A look at the Packers’ initial 53-man roster

The Packers kept two quarterbacks, six receivers, nine offensive linemen, eight linebackers and 11 defensive backs.

Here’s the officially unofficial 53-man roster for the Green Bay Packers. For now, there are 25 players on offense, 25 players on defense and three players on special teams.

Quarterbacks (2): Aaron Rodgers, Tim Boyle.

Preseason production ruled the day, with the Packers taking Boyle – who led the NFL in passer rating and touchdown passes – and released last year’s backup, DeShone Kizer. The next step is finding a third quarterback, whether he lands on the 53-man roster or the practice squad. One option came free on Friday.

Running backs (3): Aaron Jones, Jamaal Williams, Dexter Williams.

The Packers went with Dexter Williams, their sixth-round pick, over dependable Tra Carson and intriguing Keith Ford. While he’s not ready to be a three-down contributor, Williams’ burst through the hole could make him an asset in a limited role behind Jones and Jamaal Williams.

Fullback (1): Danny Vitale.

Vitale’s versatility made him the overwhelming favorite in his battle with Tommy Bohanon and Malcolm Johnson. Don’t be surprised if he gets some third-down snaps.

Receivers (6): Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Geronimo Allison, Jake Kumerow, Trevor Davis, Darrius Shepherd.

Shepherd beat the odds, making the team after not being one of 28 drafted receivers or one of the 73 signed in the immediate aftermath of the draft. His daily excellence offset his fumble on a kickoff return against the Chiefs. As part of getting down to 53, Equanimeous St. Brown was placed on injured reserve. Instead of putting him on the roster and placing him on injured reserve on Sunday – which would have opened the door to bring him back at midseason – St. Brown’s season is finished. After missing 15 games last season, Davis is back as a returner and, based on his superb performance vs. Oakland, receiver.

Tight ends (4): Jimmy Graham, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Jace Sternberger.

Sternberger suffered an ankle injury in the final preseason game. Given his ho-hum training camp and preseason, the Packers could have bought themselves a year by putting him on injured reserve. Instead, he’ll be given every chance to develop.

Offensive line (9): David Bakhtiari, Lane Taylor, Corey Linsley, Billy Turner, Bryan Bulaga, Alex Light, Lucas Patrick, Elgton Jenkins, Cole Madison.

Madison is the shocker. A fifth-round pick last year, Madison skipped his rookie season due to personal issues. He bombed in an experiment at center and piled up four penalties – only one fewer than the dubious league lead among guards. But after sitting out a year, some growing pains were the expectation. Now, he’s got a chance to round back into form. Light and Patrick didn’t play in the preseason finale, quite the development for two players who entered training camp squarely on the roster bubble.

Defensive line (6): Kenny Clark, Dean Lowry, Montravius Adams, Kingsley Keke, Tyler Lancaster, Fadol Brown.

Lancaster, an undrafted free agent last year who started his rookie season on the practice squad, was deemed so important that he didn’t even play on Thursday. Keke had a tremendous preseason. Until a calf injury sidelined him for most of the preseason, Brown looked like a key player with inside-outside versatility. That will be the depth behind a strong starting trio.

Inside linebackers (4): Blake Martinez, Oren Burks, Ty Summers, James Crawford.

Is this the final four or the four for now? Burks is out indefinitely with a partially torn pectoral; he believed he’d be back in a couple weeks, but players are famously too-optimistic about their injuries. Crawford suffered a potential head injury vs. Kansas City. Summers is a rookie who played must better in his last two preseason games.

Outside linebackers (4): Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Kyler Fackrell.

Will these four be better than last year’s group of Clay Matthews, Nick Perry, Reggie Gilbert and Fackrell? The season probably depends on it. The Packers clearly feel good about these four because they didn’t keep any of their rookie free agents. One of those players, Greg Roberts, missed all of camp with a core-muscle injury and is on the physically unable to perform list, meaning he’s out for at least the first six weeks.

Cornerbacks (7): Jaire Alexander, Kevin King, Tramon Williams, Josh Jackson, Tony Brown, Ka’Dar Hollman, Chandon Sullivan.

The cornerback group has been destroyed by injuries the past few seasons. The hope is Brown – who had a surprisingly excellent training camp – sixth-round pick Hollman and the versatile Sullivan will take care of depth concerns. The Packers look deeper than the past but are they better at the top of the depth chart? That depends on Alexander on being a stopper, King finally getting healthy, Williams staying ahead of Father Time and Jackson taking a big step forward.

Safeties (4): Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Raven Greene, Will Redmond.

The Packers will lean heavily on three players who weren’t part of the equation last year, with Amos signed in free agency, Savage selected in the first round and Greene seizing the dime role from Josh Jones after barely playing as an undrafted free agent last year. Sullivan and Redmond will provide depth to the secondary as a whole with their ability to play cornerback and safety. Ibraheim Campbell, who can play the dime linebacker role, was placed on PUP as he comes back from last year's torn ACL.

Specialists (3): K Mason Crosby, P J.K. Scott, LS Hunter Bradley.

Crosby emerged from a strong competition with Sam Ficken. Considering the limited margin for error for a team that has missed the playoffs the last two seasons, Crosby will need a big bounce-back season. Scott had a superb preseason. Bradley might have a short leash. They’ll have key roles in fixing last year’s worst special teams in the league.