Packers Roster Bubble: Rising Receiver

An injury put Packers seventh-round pick Grant DuBose behind the eight-ball in his pursuit of a roster spot at receiver.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Grant DuBose is no stranger to the Hard Road. With a meager resume in Division II, he “bet on myself” during the pandemic and earned a scholarship at Charlotte. That decision set the stage for the talented receiver to be drafted in the seventh round by the Green Bay Packers.

Because of a back injury, DuBose took another journey down the Hard Road after the draft. He missed the rookie minicamp, OTAs, minicamp and start of training camp. That history early in his college career served him well during another bout of adversity.

“It’s not the first time the game has been taken away from me,” DuBose said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s just a little adversity, which is something that’s not new to me. I’ve been through this before. I just wanted to stay locked in and just keep doing the small things so, once I get back, I’ll be prepared to be able to go out there and produce.”

DuBose has produced, and not a moment too soon given the state of the depth chart. Between the 2022 and 2023 drafts, the Packers had seven drafted receivers on the roster. Plus, with DuBose missing so much time, undrafted rookie Malik Heath capitalized on additional opportunities to show he was worthy of a roster spot.

With so much young talent, DuBose had to prove his worth. Quickly.

“I’d been sidelined since rookie minicamp. I’ve been in here with guys who have been competing three months before I have. I took basically three months off,” DuBose said.

“So, of course, there’s going to be a thought in the back of your head like, ‘OK, I’ve got to do this and I’ve got to do that’ to make up for the time lost. But you don’t want to get too overwhelmed, so you try to stay level-headed, and the plays are going to come to you. You just go out and do the things that you’re coached to do and the ball will find you.”

Grant DuBose (Photo by Katie Stratman/USA Today Sports Images)

The ball has found DuBose with frequency. DuBose has been one of the better players on the field over the last couple weeks. Among his two catches against New England last week was a leaping 21-yarder. He made a similar play on the practice field a couple days earlier.

“I feel like I’ve had a great last few weeks of practice,” DuBose said. “There’s always some things that you can clean up. But, for the most part, I feel like I’m playing fast. I’m doing a pretty decent job with the playbook and all of that. It’s still an uphill battle, we’re still working. But, like I said, I feel like I’ve had a pretty decent past few weeks of practice.”

DuBose has one more chance to impress with the preseason finale against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Then, on Tuesday, he’ll learn if he did enough to earn a coveted spot on the 53-man roster.

DuBose knows what’s at stake.

“It’s the last preseason game. It’s no secret. Jobs on the line,” he said.

That doesn’t mean he feels like he’s under pressure. He just needs to keep building momentum to get off the Hard Road and follow the path to the roster.

“I wouldn’t say it’s pressure. It’s football. This is what you’ve been brought in here to do,” he said. “Once you prepare for something, you know don’t really feel too much pressure. You just got to go out there and execute and play at a high level. If that’s what you call pressure, I guess so, but it’s not anything I’m not new to.”

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