Packer Central

Packers Training Camp Position Rankings

From first (running backs) to worst (safeties), here is our pre-training camp breakdown of the Green Bay Packers' 11 position groups.

Bill Huber

Jordan Love (Photo by Samantha Madar/USA Today Sports Images)
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will enter their 2023 training camp with obvious questions about quarterback Jordan Love and the young group of players who will be catching his passes.

From weakness to strength, here is a quick-hitting ranking of each of the 11 position groups.

11. Safeties

Darnell Savage, who was demoted from the starting lineup for a few games last season, is expected to lead the position. A first-round pick in 2019 who had productive seasons in 2019 and 2020, Savage is entering a boom-or-bust, make-or-break fifth season. The front-runners to replace Adrian Amos are a former undrafted free agent (Jonathan Owens), a former sixth-round pick who’s on his third team (Rudy Ford) and a former third-round pick who is a couple years removed from a torn Achilles (Tarvarius Moore).

10. Quarterbacks

The optimism surrounding Jordan Love stems from nine passing attempts at the end of a lopsided loss at Philadelphia. To be sure, he was good that night against the Eagles. He also wasn’t good against Kansas City and Detroit in 2021, and hasn’t strung together a series of strong performances during his training camps or preseasons. The backups are journeyman Danny Etling, USFL MVP Alex McGough and rookie Sean Clifford. Combined, they’ve thrown zero passes in the regular season.

9. Defensive Line

Will Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton be upgrades over veterans Jarran Reed and Dean Lowry? Will there be any reliable depth whatsoever behind them with second-year player Jonathan Ford and rookies Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks? Like the situation at quarterback, they’ve never played in a regular-season game. It’s hard to envision the Packers getting to the playoffs without much, much stronger run defense.

8. Tight Ends

Without Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, the returning players are 2020 draft picks Josiah Deguara (39 career catches) and Tyler Davis (eight career catches). There are high hopes for rookie tight ends Luke Musgrave (second round) and Tucker Kraft (third round), but Musgrave wasn’t a standout at Oregon State, Kraft dominated FCS competition and rookie tight ends rarely are major contributors.

7. Specialists

The Packers have only one big question but that’s a rather important one: Can Anders Carlson, who had only one strong season at Auburn, consistently make kicks under the intense NFL spotlight? The Packers upgraded at long snapper by signing Matt Orzech but veteran Pat O’Donnell ranked among the worst punters in the league last year.

6. Receivers

Christian Watson had a strong second half of his rookie season. Romeo Doubs had a promising first half of his rookie season. Samori Toure, at least, ditched the “Capt. Casual” nickname. Comically, the Packers are counting on second-year players to lead a group bolstered by rookies Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks and Grant DuBose. From a big-picture perspective, having a young quarterback grow alongside young receivers might be the right play. But, from a short-term viewpoint, there will be growing pains.

5. Cornerbacks

Jaire Alexander is one of the best in the league. Rasul Douglas is a top playmaker. So, two-thirds of the cornerback corps is rock solid. But how about the slot? Keisean Nixon will get his opportunity to solidify what had been a weakness. He’s started six games and broken up three passes in four seasons.

4. Inside Linebackers

If De’Vondre Campbell returns to something approximating his All-Pro form from 2021 and if Quay Walker can take a second-year leap while playing with better composure, the Packers might have the best starting group of off-the-ball linebackers in the NFL. Isaiah McDuffie, who impressed in limited snaps in Year 2, and Eric Wilson, who had 122 tackles with the Vikings in 2020, provide strong depth and excellent play on special teams.

3. Offensive Line

Let’s assume David Bakhtiari’s ordeal is a thing of the past and he’s ready to at least be a top-10 offensive tackle. If that’s the case, any offensive line that considers center Josh Myers to be the weakest link is in good shape. All 85 starts and 5,400-plus snaps from last season are back. The spotlight will, indeed, be on Myers, who must elevate his game in Year 3 and take charge of a line that could count on Aaron Rodgers to make things right.

2. Outside Linebackers

Let’s assume Rashan Gary will be back on the field for Week 1 and can be an impact player at some point this year. Gary, Preston Smith, first-round pick Lukas Van Ness and returning players Justin Hollins and Kingsley Enagbare form a strong quintet. If Gary’s impact comes sooner than later and if Van Ness is an immediate hit, this group would go from strong to ferocious.

1. Running Backs

The Packers have the good fortune of being able to offset the young combination of quarterback, receivers and tight ends with a veteran and proven group of blockers and running backs. Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon are a top tandem in the backfield. Last year, they combined for almost 2,500 total yards and 14 touchdowns. Jones must cut down on the drops and fumbles and Dillon must cut down on the drops while breaking more tackles. If they do that, the added opportunities coming their way could get them past 3,000 yards and 20 scores.

Green Bay Packers Position Previews

Keisean Nixon and special teams

Darnell Savage and safeties

Jaire Alexander and cornerbacks

De’Vondre Walker, Quay Walker and inside linebackers

Rashan Gary and outside linebackers

Kenny Clark and defensive line

David Bakhtiari and offensive line

Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft and the tight ends

Christian Watson and the receivers

Aaron Jones and the running backs

Jordan Love and the quarterbacks

Packers Training Camp Countdown Series

Part of a 34-day series of features and analysis.

2 days until training camp: Two worst-case scenarios

3 days until training camp: Three biggest strengths

4 days until training camp: Four big questions

5 days until training camp: Five biggest battles

6 days until training camp: Got to Love the schedule

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Five reasons not to believe in Jordan Love

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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