Packers 53-Man Roster Projection 2.0

With two weeks of training camp complete and the preseason on the horizon, here is our latest Green Bay Packers 53-man roster projection.

Green Bay Packers lineman Jordan Morgan (77) blocks defensive lineman Kenny Clark (97) to protect Jordan Love at Family Night. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The first two weeks of Green Bay Packers training camp have laid the foundation. The next three weeks, however, will determine who will make the 53-man roster and whose bubble will burst.

It’s going to be a sprint to the Aug. 27 roster cuts. The team will practice three times this week before the preseason opener at the Cleveland Browns on Saturday night. Joint practices and preseason games against the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens will be critical in helping general manager Brian Gutekunst make those tough decisions.

Based on 10 training camp practices, here is our second 53-man Packers roster projection.

Quarterbacks (3)

Jordan Love, Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: None, following the release of Jacob Eason. This could be the decision for general manager Brian Gutekunst: Keeping three quarterbacks would take a roster spot from another player. If he were to release Pratt, would he be able to sign him to the practice squad or would he lose him on waivers? On one hand, Pratt is a talented prospect. On the other hand, every team bypassed him through the first six rounds of the draft. Of course, the answer to that question will be determined by how he plays in the preseason.

Running Backs (3)

Josh Jacobs, AJ Dillon, Marshawn Lloyd

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: Releasing Emanuel Wilson. Wilson is a quality player. He led the NFL in preseason rushing last year and has developed his all-around game. He had a solid blitz pickup against linebacker Eric Wilson on Family Night. Chances are the Packers would be able to get him on the practice squad, though.

Receivers (6)

Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs, Dontayvion Wicks, Jayden Reed, Bo Melton, Grant DuBose

Changes: DuBose (added).

Toughest decision: Keeping DuBose over Malik Heath. In our last projection, keeping three quarterbacks meant going with five receivers. This time, we’ll keep the sixth receiver, DuBose, who is coming off a strong week of training camp. Last year, Heath, an undrafted rookie, beat out DuBose, a seventh-round pick. DuBose, however, has outplayed Heath through two weeks of practices. Heath also beat out Melton last year. It’s not just that Melton has game-breaking speed and made some key plays down the stretch last year. He’s also got special teams value. On punt coverage last week, he caught Daniel Whelan’s punt at the 2.

Tight Ends (3)

Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Davis

Changes: Ben Sims (released).

Toughest decision: Releasing Sims. Could the Packers go light here and stick with just three tight ends? If Musgrave and Kraft take the expected jumps, there wouldn’t be a lot of snaps available for anyone else. In that case, the decision would come down to Davis, who is an excellent player on special teams, or Sims, who showed flash as a run blocker as a rookie.

Offensive Line (9)

Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan, Zach Tom, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk, Travis Glover, Kadeem Telfort.

Changes: Telfort (added), Andre Dillard (released), Donovan Jennings (released).

Toughest decision: Telfort over Dillard. The Packers gave offensive line coach Luke Butkus a reclamation project in Dillard, a former first-round pick. Overall, Dillard has had a dismal training camp, with one big caveat. Most of his struggles have come at right tackle while most of his NFL playing time has come at left tackle. If Dillard can work out the kinks at right tackle, he could be the swing tackle the Packers lack at the moment. For now, though, we’ll go with Telfort. At this time next week, maybe we’ll go with Offensive Tackle TBA, though it’s not as if there’s a glut of competent offensive tackles on the street.

Jennings, who got a big contract as an undrafted free agent, has been sidelined twice by a knee injury and hasn’t had a chance to show what he can (or can’t) do.

Defensive Tackles (5)

Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, TJ Slaton, Karl Brooks, Colby Wooden

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: None. Former seventh-round pick Jonathan Ford has had a good training camp. However, if the Packers had decided he couldn’t help their terrible run defenses in 2022 and 2023, why should anything be different in 2024?

Defensive Ends (5)

Rashan Gary, Kingsley Enagbare, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Brenton Cox

Changes: Cox (added).

Toughest decision: Enagbare has been fantastic following last year’s ACL injury. But there has to be at least some risk of a re-injury. While Wooden has shown he can contribute at tackle and end, keeping Cox would provide some insurance. Besides, the new, attacking defensive scheme puts a premium on rotating players in and out of the lineup, so keeping a total of 10 defensive linemen makes sense.

Linebackers (5)

Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson, Edgerrin Cooper, Ty’Ron Hopper

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: Releasing Kristian Welch. The Wisconsin native was a key player on the Ravens’ powerful special teams from 2020 through 2022. He joined the Packers following final roster cuts last year and became a valuable contributor. However, this is a deep roster so hard decisions must be made.

Cornerbacks (6)

Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Corey Ballentine, Kalen King

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: At the start of camp, King vs. Robert Rochell seemed to be the battle. Rochell is off to a good start and has been locked into the second team when healthy. However, King has had a few big days during camp, with an interception and multiple breakups one day and a couple breakups on Thursday and Saturday. A seventh-round pick who was an All-American at Penn State in 2022, King has shown some potential in the slot. While he doesn’t have great athleticism, his instincts are strong.

Safeties (5)

Xavier McKinney, Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, Anthony Johnson Jr., Kitan Oladapo

Changes: None.

Toughest decision: None. Oladapo missed the start of training camp with a broken toe and hasn’t taken part in any 11-on-11 reps. That should happen this week. While he’s been left in the dust in the battle to start opposite Xavier McKinney, his size and athleticism could make him an early asset on special teams.

Specialists (3)

Greg Joseph, Daniel Whelan, Matt Orzech

Changes: K Anders Carlson (released), K Greg Joseph (added)

Toughest decision: Joseph over Carlson. There’s a long way to go until roster cuts are due on Aug. 27. But, based simply on what’s taken place on the practice field, Joseph has the edge. He is 36-of-40 (90.0 percent) on field goals compared to 33-of-40 (82.5 percent) for Carlson. To state the obvious, the preseason games will play a huge role in the final decision. With Carlson being a sixth-round pick last year, you’d think Joseph would have to score a decisive win to earn the job.

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