Most Important Packers – 5 to 8: Reed Cracks Top 10

Part 15 of our 90-to-1 countdown of the Green Bay Packers’ roster includes Jayden Reed, Zach Tom, Quay Walker and Kenny Clark.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed (11) scores a touchdown at the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. / Jeffrey Becker-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 15 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. 8: WR Jayden Reed

The Packers not having a No. 1 receiver was one of the offseason’s many time-killing narratives.

Unless they do. And if they do, his name might be Jayden Reed.

Reed had a superb rookie season. Packers legend Sterling Sharpe is one of the best receivers in NFL history; Reed crushed Sharpe’s rookie record of 55 receptions by catching 64. That’s not to say Reed is better than Sharpe or ever will be better than Sharpe. It is to say Reed, with his elite combination of athleticism, skill and toughness, is a very good player who could become great.

Among rookie receivers, only the Colts’ Josh Downs had more slot receptions than Reed. While Downs had 51 receptions to Reed’s 44, Reed crushed Downs in yards (653 to 594), yards per catch (14.8 to 11.6) and touchdowns (seven to zero).

Among all receivers, Reed in the slot ranked seventh in receptions, third in yards, second in touchdowns, eighth in passer rating when targeted and 10th in yards per route.

Whether lined up in the slot or on the perimeter, only Tyreek Hill (14), D.J. Mooe (12), George Pickens (11) and DK Metcalf (11) had more 30-yard catches than Reed (10).

“He is a dog. He’s a war daddy,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Reed had 92 total yards and a touchdown in a win vs. the Chargers.

What’s a war daddy? Reed didn’t know, either, but “it’s got to be something good,” he said.

Reed dominated the offseason practices. If not for the depth of the passing game, Reed might be worthy of a 100-catch projection.

Whatever the numbers, so long as Reed can stay healthy, he will be the most dynamic weapon in a stacked group of pass-catchers.

No. 7: RT Zach Tom

Tom was the 140th player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. If there were a redraft, he’d probably go in the first round. Before this year’s draft, a Packers source told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky that the team views Tom as a “potential Hall of Fame” center. Tom, however, is an ascending right tackle. While center is an important position, right tackle is one of the most important in the sport.

Just look at last season. The Cowboys’ Micah Parsons led the NFL with 103 pressures. The Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson was second with 101, followed by the 49ers’ Nick Bosa was 95 and the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby with 94. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt led the NFL in sacks and was seventh in pressures.

What do those five players have in common? They rushed from the left side of the defense – or against the right side of the offensive line, in general, and the right tackle, in particular – at least 68 percent of the time. Tom faced them all and didn’t give up a sack.

Overall, Tom was one of 70 offensive tackles to play 500 snaps in the regular season. Tom ranked 16th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He allowed two sacks. According to league data, runs directly behind Tom averaged 5.16 yards per carry, which was sixth-best in the league.

“However many sacks I gave up is too many,” Tom said while recovering from a torn pectoral. “This was really my first year starting and I was able to go up against some of those premier guys. Learned a lot. Now, this year, come back even better. I’ve got big goals in mind for this year.”

Tom doesn’t have typical right tackle size. He doesn’t have ideal length. What Tom has is athletic ability, feel and balance. He is a tremendous player who is one more strong season away from being eligible for a monster contract extension.

His recovery from the pectoral injury is vital.

No. 6: LB Quay Walker

Walker opened his career with seasons of 121 tackles in 17 games 2022 and 118 in 14 games in 2023. While the per-game tackle production went up, he went from seven passes defensed to three, three forced fumbles to zero and a 67.4 percent catch rate to 85.2 percent.

Injuries last year sidelined him for three games and limited him to 76.4 percent playing time. So, he was sidelined enough to add some relevancy to these numbers: According to league data, the run defense was 0.02 yards per carry worse when he was on the field and the pass defense was 0.39 yards per passing attempt worse when he was in the lineup.

Still, Walker has played a lot of good football. He hasn’t gotten any smaller or slower. Rather, he’s gained plenty of seasoning with almost 1,700 defensive snaps in two seasons. He said the scheme, and what he’ll be asked to do in it, reminds him of what he did at Georgia.

As the man in the middle of the new defense, as a former first-round pick and as the best returning player on the unit, Walker must rise to the occasion for the defense to be as good as it needs to be to win a championship.

Asked this offseason by Packers legend and commentator Larry McCarren if the team was in a good spot, Walker said:

“Mr. Larry, I’d be lying to you if I said we wasn’t because, honestly, I done been on a championship team and I understand that it’s college and this is the NFL, but chemistry is there already. Any time you have a team with chemistry, that’s a good, good sign. At the end of the day, we’ve still got to play football, but the chemistry is there and that’s all you could ask for right now, to be honest you.”

No. 5: DT Kenny Clark

For the last several years, Clark has dominated at a position that’s not really meant for him to dominate.

A three-time Pro Bowler playing mostly a read-and-react style under past defensive coordinators, Clark and the rest of the defensive line is set to be unleashed in Hafley’s defense.

“I’m not trying to correlate football with war or anything like that,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said before the start of OTAs, “but we’re the Navy SEALs. We’re the first line of defense. The rest of the guys are going to sit back there and do what they need to do. We are going to work to get our forces in first.”

During Joe Barry’s run as defensive coordinator from 2021 through 2023, the Packers were 21st with 118 sacks, which was just eight less than the league median. However, they had a league-low 196 tackles for losses – 41 less than the league median. This defense is meant to crank up the TFLs to create third-and-long situations.

As he enters Year 9 in the NFL, Clark is excited about his new role.

“I think it’s going to be really good,” he said. “It’s one of things where all my career I’ve been kind of been playing this way, but in more of a controlled way. And I think now this is giving us a chance to shut all that other stuff off, no technique really, and just use your ability and just go up the field and be disruptive. I just think with my get-off and how I am, I think it’s going to suit me well.”

Clark plans on playing at about 10 pounds lighter than last year and getting below 300 for the first time in high school.

The new scheme should suit fellow defensive tackles Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, too, but Clark is the established star. His cap number of $27.49 million for 2024 is the highest among interior defenders by about $5 million. The combined cap number for every other defensive tackle on the roster is $11.28 million. With Clark entering his final season under contract, an extension would take a significant bite out of that number.

“I was able to make some plays” in the old scheme, Clark said, “but now I’m going to make more. I’ve got to make more.”

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