Most Important Packers, 80-90: Three Receivers, One Draft Pick

In Part 1 of our 90-to-1 countdown of the Green Bay Packers' most important players, it's three receivers and one player making a major position change.

Green Bay Packers receiver Julian Hicks (81) is shown during organized team activities. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers will take a 90-man roster to the field for the first practice of training camp on July 22.

As we’ve done almost every year for the past decade, this is our ranking of every player on the Packers’ roster. This isn’t just a listing of the team’s best players. These rankings consider talent, importance of the position, depth at the position, salary and draft history. More than anything, we hope you learn something about each player.

No. 90: S Tyler Coyle

The Packers signed Coyle to the practice squad late last season, then retained him with a futures contract.

Coyle went undrafted out of Purdue in 2021. He played in three games for the Dallas Cowboys (two in 2021, one in 2022).

While at Connecticut, he had 109 tackles in 2018 and 86 tackles, two forced fumbles and one interception in 2019. At Purdue’s pro day before the 2021 draft, he measured 6-foot 1/2 and 209 pounds and posted a 4.41 in the 40 and a 39-inch vertical. That gave him a tantalizing Relative Athletic Score of 9.83.

“The most humble, hard-working and dedicated person you’ll ever be around,” he told The Spun before the 2021 draft. “I know I’m just getting started, so of course I have to be humble. That is truly who I am though. I love the game of football and I’m ready to work for everything I got.”

The physical package is appealing, though Coyle will face an uphill battle after the safety room got a massive facelift this offseason.

No. 89: LB Christian Young

Young went undrafted last year and finished the season on Green Bay’s practice squad.

Young spent most of his collegiate career at Arizona playing safety. That includes starting all 12 games as a fifth-year senior in 2022, when he set career highs of 76 tackles and 6.5 tackles for losses.

Young’s got good speed with a 4.60 in the 40 but his RAS was only 4.04. His father played college basketball.

With the Packers drafting Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper with Day 2 selections, Young will be challenged to make the team. However, veterans Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch are back on only one-year deals, so an impressive training camp could make him an appealing developmental candidate.

No. 86: WRs Dimitri Stanley, Julian Hicks, Alex McGough

No matter what these players do in training camp, breaking through at perhaps Green Bay’s deepest position is going to be a major challenge.

Stanley, who started his college career at Colorado before catching 15 passes last season at Iowa State, signed after a successful tryout at the team’s rookie camp. He is the son of former Packers star Walter Stanley.

“I thought this was well-deserved for him, something that he had worked his tail off for,” Walter told Packer Central. “The icing on the cake was it being the Green Bay Packers. Of course, in my home, we are all green and yellow. We’re Packers through and through, and to connect with the team that was a childhood dream team has just been phenomenal.”

At pro day, Stanley measured 5-foot-10 7/8 and 188 pounds with a 4.55 in the 40. His RAS was 5.76.

Hicks, who almost gave up on his NFL dreams, also signed with the Packers after trying out at rookie camp. As a graduate student at FCS powerhouse Albany in 2023, Hicks caught 50 passes for 820 yards (16.4 average) and 11 touchdowns. At pro day, he measured 6-foot-1 7/8 and 201 pounds, with a 4.53 in the 40 and a 36 1/2-inch vertical. His RAS was 9.18.

McGough, last year’s practice squad quarterback, is making the move to receiver, though his transition hit a roadblock after he suffered a hamstring injury during OTAs.

“So, backstory, Houston, they moved me to the Taysom Hill-ish role, but then COVID hit and we never got a chance to practice it, so it didn’t pan out there,” he told Packer Central. “I was doing it all year [playing other positions for the Packers last season], so when they called me, I wasn’t surprised by it.”

At age 28, he is the second-oldest offensive player on the roster behind offensive lineman Andre Dillard (who is 47 days older).

No. 85: Ellis Merriweather

The Packers released veteran James Robinson and signed Merriweather to the practice squad in November. It was his third stint in Green Bay after participating in training camp as a tryout player and getting another tryout in September.

In three seasons at Massachusetts, he rushed for 1,828 yards and scored eight touchdowns. He caught 20 passes during his final two seasons.

At pro day, he measured 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds. With a 4.68 in the 40, his RAS was 5.48.

With the Saints last preseason, he carried 22 times for 73 yards (3.3 average) and caught eight passes for 48 yards (6.0 average).

Said running backs coach Ben Sirmans late last season: “I feel like especially the way that he’s worked, not just physically but just in his preparation, we threw him in there today during a 2-minute drill and he was good with all the signals, picking up the right guys in protection, so I definitely think he could go in if need be. Plus, he’s real excited to go in. That’s the other part of it.”

No. 84: TE Joel Wilson

A smooth pass-catching threat, the Packers signed Wilson to the practice squad late last season. He did not play in any games.

During his final two years at Central Michigan, he caught 75 passes for 802 yards and 12 touchdowns. That includes 44 catches for 445 yards and six touchdowns with zero drops as a senior. At pro day, he measured 6-foot-3 5/8 and 242 pounds. He did not run a 40 and had a RAS of 4.32.

Wilson went undrafted and spent a couple months on the Bills’ practice squad.

“He played out of position in high school,” said then-CMU coach John Bonamego, a former Packers special teams coordinator. “We had him in one of our one-day camps and towards the end of the day we had him run some (tight end) routes in one-on-one.

“It was probably the best investment the kid and family ever made was $50 to send him to the camp because it sold us on him.”

No. 83: OL Lecticus Smith

Smith, a sixth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2022, signed with the Packers after trying out at this year’s rookie camp. During OTAs and minicamp, he played the three interior positions.

Smith started two games at right guard as a rookie but was released during training camp last year. He spent the second half of last season on the Eagles’ practice squad.

He arrived at Virginia Tech in 2017 as a tight end but wound up starting 32 games at left guard.

At age 8, Smith started playing football at the urging of his brother. His dad said yes, with one condition.

“OK, but, you get out there and you get hit, you better not start crying,” Smith recalled. “He signed me up, I went out there for the first day of practice, we put on pads. I’m really small and we’re doing this hitting drill, and I get hit and I fall on my butt and immediately start crying.”

No. 81: CBs Zyon Gilbert, Gemon Green

Gilbert spent the second half of last year on Green Bay’s practice squad.

In five years at Florida Atlantic – he set a school record with 57 starts – Gilbert had five interceptions and 26 additional pass breakups. At pro day before the 2022 draft, he measured 6-foot 1/4 and 193 pounds. With a 4.49 in the 40, his RAS was 8.69.

“He’s going to be playing for a long time, I think, at the next level,” then-Owls coach Lane Kiffin said when Gilbert was a freshman. “I know that's early to say after four games, but usually, you can tell.”

Gilbert went undrafted in 2022 and spent his rookie season on the Giants’ practice squad, where he played in three games with one start. PFF charged him with seven completions and one touchdown in eight targets.

During the offseason practices, he played corner and nickel.

The Packers signed Green just before this year’s draft.

Green started 24 games in four seasons at Michigan. In 2022, he was an honorable mention on the all-Big Ten team. In 10 starts, he broke up four passes and allowed a 53.3 percent completion rate, according to Pro Football Focus. His lone interception came in 2021.

Before going undrafted in 2023, he measured 6-foot-1 and 183 pounds. He ran his 40 in 4.53 seconds and had a RAS of 6.64. He spent training camp with the Giants and was released the same day as Gilbert.

No. 80: DT Jonathan Ford

Ford was a seventh-round pick by the Packers in 2022. In two seasons, he is yet to appear in a game, so this figures to be a make-or-break camp for the 338-pounder.

“Just a learning experience for me,” Ford said of his rookie season. “Coming from college and being a three-year starter and then coming in and not playing a snap, it was a learning experience for me. I think it was a blessing for me. I know it was a blessing for me to be able to learn from guys like Kenny (Clark) and the other vets that were here. I feel like I used that as my drive to drive me to get better.”

All five defensive linemen who played last year – Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, TJ Slaton, Colby Wooden and Karl Brooks – are back for 2024.

More Green Bay Packers News

Whenever the #Packers announce their training camp depth charts, they will be merely starting points on the road to spots in the starting lineup or the 53-man roster.

This is what those depth charts could look like. ⬇️https://t.co/vyX10SfIXV

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) June 28, 2024

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