this group can figure out how to play the run.

Linebackers

On the 53 (5): Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper.

Practice squad (1): Chris Russell.

In the base 4-3, Walker will start at middle linebacker and will be flanked by McDuffie and Wilson. In nickel, it will be Walker and McDuffie.

“I remember interviewing (Walker) getting ready for the Combine when I was in Miami and I was impressed with how sharp he was,” linebackers coach Anthony Campanile said. “I had a tape of him at Georgia, stuff they were doing, and he was able to tell me everybody’s role on the defense, what he was doing. That was something I remembered in preparation for that draft, I thought he was a sharp guy, and that’s been true since I’ve been here.

“I think he’s a really, really intelligent guy. He loves to learn football, loves to work at it.”

The Packers invested heavily in the draft with Cooper in the second round and Hopper in the third round. Cooper missed the entire preseason with a hip injury and never mounted a challenge to Wilson.

After failing to make the 53 despite an excellent training camp, Kristian Welch signed with the Broncos.

“Kristian, along with a few others, absolutely did everything and deserved to make this football team,” Gutekunst said. “We had more than 53, in my opinion, that deserved to make this football team and deserved to make a 53 roster. That’s a great problem; it’s very difficult. It’s very difficult to look people in the eye that you know that have produced and played well enough to make your team and have to move on.”

Thus, the sixth man on the unit is Russell, who was signed midway through training camp.

Grade: C, with room for growth if Walker thrives.

Cornerbacks

On the 53 (5): Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine.

Practice squad (3): Robert Rochell, Kalen King, Kamal Hadden.

Alexander had a superb training camp and seems ready to rejoin the ranks of the NFL’s best corners.

“He’s been a model citizen,” defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said. “He’s been consistent, he’s been a joy to be around, I think he’s done a really good job of being a leader with the young guys, as well.”

After injuries ruined his last two seasons, Stokes participated in every practice from OTAs through training camp. So, Stokes will be back in the lineup, but will he be back to his rookie-year form? He had an up-and-down camp.                                           

Nixon will start in the slot but rookie safety Javon Bullard provides some interesting options. More on that later.

The Packers went a bit light with five corners on the roster but made up for it by keeping their best two who didn’t make it – Rochell and the impressive seventh-round rookie King – and added Hadden, a sixth-round pick by the Chiefs this year.

Grade: B-minus. Do the Packers have the manpower to stop elite duos, like the Eagles have with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith?

Safeties

On the 53 (5): Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, Zayne Anderson, Kitan Oladapo.

Practice squad (1): Omar Brown.

Talk about an extreme makeover. Not a single player here logged a snap on defense for the Packers last season. McKinney was a star for the Giants and has immediately become a leader for the Packers. Bullard, Williams and Oladapo are rookies. Anderson was a core player on special teams last year and will be again.

“I think slowly but surely, the young guys, they open their eyes to, ‘Wow, I didn’t even think like that,’ and they get the player perspective from him,” position coach Ryan Downard said of McKinney.

“He’s starting to build credibility and then, combined with that, he’s a player on the field, so he’s making plays, so it just doubles down on the fact that maybe what this guy’s saying, he’s got some of it figured out. He has developed a very strong voice on our defense and throughout our team.”

Bullard and McKinney will start. What about Williams, who intercepted five passes at training camp? An option would be moving Bullard into the slot and inserting Williams at safety. Williams seems too good to be limited to special teams.

Added to the practice squad a couple days ago, Brown could be a player to watch. After going undrafted as a 37-game college starter, the Broncos signed him and gave him $245,000 in guaranteed salary.

Grade: B. The most-improved unit on the roster could be an A if Bullard and Williams reach their potential.

Specialists

On the 53 (3): K Brayden Narveson, P Daniel Whelan, LS Matthew Orzech.

Practice squad (1): K Alex Hale.

The Packers elected to sink or swim with Anders Carlson last year. On Tuesday, they tossed him into the pond of free-agent kickers and reeled in Narveson, an undrafted rookie with a big leg but no meaningful resume.

“We all felt like coming out he had the ability to be a good kicker and I still think he has the ability to be a good kicker,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said of Carlson. “He improved coming back from last year.

“He was stronger. He had some 10-day periods where he played really well and some other periods where they were up and down to some degree, both of them [Carlson and Greg Joseph]. So, I certainly think he’s an improved player. I just think the consistency level that we were looking for wasn’t reached at this particular point by either one of them.”

Whelan could have a big season; consistency when trying to pin the opponent inside the 10 will be key.

Hale, as a member of the International Player Pathway program, is the 17th player on the practice squad. IPP players get a roster exemption.

Grade: C, with so much hinging on a rookie kicker who just arrived in Green Bay.

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