One Packers Undrafted Rookie Named ‘Most Likely’ to Make Roster

The road to the 53-man roster will begin with the Green Bay Packers' rookie minicamp, with practices on Friday and Saturday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ group of undrafted free agents, as is typically the case, lacked a lot of players who were deemed draft-worthy by the pundits.

Two of the exceptions are at running back with Iowa’s Tyler Goodson and Oregon State’s B.J. Baylor. Both players had about 1,400 yards from scrimmage during their final seasons of college ball.

In a story headlined, “One UDFA Likely to Make Every NFL Team,” the staff at The 33rd Team selected Goodson as the player who could wind up on the 53-man roster in early September.

Goodson led the Hawkeyes in rushing all three seasons. As a junior in 2021, he rushed for 1,151 yards (4.5 average) and secured a career-high 31 receptions for another 247 yards. In three seasons, he rushed for 2,551 yards (4.8 average), added 70 catches and scored 19 touchdowns.

While Goodson is the better all-around player because of his proven pass-catching ability, Baylor is the better runner. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he forced 19 more missed tackles on runs than Goodson despite getting 29 fewer attempts. Baylor was one of the better backs in the draft in terms of yards after contract per carry; Goodson was at the bottom of the draft class.

“I think back at school those guys did a good job putting me in a position to set myself up to be here right now and have such a great opportunity to showcase what I’m capable of doing at the next level,” Goodson said at the Scouting Combine, where he ran a 4.42 in the 40. “I felt I did everything I needed to do at Iowa to set myself up to come out and be successful at the 2022 NFL Draft.”

There is room on the roster for one of the backs. While Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon form one of the best tandems in the NFL, the returning group is rounded out by Kylin Hill, a seventh-round pick in 2021 who suffered a torn ACL on Oct. 28, and Patrick Taylor, an undrafted free agent in 2020 who failed to make the roster last summer after a ho-hum training camp and preseason but impressed in the finale at Detroit.

Goodson and Baylor will be among the players competing at the rookie camp this week. Practices will be held on Friday and Saturday.