Most Important Packers – 45 to 49: ‘The Tape Doesn’t Lie’

Part 6 of our 90-to-1 countdown of the Green Bay Packers’ roster includes linebackers Eric Wilson and Ty'Ron Hopper, receiver Malik Heath and cornerback Kalen King.

Green Bay Packers receiver Malik Heath celebrates his touchdown at the New York Giants. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will take a 90-man roster to the field for the first practice of training camp on July 22.

Here is Part 6 of our ranking of the most important players on the Packers’ roster. This isn’t just a listing of the team’s best players. These rankings consider talent, importance of the position, depth at the position, salary and draft history. More than anything, we hope you learn something about each player.

No. 49: WR Malik Heath

With the Packers frantically trying to avoid an embarrassing upset loss in a primetime game at the New York Giants in December, Jordan Love on second-and-goal at the 6 threw the ball to Malik Heath, of all people, for what should have been the go-ahead touchdown. Heath, an undrafted rookie who had caught only six passes all season, was lax with the ball and had it knocked free at the last moment.

So, of course, Love went back to Heath on the next play. He made a terrific all-hands catch at the sideline and got the ball over the line for the touchdown.

“I was very confident Malik was going to win that 1-on-1 matchup because he has that ability, that if you throw it up, he’s going to go up and make a play, and he’s got aggressive hands and attacks the ball,” Love said during last month’s minicamp. “And I think for him he was ready to go out there and make another play. That’s confidence, that I’m going to keep coming to you and go make another play.”

While Heath went undrafted, he surged past 2022 seventh-round pick Samori Toure and 2023 seventh-round pick Grant DuBose because of his toughness. He might not have Allen Lazard’s size, but he could thrive in that “goon” role as the receiver who can win in the run game or pass game because of his physicality and mentality.

There were some dominant snaps last season, including a preseason game against the Bengals, when he blocked his defender into the kicking net, or in the regular season at Detroit, when he served up a pancake as the lead blocker.

“He had some really big moments for us last year, making some tough catches, doing some dirty work, some key blocks,” coach Matt LaFleur said last month. “And I think physically he’s in a much better place. He’s a little bit lighter. Obviously, he knows the offense a heck of a lot better, so it allows you to play faster and you can move him around a little bit more. So, we’re really excited to see him and what he can do once we get to the preseason and those game-like situations.”

Heath ranked third among undrafted rookie receivers with 15 catches. While Heath dropped a couple too many passes during the offseason practices, Love said “more opportunities” will be come his way this year.

“When he’s out there in the game, he’s made some big-time plays,” Love said. “I just love his mindset on the field. He’s one of the guys you can just throw it up and he’s going to go up there and make a play and go up there and get it. He’s very aggressive and he shows that. And also in the blocking game, he does some really good things. I think he just needs to keep being himself. Keep stacking those days, and taking advantage of any opportunity he gets.”

No. 48: CB Kalen King

Just in case you need a reminder about the importance of depth:

Last year, the Packers thought they’d play the season with the presumably premier cornerback trio of Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. Thanks to injuries to Alexander and Stokes and the trade of Douglas, rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine played the most snaps among the team’s perimeter cornerbacks and journeyman Corey Ballentine played the second-most. Valentine and Ballentine wound up playing more snaps than Alexander, Douglas and Stokes combined.

So, now that the need for depth has been reinforced, the only noteworthy addition at cornerback this offseason was King. He wasn’t just a seventh-round pick. He was the last cornerback selected and the fourth-to-last pick of the entire draft.

“Carrington, he has that chip on his shoulder. He has a workmanlike approach,” defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said. “You saw a little bit of that with Kalen King. We all know Kalen can play football. So, that seventh-round tag is just a tag. He’s going to come in here and prove otherwise, I feel like.”

By now, you probably know King’s story. He was an All-American at Penn State in 2022 and a projected first-round pick entering the season. Instead, he went from 21 passes defensed to two. A 4.60 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine didn’t help matters.

But King played a lot of good football at Penn State. It wasn’t like he was terrible last season; he didn’t allow a touchdown his final two seasons.

“He’s going to make it because he’s a consistent football player and he loves the game,” Penn State assistant head coach/cornerbacks coach Terry Smith told Packer Central. “One of the challenges we face in today’s game is people want attention, people want social media, people want all the other reasons. This guy loves football and he’s driven to be successful. Now that the draft has taken place, there’s another built-in chip on his shoulder and he’s really motivated to succeed.”

No. 47: LS Matt Orzech

Orzech, who was the long snapper for the Rams’ Super Bowl championship team in 2021, signed with the Packers last year and handled snapping duties for all 17 games plus both postseason contests. He wasn’t perfect but he didn’t have any catastrophic snaps, either.

For what it’s worth, Orzech was the third-worst snapper in the league last year by Pro Football Focus’ grading. He’ll have to fight off the training camp challenge of undrafted rookie Peter Bowden.

“We’re excited about him being around Matt,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “I think Matt’s really good. I thought he had a good year and he’s also improved. He’s gotten stronger. He’s played in a lot of big games. He’s won a Super Bowl. So, hopefully, he’ll be a guy that can set the example of what that’s supposed to look like, as well.”

Orzech spent about five years in Wisconsin as a kid. His path to the NFL started about a week before his first game as a tight end at Division II Azusa Pacific.

“He called me over and was like, ‘Hey, you’re going to play baseball here, right?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ It was a weird question in the middle of practice. He was like, ‘You pitch?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ He said, ‘You throw pretty hard?’ I said, ‘Hard enough to pitch in college.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you ever long snapped before?’ I was like, ‘I don’t even know what that is, Coach, honestly.’”

No. 46: LB Eric Wilson

Had the Packers pulled off the upset of the 49ers in the playoffs, Wilson would have been a hero for the ages.

With San Francisco having just taken a 14-13 lead in the third quarter, Keisean Nixon found a crease through the 49ers’ kickoff team and was off to the races. After a 73-yard return, he was stripped from behind. The ball bounced forward, with a hustling Wilson making a diving recovery at the 20-yard line. Four plays later, the Packers were in the end zone.

Wilson was a major contributor on special teams, where he played a team-high 308 snaps on special teams and led the team with 11 tackles. Because of injuries to starters Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell, he played 121 snaps on defense and contributed 20 tackles. His 6.05 snaps per tackle ranked No. 1 on the team.

Having re-signed in free agency, Wilson spent the offseason with the No. 1 defense. Chances are, he’ll be nudged aside by second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper at some point during training camp. Nonetheless, he’ll be a hugely important player on special teams and perhaps the next man up at linebacker.

No. 45: LB Ty’Ron Hopper

The Packers split their roster in half for most of the offseason practices, with the starters and key backups on the north side of the field and everyone else on the south end. Fellow rookie Edgerrin Cooper, a second-round pick, spent his practices on the north side while Hopper, a third-round pick, was stuck on the south.

Hopper spent his first three years at Florida before finishing with two seasons at Missouri, where he was coached by former Packers linebacker D.J. Smith.

“The film doesn’t lie,” Smith told Packer Central. “You know, old coach saying, ‘The tape doesn’t lie.’ And he can do it. He’s a four-down player. He’s got a lot of versatility, and his size and speed is what the new linebackers look like. He’s the prototypical 6-2-and-some-change, 230-plus pounds than can run 4.5.”

Smith called Hopper a “slippery” pass rusher who will be an asset as a blitzer. Hopper called himself a “violent guy,” which should, at the very least, give him an immediate presence on special teams.

Regardless of where he starts training camp – or even where he starts the season – the third-round pick will be a key player. Starter Isaiah McDuffie, who is entering his final season of his rookie deal, and veterans Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch, who signed one-year contracts in free agency, will be free agents next offseason.

Thus, a golden opportunity awaits – if Hopper works and grows as expected.

“I’m comfortable with growing and expanding my game and getting better,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, whatever position, it don’t really matter to me. I feel like I got the toolbox to do anything and to play any position. The only thing the coaches and staff are going to do is add more tools to my toolbox.”

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