Second-Year Jump? Not So Much for Packers’ Jonathan Ford in Chase for Roster Spot

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Coaches love talking about their players taking a big jump in their second season.

This week, general manager Brian Gutekunst called a player’s third season a “benchmark.”

That makes Green Bay Packers nose tackle Jonathan Ford the ultimate outlier.

A seventh-round pick by Green Bay in 2022, Ford didn’t make the roster during his rookie training camp, spent the season on the practice squad and didn’t play in a game. In 2023, Ford didn’t make the roster, spent the season on the practice squad and didn’t play in a game. In 2024, Ford once again didn’t make the roster. He opened the season on the practice squad before being poached by the rival Bears and playing in the first four games of his career.

Ford played in eight games for Chicago last year before he was released late in the season. The Packers, in desperate need of a run-stopping defensive tackle, brought him back. In the final game of his fourth season in the NFL, he made his Packers debut.

“I felt honored,” Ford said this week. “When I left, to be honest, I didn’t think I was ever going to be back. The fact that I was able to come back and jump right in the mix and finish those games with this team, it was a wonderful thing for me to be with a team and organization that favors you and that feels good about you as a player.

“I think that’s the main thing is having confidence and being with people that see you as a good player.”

The Packers see Ford as a good player. Ford got the start against Pittsburgh in the preseason opener and has taken most of the first-team reps at nose tackle over the past week. With the second preseason game coming up at Denver on Friday night, Ford has put himself in position to do a couple things he failed to do in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

First, making the 53-man roster. Second, being a factor.

“I feel like my process has been totally different from different camps I’ve been in throughout the years,” he said. “I do feel like my chances are whatever they are if I come out and stack days. I don’t really focus on too many things that I can’t control. I just control the things that I’m capable of doing, and that’s going out there on the field and handling my business.”

What does he mean about his process?

“Just my whole approach,” he said. “I feel like this camp, I came with the mentality that I’m going to try to get a job as much as I can and show my talents in a defense that favors me as a bigger guy that I can go out and anchor the run and move guys in the run game.”

Ford is, indeed, a bigger guy. His listed weight of 338 pounds is tied with fellow defensive tackle Jordon Riley for the biggest player on the roster.

That size will be a big asset – pun intended – in the heart of Jonathan Gannon’s defense.

“You need a big nose,” Ford said. “You need a guy that’s able to anchor the run and move side to side well, and I think I’ve been doing pretty good taking the coaching from Coach V.O. [Vince Oghobaase] and D.C. [DeMarcus Covington] and J.G., obviously, giving us tips and bringing those things out on the field and repping it every day and getting better at it.”

Ford had two tackles against the Steelers, including a tackle for loss that helped force a punt. That’s been his training camp in a nutshell. He’s not just a big man taking up a couple blockers to free up the linebackers. He’s been a playmaker.

“I see a guy that’s really matured as not only a football player but as a person,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “He is a load inside and he’s done a really nice job playing the nose position and defeating blocks. He’s been pretty impactful throughout camp.”

While Ford downplayed his spot in the race for a roster spot, the 27-year-old did find validation in getting an opportunity to run with the No. 1 defense. The key, he said, has been his consistency.

“Every day, I’ve put something on tape,” he said. “Every day, I try to make a play, I try to do something to affect the offense. So, I think for me, just being consistent day to day. Just taking what I learned in the meeting room, what I learned in individuals out in team period, and it shows up in games, and I’ve just been kind of in my zone and in my flow state.”

Ford knows there’s no time to relax. The depth at defensive tackle has been unexpectedly good, which means Ford isn’t the only player who’s been a standout. He knows he must finish strong. That starts with Friday night’s game against the Broncos and ends with the joint practice and preseason game against the Cardinals next week.

“Just consistency,” he said of what he needs to show the next two weeks. “I think that’s the biggest thing in this league is being consistent and being able to show coaches you can do it snap after snap.

“If you have a bad snap, you can correct it – take the corrections, bring it back on the field and do it the right way that coaches coached you do it. I think the biggest thing for me is being consistent and showing that I’m a player down in and down out and I can do my job and do it at a high level.”

With a strong camp, Ford has set himself up to be the rarest of the rare.

In a league that chews up and spits out young players who make little or no impact during their first couple seasons, Ford’s steadfast approach has put himself in position to make the ol’ Year 5 jump.

“Just being able to have those opportunities and being able to just show that I can play,” he said. “I’ve had my ups and downs, and I’ve been in schemes that I probably wasn’t really favored in. So, the fact that I was able to come back here and show that I can play in this scheme and do everything I can, I think that’s been the biggest thing for me, just being comfortable.

“Being comfortable not in the sake of slowing down and not going as hard but being comfortable in knowing that they want me to play in this position and they want me to do the best I can at this position. So, for me, I just think going out there and going hard, that’s what I owe this defense.”

With a fresh coat of paint to cover up some rust and an upgrade to iOS 2.6.1, here's our latest run of our Packers Roster Lock-O-Meter™️ with 10 days until roster cuts. ⬇️https://t.co/AoUHJlAHxZ
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) August 20, 2026

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