Ranking the Roster: Nos. 85-89 – Big Guys Impacted by Draft

The Green Bay Packers added three offensive linemen and two defensive linemen in the draft, plus added Jarran Reed in free agency. That will increase of challenge of making the roster for these players.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For more than a decade, we have ranked every player on the Green Bay Packers’ roster in advance of the start of training camp.

This isn’t just a rundown of the best players. Rather, it’s a not-too-scientific formula that combines talent, salary, importance of the position, depth at the position and, for young players, draft positioning. More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about all 89 players scheduled to be with the team for the first practice of training camp on July 27.

Leading off our annual series is a look at two offensive linemen and three defensive linemen. They’ll be up against it from a numbers perspective. On the offensive line, the Packers added three draft picks. On the defensive line, they drafted two players – including first-rounder Devonte Wyatt – and added veteran Jarran Reed.

No. 89: DT Chris Slayton

Jersey No. 60; 6-3, 307; first year; Syracuse

The Packers signed Slayton off waivers from the 49ers in May. A seventh-round draft by the Giants in 2019, he has not played in a regular-season game. He’s served stints on practice squads with the Giants, Bills, Falcons, Steelers and 49ers.

At Syracuse, Slayton played in 49 games, including 42 starts. He tallied 107 tackles, including 32.5 tackles for losses and 9.5 sacks, and added five forced fumbles. He finished his career ranked ninth in school history in TFLs. As a senior captain, he was third-team all-ACC with 3.5 sacks and eight TFLs.

Slayton didn’t play football until high school. When he first tried the sport, he wanted to play quarterback. Already a big guy, the coaches pointed him to the defensive line.

“I wanted to quit, but my mom told me I couldn’t. (She) saw it in me,” he recalled.

No. 88: DT Hauati Pututau

Jersey No. 79; 6-3, 306; R; Utah

Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who is entering his seventh NFL season, is 26. So is Pututau, an undrafted free agent from Utah.

As a senior at Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City in 2013, Pututau was an all-region linebacker who also played receiver. He chose Utah, then went on his two-year Mormon mission to Florida.

“I gained a few pounds on my mission,” he said last season.

Pututau redshirted in 2016 and made his first starts in 2019 (one) and 2020 (three). In 2021, he took advantage of the NCAA’s COVID year. He played in 14 games with eight starts, tallying three sacks and 4.5 tackles for losses among 18 tackles.

Pututau is one of eight children. Two of them, Fua and Tennessee, also played on the Utes’ defensive line.

He is proud of his heritage.

“Tongan people are very prideful,” Pututau said. “We pride ourselves in who we are and who we portray to others who we are. As a Tongan you don’t show weakness and here at Utah that is what they stand for is you show no weakness. You work hard and the results will come. Being Tongan is what keeps me going, motivates me to be a hard worker and to develop a good work ethic each and every day we are out here on the field.”

The Packers gave him an $8,000 signing bonus, tied for tops on the team. He missed most of the offseason practices with an undisclosed injury.

No. 87: DT Akial Byers

Jersey No. 98; 6-3, 308; R; Missouri

Byers is an undrafted free agent who might have some untapped potential. At Fayetteville (Ark.) High School, he was an Under Armour All-American, a four-star recruit and a top-20 defensive lineman.

As a fifth-year senior in 2021, Byers played in 12 games with 10 starts. He had 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for losses among his 23 total tackles. In 52 career games, he registered two sacks and nine TFLs. He scored a touchdown vs. his hometown Arkansas Razorbacks when he pounced on a fumble in the end zone in 2018.

Byers took advantage of the NCAA’s “COVID year” and played a fifth season. He changed his jersey to No. 0 and worked under former Packers defensive line coach Jethro Franklin. Headed into his final season, he called himself a “great” run-stopper.

“(Franklin) pushes us to get better every day no matter where it's at, on the field, or just in the weight room," Byers said at SEC Media Days. “He wants us out there working together, working on our footwork, hand placement, anything, or even just learning the playbook. And I think that's a big thing. He teaches us something new every day. So, every time we go into a meeting room, it's like you're in the classroom learning new things. I take every day we're meeting seriously.”

The Packers gave him an $8,000 signing bonus, tied for tops on the team.

No. 86: T/G George Moore

Jersey No. 77; 6-6, 312; R; Oregon

Moore won’t be fazed by going up against the likes of Rashan Gary or Kenny Clark during training camp. At Oregon, he battled Kayvon Thibodeaux, who was selected fifth overall by the Giants in this year’s draft.

“(Former Oregon coach Mario) Cristobal is a big believer in the whole ‘iron sharpens iron’ mentality,” Moore told SI.com’s The Spun. “Our front seven was amazing with Kayvon Thibodeaux and several others. All those guys are amazing football players, have high IQs, and made practices tough. We would go head-to-head every single day because we knew that’s what we needed to do to give ourself an opportunity on Saturdays. We knew that we’d need to be physical throughout the week to make sure it helps us have success during games.”

Moore started his college career in 2015 at The College of San Mateo. He missed that first season with a torn ACL but was a star in 2016, which made him the top-ranked offensive tackle in junior college. That opened the door to Oregon. After sitting behind Tyrell Crosby and Penei Sewell, Moore wound up starting 20 of a possible 21 games for the Ducks in 2020 and 2021. During his final season, Moore started six games at left tackle and seven games at left guard. According to PFF, he allowed three sacks at each position.

“I’m really proud of George Moore,” Cristobal said. “He didn’t play much high school football before he got to junior college, and when he got here, that’s a baptism by fire because he went into a group with some really seasoned upperclassmen that held themselves to a high standard, and George just kept at it. He allowed us to push him, and he’s really become a good football player.”

With seven years of college ball under his belt, Moore will turn 26 during the first week of training camp. He was older than the Ducks’ graduate assistant line coach last year, and he’s older than last year’s starting interior trio of Jon Runyan, Josh Myers and Royce Newman.

The Packers gave him an $8,000 signing bonus, tied for tops on the team.

No. 85: C/G Cole Schneider

Jersey No. 64; 6-3, 309; R; Central Florida

Asked which of the Packers’ undrafted free agents had the best chance of making the team and developing into a contributor, one team’s college scouting director pointed to Schneider.

Schneider started 47 games in four seasons at UCF, with 46 of those appearances at guard and one at center.

“He can play any of the inside positions whether it be right guard, left guard, or center,” UCF offensive line coach Herb Hand told The Fort Myers News-Press. “I think that's been invaluable, that's going to pay dividends because you're bringing great value to an organization to be able to play multiple positions.”

Lucas Patrick can attest to that. An undrafted free agent in 2016, he started 28 games at the three interior positions the last two seasons. Patrick signed with the rival Chicago Bears in free agency.

With an eye on getting a ready-made utilityman, the Packers used a fourth-round draft pick on Wake Forest’s Zach Tom. Like Schneider, Tom spent the offseason practices shifting between center and guard. So, it might be a tall order for Schneider to make the 53-man roster. He could be up for the challenge. As a senior, he did not allow a sack, according to Pro Football Focus, and ranked No. 1 among guards in its pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap.

At Riverdale High School in Fort Myers, Fla., he was a two-time state heavyweight champion in wrestling. A dominant two-sport star, he was voted the News-Press’s athlete of the decade. Among the athletes he beat out for the award was Packers receiver and fellow Fort Myers native Sammy Watkins.

“He pulls with ill intentions and tries to kill people,” UCF right tackle Marcus Tatum, who signed with the Jaguars, told The News-Press at pro day. “You couldn’t ask for a better guard than that. I knew when he was pulling in front of me that the (defender) was going to get moved. He’s willing to put his body on the line for anybody and is an all-around good person. He’s always been there for me, always helped me. He let me lean on him the moment I got here.”

The Packers gave Schneider an $8,000 signing bonus, tied for tops on the team.

No. 84: OT Caleb Jones

Jersey No. 72; 6-9, 370; rookie; Indiana

Caleb Jones, if he ever plays in a game for the Packers, would be the biggest player in franchise history.

Here is the story on Jones, a man so big he deserves his own headline.