Ranking All 91 Players on the Packers’ Training Camp Roster

The Green Bay Packers will take a 91-man roster to Ray Nitschke Field for the start of our training camp. Here is our annual ranking of every player.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love is flanked by Sean Clifford and rookie MIchael Pratt. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The day is here. The first practice of Green Bay Packers training camp will be held on Monday.

Here is a ranking of all 91 players on the roster; for the second consecutive year, Kenneth Odumegwu will participate with a roster exemption. This isn’t just a ranking of the team’s best players. It combines a player’s talent, the importance of the position, his impact on the salary cap and draft status.

More than the ranking, we hope you learn a little something about the players who will be competing for a spot on the 53-man roster.

No. 91: 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. 90: 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, Jalen Wayne, R.J. Starkey

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. 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.

Just before the start of training camp, the Packers released quarterback-turned-receiver Alex McGough, who suffered a hamstring injury during OTAs, and signed Wayne and Starkey.

If you believe in the power of DNA, Wayne will be a player to watch.

No. 85: RB 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.

No. 79: DT Spencer Waege

Who is Spencer Waege, perhaps you’re asking yourself.

He’s one of the most athletic big guys in the NFL. As an undrafted free agent out of North Dakota State in 2023, he measured 6-foot-4 3/4 and 295 pounds. With a 4.91 in the 40 and other strong testing numbers, his Relative Athletic Score was 9.58.

A first-team All-American and finalist for the Buck Buchanan FCS Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022, Waege went undrafted and spent the second half of the season on the 49ers’ practice squad. He was on the sideline for the playoff game against the Packers as well as the Super Bowl.

He grew up on a farm in South Dakota.

“Some of them [his 49ers teammates] can’t actually believe the stuff we have to do,” he told Keloland earlier this year. “We talk about the process of pulling a calf and you start telling them what you got to do with your arm and right after that they are like ‘Hold on. You have to do what?’”

No. 76: DEs Arron Mosby, Deslin Alexandre, Keshawn Banks

The Packers split their roster in half for most of the offseason practices, with the starters and key backups on one end of the field and everyone else on the other end. In this case, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox were the defensive ends on one side. These three were on the other.

Mosby had 15.5 tackles for losses at Fresno State as a senior in 2021. He went undrafted in 2022 and spent the year on the Panthers’ practice squad. He played a couple snaps on defense in three appearances. He spent last year on the Packers’ practice squad but did not see any action.

Banks had 11.5 tackles for losses at San Diego State as a senior in 2022. He went undrafted in 2023 and spent the year on the practice squad. He made his NFL debut when he played ahead of Cox in the playoff game against the 49ers with two snaps on defense and nine on special teams. Interestingly, Banks spent some of the offseason playing defensive tackle, where he could provide some juice as an interior rusher.

Alexandre matched his career high with 5.5 sacks as a senior at Pittsburgh in 2022. He went undrafted and spent training camp with the Jets. The Packers signed him to a futures contract after the season.

In 2022, he won the prestigious Jason Witten Man of the Year Award.

“He is a great leader and a role model for young athletes,” Witten said. “He came to the U.S. from Haiti at a young age and overcame a lot of challenges to become a great player and leader, both on campus and in the community. He is a perfect example of what a college student-athlete can be.”

Athletically, Alexander’s RAS was 8.42, Mosby’s was 3.93 and Banks’ was 2.10.

No. 75: DT James Ester

The Packers didn’t draft a defensive lineman, making Ester the biggest addition at the position with an $8,000 signing bonus.

At Northern Illinois, he started 43 games. As a senior, he was a second-team all-conference choice and team MVP after recording career highs of 49 tackles, four sacks and 6.5 TFLs. PFF credited him with 24 pressures in 2023 and 22 in 2022.

He was a four-year team captain – yes, four years – and was a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy – aka the Academic Heisman.

“James is a guy who came into our program, he has developed and is very deserving of this honor,” coach Thomas Hammock said. “He's an excellent student, a strong player and a great leader who understands what leadership takes both in the good times and through adversity. James is the heartbeat of our defense, he's given his all to this program and he's got a very bright future.”

At 6-foot-2 1/2 and 289 pounds, his RAS was 4.12.

No. 74: RB Jarveon Howard

With the re-signing of AJ Dillon, the return of Emanuel Wilson and the addition of MarShawn Lloyd with a third-round pick, did the Packers need another running back? Maybe not, but the Packers thought enough of Howard to give him a $10,000 signing bonus, tied for tops among this year’s undrafted free agents.

Howard opened his career at Syracuse before spending his final two seasons at Alcorn State. In 2022, he was the SWAC Newcomer of the Year, when rushed for a career-high 1,273 yards. In 2023, he rushed for 764 yards (same 5.0 average as in 2022) and set a career high with 31 receptions.

It came against the lower-tier competition of the FCS, but Howard averaged a solid 3.2 yards after contact last year, according to PFF. In those two seasons, he had 443 touches, forced 113 missed tackles and fumbled only twice.

Howard measured 5-foot-9 7/8 and 219 pounds. With a 4.53 in the 40, his RAS was 7.39.

He played at the same high school as former Packers safety Johnathan Abram.

“If I need something, if I’m down, I need to talk about things, you need someone to lean on and Johnathan is the guy to go to,” he said at the HBCU Legacy Bowl. “Just having the opportunity to speak to him, he just told me to clear my mind and just do what I need to do. He was telling me you might run into things that you think you can’t handle, but you can overcome that. He just showed me that you can do it.”

No. 73: TE Messiah Swinson

Swinson is unmistakable. At 6-foot-7 and 259 pounds, he stands out as a big man on a team filled with big men.

Swinson spent his first three seasons at Missouri before finishing with two years at Arizona State. He caught 28 passes in his five collegiate seasons, with 15 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns in 2022 and six catches for 48 yards in 2023.

Following last year’s transformation of the tight end room – Day 2 picks Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft might be the best young tandem in the NFL and another rookie, undrafted Ben Sims, was a reliable role player – the only “addition” at tight end was the return of Tyler Davis from last year’s torn ACL. Swinson was given a $10,000 signing bonus, tied for No. 1 on the team.

“It’s awesome. When I got the call that they were signing me right at the end of the draft, the feeling was indescribable,” he told his hometown Suffolk County (N.Y.) News. “Playing for the Green Bay Packers, [they’re] such a historic franchise, and it was just an amazing feeling being up here in Green Bay.

“It’s a first-class organization. Everyone around the building has a championship standard. Everybody has that mindset and it’s just a great place to be. It’s a super-young team. All the guys are not too much older than me, so we can all connect on the same things. Guys have the same interests and easy to talk to, so I love my time here. It’s just a great place to come and focus on football and doing your job, so it’s an amazing job to wake up every day and go clock into.”

To make it, he not only will have to break through the returning group but overcome poor athleticism that resulted in a RAS of 1.50.

No. 72: LB Ralen Goforth

Goforth spent four years at USC, where he started 17 games and tallied 149 tackles (career-high 60 in 2021), before finishing his career last year at Washington. The Huskies reached the national championship game, with Goforth contributing 37 tackles in 15 games.

Even after the Packers drafted Edgerrin Cooper in the second round, Ty’Ron Hopper in the third round and re-signed Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch in free agency, the Packers gave Goforth a $10,000 signing bonus, tied for No. 1 on the team. With Wilson and Welch headed to free agency at the end of the season, Goforth could stick around as a developmental prospect.

“One thing I'm impressed with is he does some good things out in space, and that's something I probably didn't know about him,” UW co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said. “But he's also got a box presence.”

He’s 6-foot-1 1/4 and 227 pounds with a 4.62 in the 40 and a 4.21 in the shuttle. His RAS was 7.81.

No. 71: OT Caleb Jones

Before the 2022 NFL Draft, Jones measured 6-foot-8 7/8 and 370 pounds with 36-inch arms. The Packers signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he worked to get his weight down to 338 pounds.

“Obviously, he’s got rare length and I think he’s one of those guys for as big as he is – everyone wants to talk about his size – he’s a little bit better foot athlete than I think people give him credit for,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the time.

“We liked his play temperament coming out of college. You’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He’s made the most of his opportunities. He’s gotten himself in really good shape, probably the best shape he’s been in since high school. He’s done a really nice job, so I’m excited for him, among others, to get out there Friday and really have an opportunity to see what they can do.”

At some point, Jones has to put it all together. He spent last season on the 53-man roster but played only one snap on special teams in his only appearance.

So, it might be now or never for, unofficially, the tallest player to suit up in a game in Packers history.

No. 70: WR Grant DuBose

Last year, the Packers drafted Jayden Reed in the second round, Dontayvion Wicks in the fifth round and DuBose in the seventh round. Reed and Wicks could become stars; DuBose will enter training camp fighting for his NFL career.

DuBose started his college career at Division II Miles College. In 2020, he worked four jobs when the pandemic canceled the football season.

“I bagged groceries, I had that job since I was 16,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “I worked at Hyundai Glovis, a manufacturing plant. I was responsible for basically getting the cars, loading them on the train. I also did a little Door Dash for chump change.”

He bet on himself and transferred to Charlotte, where he caught 62 passes for 892 yards and six touchdowns in 2021 and 64 passes for 792 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022.

DuBose spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad. He was elevated to the gameday roster for the Week 18 game against Chicago but was inactive.

Given the depth at receiver, this could be a make-or-break camp. He’ll have the same mindset as he did going into last year’s final preseason game.

“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.”

No. 69: DE Kenneth Odumegwu

Last year, Odumegwu was assigned to the Packers via the NFL’s International Pathway Program. He stuck with the team throughout last season via a practice-squad exemption. With a year to learn the game, his immense potential will be worth watching during training camp.

“Just to see a guy progress from not knowing nothing about football from last year to this year progressing so far and picking up on the game so easily, guys work a long time just to get to where he’s at,” 10th-year pro Preston Smith said during minicamp.

“Just to have that experience and be playing at the level he’s playing at, it’s really exciting to see Kenneth out there doing a lot of good things and making a lot of good plays.”

Odumegwu, a native of Nigeria who had never played in an organized football game until last preseason, had a “sack” during a 2-minute drill during minicamp.

“It’s amazing,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “We were talking about that a couple weeks ago in one of the team meetings. I would say it’s exponential how much he’s improved, which is to be expected when you’ve never played football before. He is a joy to be around. He’s a great dude. He can definitely light up the room. He’s a little quiet at times, but I think all the guys love him in that locker room.”

Odumegwu will vie for a spot on the 53-man roster during camp. If he falls short, the Packers once again can keep him with a practice-squad exemption.

No. 68: S Benny Sapp

Sapp was one of the great stories last season. After a career derailed by one major injury after another, Sapp had a game-saving interception in the preseason game vs. Seattle to help land a spot on the practice squad.

He wound up playing in five games; his first game as an official member of the 53-man roster came at Minnesota, which is where his father played.

“It gave him time to learn,” the elder Sapp told Packer Central. “It gave him time to take care of his body. It gave him time mentally, spiritually. Everything happens for a reason. God ain’t going to give you nothing that you can’t handle. He’s going to give it to you right on time when you deserve it.”

No. 67: S Zayne Anderson

The Packers claimed Anderson off waivers from the Bills at the end of training camp last year. After missing the first seven games due to injury, he played 127 snaps on special teams during the final 10 games and had four tackles.

Anderson went undrafted out of BYU in 2021. He spent his first two seasons in Kansas City, where he played in seven games.

In 17 career regular-season games, he has played zero snaps on defense – though he did get some action toward the end of the playoff romp at Dallas.

Anderson had three interceptions during the first minicamp practice. Just like Benny Sapp, Anderson will be challenged to break through at a position group in which the team added veteran Xavier McKinney and three draft picks. Special teams, of course, will be critical.

“It’s a very competitive room, so you have a day like that, it’s a big confidence boost,” Anderson said of the interceptions. “But it’s also, ‘On to the next.’ You get three big plays, then it’s on to the next. That’s kind of how this league goes. Put the past in the past and get ready for the next one.”

No. 66: OL Luke Tenuta

A sixth-round pick by the Bills in 2022, Tenuta is back for his third year with the Packers after originally joining the team off waivers in October 2022.

He played in three games in 2022, with seven snaps on offense and 18 on special teams. Last year, he suffered an ankle injury during the preseason and spent most of the season on injured reserve, though he did practice for a few weeks at the end of the year.

Tenuta comes from an athletic family. His father, Jon, played college football at Virginia and is a longtime coach. His mom, Dori, played college basketball at Virginia. An older brother, Matt, is a pitcher in Mexico. Another brother, Zach, got into coaching after playing at Marshall.

“It was cool,” Luke Tenuta said. “Everyone played sports. My mom and pops played sports at Virginia, and my two older brothers, one played college football and the other one’s still a professional baseball player,” he said. “Sports were everything. As much as we moved with my pops being a college coach, sports helped us make friends and all that good stuff. So, it was awesome growing up with an athletic, competitive family.”

Tenuta played right tackle and right guard during the offseason practices.

No. 65: OL Kadeem Telfort

The Packers took a shot on Telfort as an undrafted free agent in 2023. Will they be rewarded?

Telfort opened his collegiate career at Florida in 2017 but was arrested along with a few teammates for credit card fraud. He landed at Garden City (Kan.) Community College in 2018 and Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill., in 2019. From there, he got a shot at UAB. In three years with the Blazers, he started 28 games and was a first-team all-conference left tackle in 2022.

He also earned his degree.

“It means a lot, because I’m the first to graduate high school in my family, and I’m the first to graduate college,” he told 1819News.com. “I have one older sister, eight little sisters. Just me graduating high school did a lot for my little sisters, and me graduating makes them want to go to college. Now, they have something to look forward to.”

At 6-foot-7 1/2 and 322 pounds with 36-inch arms, he’s got terrific size but lacks preferred athleticism; his Relative Athletic Score was just 1.58.

Telfort mostly played right tackle and right guard during the offseason, though he also got some reps at left tackle.

No. 64: G Royce Newman

A fourth-round pick in 2021, Newman has played a lot of football for the Packers. However, he’ll be fighting for his job during training camp.

In three seasons, Newman has started 24 games and played 1,718 offensive snaps. However, after three years of not-good-enough performance and with the addition of three rookies in this year’s draft, it might be the end of the line.

No. 63: WR Samori Toure

Speaking of former draft picks who will be fighting for his job, Toure will be facing a do-or-die training camp.

A seventh-round pick in 2022, Toure didn’t make much of an impact with five catches in 11 games. Called “Captain Casual” by Aaron Rodgers as a rookie, Toure was one of the most-hyped players last offseason. “He looks unbelievable right now,” assistant coach Jason Vrable said at the time.

Those turned into little more than empty words. While Toure made the 53-man roster ahead of Bo Melton, he wound up 12th on the team with eight receptions. He was a healthy scratch for five games and ended the season on injured reserve. After playing 77 snaps in the first three games, Toure played 62 the rest of the season.

The Packers have one of the deepest receiver corps in the NFL. The late-season emergence of Melton and the physicality of Malik Heath seemingly would give them a firm grip of the fifth and sixth spots on the depth chart.

No. 62: RB Emanuel Wilson

Wilson was one of the great stories of training camp last year. Now, he’ll have to do it again.

Wilson went undrafted in 2023. After a short stint with the Denver Broncos, Wilson signed with the Packers and wound up leading the NFL in rushing yards to run away with a spot on the 53-man roster.

Pun intended.

Stuck behind Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon, Wilson had nine carries in the first nine games. When Jones suffered a knee injury against the Chargers on Nov. 19, the door was open for Wilson to grab a bigger role. Instead, a couple plays later, he suffered a shoulder injury and wound up on injured reserve.

Wilson wound up with 14 carries for 85 yards, highlighted by a 31-yarder against the Rams. He broke one tackle. In 12 playoff carries, he broke a tackle against the Cowboys and another against the 49ers.

To break through on a depth chart headlined by former rushing leader Josh Jacobs, Dillon and third-round pick MarShawn Lloyd, Wilson will have to run with that type of physicality again.

No. 61: TE Tyler Davis

The Packers used a second-round pick on Luke Musgrave and a third-round pick on Tucker Kraft. Nonetheless, losing Davis to a torn ACL during the preseason was a big loss.

“I feel like to some degree we lost our right hand, you know?” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said at the time.

It’s simplistic but worth noting that the Packers went from 22nd in Rick Gosselin’s special teams rankings with Davis in 2022 to 29th without him in 2023. In 2022, Davis was a key blocker for All-Pro returner Keisean Nixon and ranked fourth on the team with 10 special-teams tackles.

The Packers re-signed him to a one-year contract. He’ll be ready to roll for the start of training camp. 

Musgrave and Kraft are perhaps the best young tight end duo in the NFL. Without Davis, another rookie, Ben Sims, emerged as a key role player. So, while the door might be closed for him to be a regular contributor on offense, Bisaccia is thrilled to get back a key contributor.

“We’re just excited, not only for Tyler but organizationally, to get him back, what he brings spirit-wise, what he brings energy-wise, his ability to play multiple positions for us in the kicking game,” Bisaccia said before the start of OTAs. “I know they’re excited about getting him back on offense, as well.”

No. 60: K James Turner

At the start of the offseason, the Packers kicked off a three-man kicking battle featuring incumbent Anders Carlson, veteran Greg Joseph and rookie Jack Podlesny.

Would that continue into training camp?

“I don’t know the answer to that,” Bisaccia said before OTAs. “It might be those three. It might be three other ones. I don’t know. It might be six.”

It’s still a three-man battle, but the Packers swapped out Podlesny for Turner, who made 18-of-21 field-goal attempts to help Michigan win the national championship.

“He’s cool as a cucumber, stoic,” Wolverines special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh said before the playoff win against Alabama.

Turner went undrafted and spent most of the offseason for the Lions; he was released when they signed UFL star Jake Bates.

Turner will be given every opportunity to win the kicking battle. After all, had Carlson or Joseph crushed the offseason, the Packers might not have felt the need to add another kicker.

As LaFleur said during OTAs: “I think all those guys have had their own moments where they’ve kind of won the day and it’s a tight battle.”

No. 59: G Donovan Jennings

The Packers have had at least one undrafted rookie make their opening 53-man roster for each of the last 19 years. Who will run that streak to 20?

The smart money is on Jennings.

Pun intended.

The Packers typically haven’t spent a lot on their undrafted rookies. Rather than enticing players with money, they persuade them with opportunity. The 19-year undrafted streak, which included running back Emanuel Wilson, receiver Malik Heath and defensive end Brenton Cox last year, speaks volumes.

In 2023, the NFLPA reported that the Packers’ average signing bonus for its undrafted rookies in 2022 was the lowest in the league.

Jennings is a noteworthy departure. Along with a $10,000 signing bonus, the Packers took the unusual-for-them approach of guaranteeing $100,000 of his salary. While all of Green Bay’s draft picks received a signing bonus, nobody taken in the third round or later received even a penny of guaranteed salary.

Jennings started 47 games at South Florida, including 45 at left tackle. After taking a predraft visit to Green Bay, he spent the offseason playing left guard.

“My athleticism comes first and foremost,” he told The Draft Network’s Justin Melo. “I have a background as a basketball player. My athletic ability to redirect is pretty rare. I’m a heavier-set dude that moves very well for 328 pounds. My physical ability allows me to move people off the ball. I’m a strong and powerful blocker. I can bend well. I have an all-around skill-set to be a great football player.”

No. 58: LB Kristian Welch

After playing 43 games for the Ravens from 2020 through 2022, Welch failed to make Baltimore’s roster last summer. The Packers signed him to their practice squad, and he wound up playing in each of the final 14 games plus both postseason contests. He wound up third on the team with six tackles on special teams during the regular season and added another in the playoffs.

Welch was a fun story last year. He grew up in Iola, Wis., which is located about 60 miles from Lambeau Field.

“There’s 32 teams, right? It’s crazy to end up back home,” Welch told Packer Central at the time. “There’s a lot of guys that don’t ever get that chance. Look across the league, right? Like, you pick any player and you say, ‘OK, he’s from Atlanta. What are the chances that he plays for the Atlanta Falcons?’ Very small chance. There’s a lot of guys that don’t get that opportunity, so I’m very fortunate.

“I don’t take anything for granted to be this close to home. It’s a dream come true. I just take every day as it comes and I’m enjoying it.”

Welch, who has played 1,101 snaps on special teams compared to 44 on defense, signed a one-year contract with the Packers in free agency.

No. 57: TE Ben Sims

Sims signed with the Vikings after going undrafted out of Baylor last year but was released in the final roster cutdown. A day later, he was in a meeting with some of Minnesota’s other practice-squad candidates. About 30 minutes into it, Sims was pulled out of the meeting.

He had been claimed off waivers by the Packers.

“They said, ‘When can you get here?” Sims recalled at the time. “I mapped it on my phone and I said, ‘I can be there in 4 hours.’ Coach (Matt) LaFleur goes, ‘Great. See you then.’”

With veteran Tyler Davis out with a torn ACL, Sims joined the Packers’ other rookie tight ends, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, and fit right in. He played all 17 games and caught four passes for 21 yards. The highlight of his season was scoring the opening touchdown in the victory over the Chiefs.

Sims fought back tears during his Lambeau Leap.

“It was just such a special moment,” Sims said a few days later. “Your adrenaline is so high that you really don’t know what’s going on. So, I was pretty emotional.”

After playing 189 snaps on offense and 97 on special teams last year in helping to replace Davis, it might be Sims vs. Davis for a roster spot at training camp.

“Ben, he’s thrown right in and didn’t blink,” tight ends coach John Dunn said at the start of OTAs. “That’s what I love about him. The interesting part and cool part, he wasn’t part of the offseason program last year. So, kind of learning it [the playbook] from the ground level as opposed to [learning it by] the game plan and, ‘Here we go’ is going to be really beneficial to him.”

No. 56: S Anthony Johnson

The Packers nuked last year’s safety corps. Gone are last year’s primary players, Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford. In are veteran Xavier McKinney and rookies Javon Bullard, Evan Williams and Kitan Oladapo.

Not gone and definitely not forgotten is Johnson. A seventh-round pick last year, Johnson joined McKinney as the No. 1 pairing for most of the offseason.

Presumably, McKinney and Bullard will be the Week 1 starters. But Johnson had a solid rookie season with one interception and three passes defensed. That’s better production than Savage (zero interceptions, one pass defensed) and Owens (zero interceptions, three passes defensed).

Johnson didn’t get on the field for the first 10 games of his rookie season. With eight defensive snaps under his belt, Johnson started against the Rams and intercepted a pass. A few weeks later, he had a career-high eight tackles and broke up a pass in the Thanksgiving win at Detroit.

“It’s kind of wild because you go from inactive to right into the action,” Johnson said last year. “As far as the preparation piece and stuff like that, when you prepare like I do, it’s fun. You just step right in.

“Even when I wasn’t active, I was still getting the call and going through checks. I was playing the game on the sideline. I wasn’t standing back with everybody. I was playing the game on the sideline so that when I do get an opportunity, I can step in and the defense doesn’t skip a beat and I know the flow of the game.”

While McKinney and Bullard presumably will start, the No. 3 safety position will be quite a battle between Johnson, Williams and Oladapo.

“He’s trying to take his game to the next level,” coach Matt LaFleur said during OTAs. “Certainly, it’s definitely a different scheme, so there’s a lot of new learning. It’s far from perfect but you attack it the right way with the right mentality, you’re going to get the most growth.

“That’s what we’re seeing from him. He’s done a great job and he’s embraced the competition, because that is going to be a great competition there with the number of young guys that we got coming in. There’s a couple vets there, too, that are going to push him.”

No. 55: CB Robert Rochell

You can never have enough cornerbacks. The Packers learned that last year. They opened training camp envisioning Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes manning the secondary. Instead, none of the three played even 50 percent of the defensive snaps.

Green Bay’s biggest addition at cornerback this offseason was Kalen King, the fourth-to-last player selected in the draft. So, with a new defensive scheme meaning a clean slate, he’s got a chance to push for playing time behind Stokes, Carrington Valentine and Corey Ballentine.

Due in part to his excellent athleticism, Rochell was a fourth-round pick by the Rams in 2021, starting five games for the Super Bowl champions. The Packers grabbed him off Carolina’s practice squad in late October, and he wound up playing 112 snaps on special teams in nine games.

Upon joining the Packers, he said: “I definitely look at it as a reset, mentally and physically, to come in and realign myself with the game of football and show the attributes that I can do on and off the field.”

No. 54: LS Peter Bowden

The Packers’ undrafted class included Bowden, the long snapper at Wisconsin the past three years who was given a $5,000 signing bonus. He will challenge the incumbent veteran, Matt Orzech.

“We’ve done a lot of work on him,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said before the start of OTAs. “We like Peter and I thought he did pretty good. He’s got good size, he’s athletic, he can move his feet. He’s working on the velocity of his snap. But I do think he’s going to have a chance and have an opportunity in the future to compete and play in the league.”

Including a swing and a miss on former seventh-round pick Hunter Bradley, the Packers have been searching for a reliable snapper for years. Oddly, they’ve had several but let them get away. The Eagles’ Rick Lovato, the Panthers’ J.J. Jansen, the Buccaneers’ Zach Triner and the 49ers’ Taybor Pepper all spent time with the Packers.

Bowden was a finalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award, which goes to the nation’s top long snapper. Accuracy is the strength to his game; he’ll have to improve his snap velocity.

“This is just a place where I felt like I could really get better as a player,” Bowden told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I felt it was a place where I could compete, but I always feel like I can compete wherever I go.

“I really liked the coaches, and they told me that coming here, if you put in the work, you will get better. To me, that’s really important.”

No. 53: FB Henry Pearson

It’s perhaps fitting that Pearson lands at No. 53. There are 53 spots on the regular-season roster. Will the Packers use one on a fullback?

That had been the role of former third-round pick Josiah Deguara the last four years. Last year, he played 196 snaps in 15 games; his per-game snap rate of 20 percent the lowest of his career. He was a total afterthought in the passing game, not seeing a single target over the final 11 games (including playoffs).

At Appalachian State, Pearson was an all-Sun Belt Conference tight end with 25 receptions for 329 yards and five touchdowns as a senior in 2022. Of the 22 FBS-level tight ends in the draft class with at least 25 receptions, Pearson was No. 1 in yards after the catch per catch, according to Pro Football Focus.

Pearson went undrafted in 2023 and was given a $7,500 signing bonus to join the Packers. They clearly like him; rather than releasing him with an injury settlement following a knee injury last training camp, they kept him through camp and placed him on the practice squad. He wound up playing in two games (11 snaps on offense, 23 on special teams).

While a fullback, Pearson spends his days with John Dunn at the tight ends.

“The more you can do,” Dunn said before OTAs. “And some of these guys are doing stuff that they may never have been asked to do before. And so, it’s not always the scheme part, it’s the physical part, right? How do I do this? What is the technique involved in this? And I think that’s something that he continues to get better at and learns and develops constantly.”

No. 52: OT Travis Glover

With the Senior Bowl and Shrine Game held during the same week, it can be slim pickings when an injury requires a late addition to the roster. That was the case when the Senior Bowl needed another offensive lineman.

Senior Bowl executive director grabbed Glover.

“Glover had a good week at the Hula Bowl and had some really good feedback from scouts around the league. If we were to pull up a guy, this would be a good guy for us,” Nagy told Packer Central.

“He’s a big man, and what I loved about him is he came to Mobile and wasn’t overwhelmed. There wasn’t any anxiety. I mean, the dude came out confident. We threw him right in there and he held up in one-on-one pass-rush stuff against some really good players from the jump.”

A strong performance in Mobile, Ala., helped send Glover to Green Bay, Wis., with a sixth-round draft pick.

Glover started 57 games at Georgia State. At pro day, he measured 6-foot-6 and 317 pounds with 34 3/4-inch arms. While he lacks the desired athleticism – his Relative Athletic Score was 4.72 – Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said: “He’s an exceptionally talented kid and all of his best football’s in front of him.”

Glover spent the offseason practices at right tackle.

“I think my strength is probably just my hands,” he said. “I try to be violent when I play and really timing in my strikes is something that I’ve been trying to work on. It’s one thing to just be trying to throw haymakers, but in my training, just working on throwing fast strikes like a snake.”

No. 51: C/G Jacob Monk

With Josh Myers entering his final season under contract, the Packers needed to draft a moldable center. They did that with Monk in the fifth round.

Monk fits the Packers profile as a versatile blocker. He started 58 games in five seasons at Duke: 36 games at right guard, 12 at right tackle and 10 at center. During his final two seasons, he started 13 games at right guard and 10 at center, earning honorable-mention all-ACC both seasons.

Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Rasheed Walker (right) is shown with rookie Jacob Monk (62) during OTAs. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Adam Cushing, who is now the offensive line coach and run-game coordinator at Texas A&M, was Monk’s position coach in 2022 and 2023. He raved about Monk’s “man strength,” mentality and versatility.

“This is one of my favorite Jacob Monk stories,” Cushing told Packer Central. “It was the first summer we were there. We weren’t allowed to do full practices, but we had some on-the-field drill work we were able to do. I stayed out maybe for an extra 15-20 minutes talking to one of the other players and then talking to some coaches.

“I’m walking back up to my office and I walk past the O-line room and Jacob Monk is at the board teaching the offense to the freshmen. We had just done it and, I’m not kidding you, I didn’t ask him to do it, nobody asked him to do it. He’s just a natural leader and he cares about others in one of the most genuine ways you’ll ever see. That right there would encapsulate who Jacob Monk is. He genuinely wants to encourage other people to be great.”

Monk worked his way into becoming a center prospect. Duke’s coaches told him he’d be moving to center at the start of camp in 2022. Snapping the ball was a challenge. So, after 10:30 p.m. bed check, he’d sneak out and knock on the door of quarterback Riley Leonard.

“I know those nights he wanted to go to sleep, he wanted to watch film or something,” Monk said, “but I was, ‘Can you please do this with me?’”

No. 50: S Kitan Oladapo

What an offseason for the Packers, who jettisoned last year’s top safeties, Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford, and replaced them with Xavier McKinney in free agency and Javon Bullard, Evan Williams and Oladapo in the draft.

A walk-on at Oregon State, Oladapo was a fifth-round pick after being a three-time all-Pac-12 selection. He had two interceptions and 10 passes defensed as a fifth-year senior.

“He’s a big man that can move,” said his college position coach, Blue Adams, who played special teams for Rich Bisaccia while with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “You are talking about a guy that can change direction and that can accelerate and has good speed. He has an appetite for the physical demands of the game. He is all about that.”

Oladapo suffered a broken toe during the Scouting Combine. That he couldn’t practice during the offseason will put him behind the 8-ball a bit.

“We had the chance to have him in the building, got to know him and I think just his mental awareness and his intelligence, his football IQ will help him stay engaged,” Packers defensive backs coach Ryan Downard said.

“As we can move him around more, the walk-throughs are going to become vital because these guys, you teach them what you can but until you go out and do it and walk through it, that’s to me where the real learning takes place. You can sit in a classroom and learn something but until you either have to teach it back or you take them out there physically let them walk through it, that’s I think where the growth takes place.”

Oladapo grew up a Packers fan.

“I loved Aaron Rodgers growing up,” he said. “I did like Brett Favre, you know, Jordy Nelson, Clay Matthews. That was fun. I was 84, so I did like Sterling Sharpe when I was little.”

No. 49: WR Malik Heath

With the Packers frantically trying to avoid an embarrassing upset loss in a primetime game at the New York Giants in December, Jordan Love on second-and-goal at the 6 threw the ball to Malik Heath, of all people, for what should have been the go-ahead touchdown. Heath, an undrafted rookie who had caught only six passes all season, was lax with the ball and had it knocked free at the last moment.

So, of course, Love went back to Heath on the next play. He made a terrific all-hands catch at the sideline and got the ball over the line for the touchdown.

“I was very confident Malik was going to win that 1-on-1 matchup because he has that ability, that if you throw it up, he’s going to go up and make a play, and he’s got aggressive hands and attacks the ball,” Love said during last month’s minicamp. “And I think for him he was ready to go out there and make another play. That’s confidence, that I’m going to keep coming to you and go make another play.”

While Heath went undrafted, he surged past 2022 seventh-round pick Samori Toure and 2023 seventh-round pick Grant DuBose because of his toughness. He might not have Allen Lazard’s size, but he could thrive in that “goon” role as the receiver who can win in the run game or pass game because of his physicality and mentality.

There were some dominant snaps last season, including a preseason game against the Bengals, when he blocked his defender into the kicking net, or in the regular season at Detroit, when he served up a pancake as the lead blocker.

“He had some really big moments for us last year, making some tough catches, doing some dirty work, some key blocks,” coach Matt LaFleur said last month. “And I think physically he’s in a much better place. He’s a little bit lighter. Obviously, he knows the offense a heck of a lot better, so it allows you to play faster and you can move him around a little bit more. So, we’re really excited to see him and what he can do once we get to the preseason and those game-like situations.”

Heath ranked third among undrafted rookie receivers with 15 catches. While Heath dropped a couple too many passes during the offseason practices, Love said “more opportunities” will be come his way this year.

“When he’s out there in the game, he’s made some big-time plays,” Love said. “I just love his mindset on the field. He’s one of the guys you can just throw it up and he’s going to go up there and make a play and go up there and get it. He’s very aggressive and he shows that. And also in the blocking game, he does some really good things. I think he just needs to keep being himself. Keep stacking those days, and taking advantage of any opportunity he gets.”

No. 48: CB Kalen King

Just in case you need a reminder about the importance of depth:

Last year, the Packers thought they’d play the season with the presumably premier cornerback trio of Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. Thanks to injuries to Alexander and Stokes and the trade of Douglas, rookie seventh-round pick Carrington Valentine played the most snaps among the team’s perimeter cornerbacks and journeyman Corey Ballentine played the second-most. Valentine and Ballentine wound up playing more snaps than Alexander, Douglas and Stokes combined.

So, now that the need for depth has been reinforced, the only noteworthy addition at cornerback this offseason was King. He wasn’t just a seventh-round pick. He was the last cornerback selected and the fourth-to-last pick of the entire draft.

“Carrington, he has that chip on his shoulder. He has a workmanlike approach,” defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley said. “You saw a little bit of that with Kalen King. We all know Kalen can play football. So, that seventh-round tag is just a tag. He’s going to come in here and prove otherwise, I feel like.”

By now, you probably know King’s story. He was an All-American at Penn State in 2022 and a projected first-round pick entering the season. Instead, he went from 21 passes defensed to two. A 4.60 in the 40 at the Scouting Combine didn’t help matters.

But King played a lot of good football at Penn State. It wasn’t like he was terrible last season; he didn’t allow a touchdown his final two seasons.

“He’s going to make it because he’s a consistent football player and he loves the game,” Penn State assistant head coach/cornerbacks coach Terry Smith told Packer Central. “One of the challenges we face in today’s game is people want attention, people want social media, people want all the other reasons. This guy loves football and he’s driven to be successful. Now that the draft has taken place, there’s another built-in chip on his shoulder and he’s really motivated to succeed.”

No. 47: LS Matt Orzech

Orzech, who was the long snapper for the Rams’ Super Bowl championship team in 2021, signed with the Packers last year and handled snapping duties for all 17 games plus both postseason contests. He wasn’t perfect but he didn’t have any catastrophic snaps, either.

For what it’s worth, Orzech was the third-worst snapper in the league last year by Pro Football Focus’ grading. He’ll have to fight off the training camp challenge of undrafted rookie Peter Bowden.

“We’re excited about him being around Matt,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said. “I think Matt’s really good. I thought he had a good year and he’s also improved. He’s gotten stronger. He’s played in a lot of big games. He’s won a Super Bowl. So, hopefully, he’ll be a guy that can set the example of what that’s supposed to look like, as well.”

Orzech spent about five years in Wisconsin as a kid. His path to the NFL started about a week before his first game as a tight end at Division II Azusa Pacific.

“He called me over and was like, ‘Hey, you’re going to play baseball here, right?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir.’ It was a weird question in the middle of practice. He was like, ‘You pitch?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I do.’ He said, ‘You throw pretty hard?’ I said, ‘Hard enough to pitch in college.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you ever long snapped before?’ I was like, ‘I don’t even know what that is, Coach, honestly.’”

No. 46: LB Eric Wilson

Had the Packers pulled off the upset of the 49ers in the playoffs, Wilson would have been a hero for the ages.

With San Francisco having just taken a 14-13 lead in the third quarter, Keisean Nixon found a crease through the 49ers’ kickoff team and was off to the races. After a 73-yard return, he was stripped from behind. The ball bounced forward, with a hustling Wilson making a diving recovery at the 20-yard line. Four plays later, the Packers were in the end zone.

Wilson was a major contributor on special teams, where he played a team-high 308 snaps on special teams and led the team with 11 tackles. Because of injuries to starters Quay Walker and De’Vondre Campbell, he played 121 snaps on defense and contributed 20 tackles. His 6.05 snaps per tackle ranked No. 1 on the team.

Having re-signed in free agency, Wilson spent the offseason with the No. 1 defense. Chances are, he’ll be nudged aside by second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper at some point during training camp. Nonetheless, he’ll be a hugely important player on special teams and perhaps the next man up at linebacker.

No. 45: LB Ty’Ron Hopper

The Packers split their roster in half for most of the offseason practices, with the starters and key backups on the north side of the field and everyone else on the south end. Fellow rookie Edgerrin Cooper, a second-round pick, spent his practices on the north side while Hopper, a third-round pick, was stuck on the south.

Hopper spent his first three years at Florida before finishing with two seasons at Missouri, where he was coached by former Packers linebacker D.J. Smith.

“The film doesn’t lie,” Smith told Packer Central. “You know, old coach saying, ‘The tape doesn’t lie.’ And he can do it. He’s a four-down player. He’s got a lot of versatility, and his size and speed is what the new linebackers look like. He’s the prototypical 6-2-and-some-change, 230-plus pounds than can run 4.5.”

Smith called Hopper a “slippery” pass rusher who will be an asset as a blitzer. Hopper called himself a “violent guy,” which should, at the very least, give him an immediate presence on special teams.

Regardless of where he starts training camp – or even where he starts the season – the third-round pick will be a key player. Starter Isaiah McDuffie, who is entering his final season of his rookie deal, and veterans Eric Wilson and Kristian Welch, who signed one-year contracts in free agency, will be free agents next offseason.

Thus, a golden opportunity awaits – if Hopper works and grows as expected.

“I’m comfortable with growing and expanding my game and getting better,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, whatever position, it don’t really matter to me. I feel like I got the toolbox to do anything and to play any position. The only thing the coaches and staff are going to do is add more tools to my toolbox.”

No. 44: OT Andre Dillard

Dillard was a first-round pick by the Eagles in 2019. After four disappointing seasons in Philadelphia, he signed a three-year, $29 million contract with the Titans in free agency last year. After one miserable season in Tennessee, he was released and signed by the Packers.

On the bright side, he’s still an athletic prospect – which makes him a good reclamation project. He’s also versatile; while most of his snaps have come at left tackle, he’s also played left guard, right guard and right tackle.

On the other hand, there’s a reason why he’s already on this third team. Last year was supposed to be a fresh start. Instead, it was a disaster. No offensive tackle allowed more sacks than Dillard’s 12, according to Pro Football Focus, which is quite a feat considering he started only 10 of 17 games and ranked 64th in pass-protecting snaps.

“Things just didn’t quite pan out the way that me and the coaches would have liked,” Dillard said at minicamp. “It wasn’t a great fit all around for everybody. Things happen. This is a crazy league. You never know. Whatever happens, just got to put one foot in front of the other and just keep going.”

Dillard’s trajectory and track record shows this Hail Mary won’t be answered. But, given right tackle Zach Tom’s torn pectoral, there’s a chance Dillard could be in the starting lineup against the Eagles in Week 1. Offensive line coach Luke Butkus helped turn former seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker into a more-than-capable starting left tackle. Perhaps he is the right man for this job, too.

“They said that there’s one thing guaranteed right now and that’s an opportunity for you to come and compete,” Dillard said. “So, it’s a falls-into-your-court kind of thing. They gave me the opportunity and I’m going to take it and do with it to the best of my ability.”

No. 43: DE Brenton Cox

One of the three undrafted free agents who earned a spot on the 53-man roster last year, Cox didn’t play much as a rookie. That’s not fully his fault. After all, Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Lukas Van Ness and Kingsley Enagbare were ahead of him on the depth chart, so opportunity wasn’t knocking on his door.

However, after Enagbare suffered an injured ACL in the playoff win at Dallas, the Packers elevated Keshawn Banks from the practice squad and made Cox an inactive for the playoff loss at San Francisco. So, Cox’s season ended with him playing in four games and logging just four snaps on defense.

Gary, Smith, Van Ness and Enagbare (assuming he’s fully healthy) are back again, so Cox is going to have to earn his spot on the roster.

“One thing that he could always do is he can rush the passer,” coach Matt LaFleur said at minicamp. “We don’t have pads on, so it will really show itself as we get into training camp. But that’s why he made such a great impression on us a year ago. Certainly, the scheme’s a little bit different, and we’re just letting him pin his ears back and go and he’s embraced that.”

Cox is the clear front-runner for a potential fifth spot on the 53. When LaFleur split into two groups, with the starters and key backups on the north end of the practice field and everyone else on the south end, Cox was with Gary and Co. on the north side.

“He has a group of guys that just want to see him win,” Gary said. “I told him, ‘Closed mouths don’t get fed,’ so if he has any type of question to me, Preston, KC, there’s a lot of experience, a lot of guys who played ball at a high level. He’s been doing it and it’s been coming to light.”

No. 42: DT Colby Wooden

The Packers drafted two defensive tackles last year, Wooden in the fourth round and Karl Brooks in the sixth. It was Brooks who emerged as the impact player while Wooden sort of fell into the background.

After playing 36 snaps in each of the first two games, he played 20-plus only once the rest of the season. During the three-game winning streak to close the regular season, Wooden played a total of 27 snaps. He finished the season with 17 tackles and a half-sack.

Wooden spent the offseason in the weight room to get ready for Year 2.

“Last year, I was about 278. Now, I’m about 290, 293,” Wooden said during OTAs. “I definitely added some muscle but I still look like me and I can play anywhere on the line.”

He added: “It was important because I’m light in the trenches. Being light down there, they’ll definitely circle you out and highlight you. I definitely needed to get stronger. It’s a grown-man world down there. I just needed to get stronger.”

This will be a big camp for Wooden. Last year, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, TJ Slaton, Brooks and Wooden played all 17 games together. All five players are back. Wooden will have to prove he’s worthy of taking someone’s playing time.

No. 41: K Greg Joseph

After Anders Carlson struggled as a rookie, Joseph, Carlson and James Turner will compete in a three-man battle in training camp.

“Me vs. me,” Joseph said of his view of the competition. “Obviously, every year’s a new year, so just focus on getting better each and every day, working on my craft. Simple as that.”

Joseph, who will turn 30 on Aug. 4, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and spent the last three seasons as the Minnesota Vikings’ kicker. Really, even with most of his games indoors, he’s been no better than Carlson. With the Vikings, he made 82.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 90.3 percent of his extra-point tries. He does have a big leg and a lot of big-kick experience.

“He’s been an indoor kicker now for a while, so being here is a little bit interesting,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said before the start of OTAs. “In our conversation with him, he hasn’t played well [at Lambeau Field]. So, him playing in these conditions is a little bit different for him, as well. He’s got a tremendous leg.”

Joseph, who was Plan B in terms of adding a veteran, said he’s “excited” for the challenge of taking his game outdoors.

“Obviously, it’s one of the most historic stadiums in the league,” he said. “Happy to be here, happy to be able to kick in this stadium and continue to put one foot in front of the other and get used to the conditions and go from there.”

Interestingly, the Packers gave him longtime kicker Mason Crosby’s No. 2.

“We’ll see what happens when I make the team, jersey-wise,” Joseph said.

No. 40: S Evan Williams

In a perfect world, veteran addition Xavier McKinney and second-round pick Javon Bullard will play every snap together at safety. This isn’t a perfect world, though. Williams could be the next man up at safety if McKinney or Bullard are injured or if Bullard has to move into the slot.

“I saw a smart, tough, reliable football player,” defensive backs coach Ryan Downard said before the start of OTAs. “The last half of his senior year at Oregon, he played with a club on his hand and there was no slow down from him. He was still trying to throw it up in there. He’s a guy who could cover but showed toughness. He’s just a well-rounded guy.

“And then we had the chance to talk to him. He’s extremely smart, very good test score. And then when we interviewed him, it checked that box for us, which we want. We want guys that can process, and he certainly showed that when he came for rookie camp. You couldn’t shut the guy which is what we want, right? On the field, he’s directing traffic. As a rookie, that’s really special.”

Williams spent his first four seasons at Fresno State, where he earned all-Mountain West Conference honors in 2021 and 2022. He transferred to Oregon for his final season. While he had zero interceptions and only two passes defensed, he did have 82 tackles, 4.5 sacks and five tackles for losses.

Oregon co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chris Hampton called Williams “my favorite player” he’s coached.

Williams had a big-time interception at the Senior Bowl. During the last day of minicamp, he was in the perfect position to knock a receiver into the middle of next week to prevent a completion.

“Being able to play in the post, play near the line of scrimmage and make plays around the ball, I feel like that’s definitely something that sets me apart, just kind of being a do-it-all guy, being able to make those plays,” Williams said. “And once you get the chance to blitz, I feel like I was pretty effective last year and looking to maybe get some of those sack numbers up and just cause havoc in the backfield. I feel like that translates really well into this league.”

No. 39: CB Corey Ballentine

Jordan Love’s rise to stardom included his playoff destruction of the Dallas Cowboys. It wouldn’t have happened without Ballentine.

For a full two calendar years, Ballentine played zero snaps on defense and changed teams four times. A sixth-round pick by the Giants in 2019, he started the first two games in 2020. He didn’t start another game until last season, when injuries to Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes and the trade of Rasul Douglas forced Ballentine into the lineup for six starts.

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Ballentine said before starting against the Giants last season. “This season has obviously been up and down for me. I started on practice squad and I’ve kind of worked my way up. That’s kind of how every year my whole journey to the league has been. It hasn’t always been easy or how I thought it would be, but I just kept my head down, kept working and let it all play out how it plays out. When I get my opportunity, take that opportunity and make the best of it.”

The Packers wouldn’t have qualified for the playoffs if not for Ballentine. Of 109 cornerbacks to play at least 250 coverage snaps last season, he ranked 37th in catch rate (59.2 percent) and 28th in passer rating (81.3), according to PFF. He had an interception in Week 17 at Minnesota.

The Packers re-signed him to a one-year contract in free agency. He’ll start training camp behind Alexander, Stokes and Carrington Valentine on the cornerback depth chart. During the offseason practices, he got some work in the slot, which is Keisean Nixon’s home. If emergency strikes, Ballentine will be ready.

“I don’t do more than I need to do, I don’t do less than I need to do, I don’t make it bigger than what it is,” he said. “I do my job and let the rest handle itself.”

No. 38: WR Bo Melton

Melton’s story isn’t unlike Ballentine’s as a former draft pick who had to work and wait for his opportunity.

Melton was a seventh-round pick by the Seahawks in 2022. The Packers picked him off Seattle’s practice squad in December 2022.

Despite a strong training camp last summer, he failed to make Green Bay’s 53-man roster and wound up on the practice squad. Finally, he made his NFL debut on Thanksgiving at Detroit. He caught his first pass a few weeks later against Tampa Bay. A week after that, he caught four passes for 44 yards in the key late-season victory at Carolina.

That set the stage for the primetime showdown at Minnesota. The Packers hadn’t had a 100-yard receiving game all season, but Melton caught six passes for 105 yards and one touchdown in a blowout win at the Vikings. He added five receptions for 62 yards in the finale against the Bears and scored a 19-yard touchdown in the playoff loss against the 49ers.

“It’s all about hard work, keeping God first. That’s what I did my whole life,” Melton said during OTAs. “That’s how I was raised. Just being cut, being on practice squad, just kept doing the journey, kept pushing along. I just wanted to be ready when my time came.”

During regular-season play, Melton caught 16 passes for 218 yards. Of the 127 receivers who were targeted 23 times (Melton’s number), he ranked fifth with 2.83 yards per route. That was behind four established stars: Tyreek Hill, Nico Collins, Brandon Aiyuk and Justin Jefferson.

“I say that’s just a start,” Melton said shortly after scoring a long touchdown at practice. “It was a nice journey just to be from practice squad to playing, but my goal was never just to be a practice-squad player in general. That’s never my mindset.

“I’m wanting to be a player in this league for a long time. I’ve been around a lot of good players here that motivated me during the whole year when I wasn’t playing. When I started to play, it was nothing different. I know when you do good things, good is expected. At the end of the day, I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. That’s been working since I was a kid.”

No. 37: P Daniel Whelan

Whelan had a strong debut season. While he ranked only 24th in average (46.2 yards, which was second-best in franchise history) and 27th in net average (39.7 yards), the only real disaster was the punt that was returned for a touchdown by the Saints in Week 3. Only 38.6 percent of his punt were returned (11th-best) and he averaged 4.51 seconds of hangtime (fourth-best), according to Pro Football Focus.

In his final five games (including playoffs), he had a net average of better than 40 yards in four. The exception? The playoff win at Dallas, when all three of his punts pinned the Cowboys inside the 10.

Where does he need to improve? In 2022, then-Packers punter Pat O’Donnell had 24 inside-the-20 punts vs. one touchback. Whelan had 18 inside-the-20s and five touchbacks. His 3.6 inside-the-20s per touchback was third-worst in the league, but he had 11 inside-the-20s and zero touchbacks in his final nine games (including playoffs).

Whelan flew solo through a strong series of offseason practices. It would be an enormous upset if he’s not the punter in Week 1.

No. 36: DE Kingsley Enagbare

Late in the playoff win against Dallas, Enagbare suffered what everyone assumed was a torn ACL.

A week later, Enagbare stood at his locker at Lambeau Field without a brace on his knee. Was the injury not as bad as feared?

“I tore it,” he said as matter-of-factly as observing water is wet. “I’m solid, though. I’m ready to start my journey.”

The journey took an abrupt detour. Yes, he had suffered a torn ACL. It was not a complete tear, though, he learned a couple months later. Through rehab, he could potentially avoid surgery.

“Man, coming back, I’d seen him walking around and jumping around, and I’m like, ‘What?’” Rashan Gary said at minicamp. “We heard the same thing that we heard last year and I’m like, ‘Man, God is good.’”

Enagbare said he’s “100 percent” healthy. He took his full complement of reps during the offseason practices.

“He’s been outstanding,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “You talk about a guy who comes to work with the right mentality each and every day, he’s the epitome of that. And I think we’ve seen the growth. We saw it last year, the growth from Year 1 to Year 2, and I think we’re still seeing that growth as he develops his body and continues to learn the game.”

Enagbare played 40.7 percent of the defensive snaps last season and recorded 35 tackles. He had two sacks and finished second on the team with eight tackles for losses.

He likes the “see ball, get ball” aspect of the new defense.

“We’re being preached to just go up field and pretty much create havoc, whether it’s sack, TFLs. Just go vertical,” he said.

No. 35: RB AJ Dillon

Just like nobody expected at the start of free agency, the Packers chose to move on from Aaron Jones but re-sign Dillon.

Entering his final season under contract, the former second-round pick who had earned comparisons to Derrick Henry had a mostly miserable season. With Jones unable to stay healthy until the stretch run, Dillon had a golden opportunity to show he was a legit No. 1 running back.

Dillon went from 4.3 yards per carry and a 61.0 percent success rate in 2021 to 4.1 yards per carry and a 56.5 percent success rate in 2022 to 3.4 yards per carry and a 50.0 percent success rate in 2023. Most damning, the offense didn’t get rolling until Dillon was out with a broken thumb and stinger and Jones was finally healthy.

Of 49 running backs with at least 100 carries last year, Dillon ranked 37th with 2.69 yards after contact, according to PFF, and 47th with a missed-tackle rate of 6.7 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions. With a physique chiseled out of granite and with quads as large as sides of beef, Dillon just didn’t make things happen on his own.

Nonetheless, Dillon is back on an unusual one-year contract. He’ll start training camp as the No. 2 back behind Josh Jacobs. Whether he stays ahead of rookie MarShawn Lloyd will depend on Dillon’s ability to run through tacklers and move piles.  

“I’ve got a bunch of motivation but it’s all internal,” Dillon said. “I’m in the best shape of my life. I feel good so I’m ready to do whatever it takes. I want to go win a Super Bowl. I’ve been here – this is Year 5 now. We’ve been close. That’s really it. I’m going to go out, work and I’m going to be a dog in whatever capacity on game day. That’s it. Motivation? I’ve got it. Discipline? I’ve got it. I’m here and trying to be great.”

No. 34: DT Karl Brooks

How would Brooks as a sixth-round pick acclimate to life in the NFL after dominating on the edge at Bowling Green?

Pretty well.

Brooks had four sacks (as many as first-round pick Lukas Van Ness), six tackles for losses (as many as former first-round pick Devonte Wyatt) and four passes defensed (as many as Jaire Alexander singularly and safeties Jonathan Owens and Darnell Savage combined).

Brooks finished sixth among rookie interior defenders with 25 pressures. Only three first-round picks, one second-round pick and one third-round choice had more. He was fifth in pass-rush win rate among rookies, as well.

“He has all the ability in the world,” Kenny Clark said after Brooks had a sack, strip and recovery at Detroit.

Brooks became the first Packers rookie with four-plus sacks and at least two fumble recoveries since Clay Matthews in 2009. Brooks and the Buccaneers’ YaYa Diaby were the only rookies to do it last season. He also blocked a field goal against the Vikings.

The new defensive scheme, which asks the linemen to attack rather than reading and reacting, should suit Brooks particularly well.

No. 33: LB Isaiah McDuffie

With De’Vondre Campbell and Quay Walker battling injuries throughout the season, McDuffie was summoned from the bench to start eight games. He was second on the team with 82 tackles and added five tackles for losses.

Along with the change in defensive schemes came a change on the depth chart. The Packers released Campbell and drafted Edgerrin Cooper in the second round and Ty’Ron Hopper in the third.

“That’s out of my control,” McDuffie said. “I come in every day ready to work with the mindset to get better. New guys in the room, I feel like they can contribute to the team, bring them along with us. So, no, I wouldn’t say I had any hard feelings toward it, but I would say at the end of the day, I know what I have to do. And if I go out there and produce and do my job, I’ll be on the field.”

McDuffie spent the offseason running with the No. 1 defense. Unless Hopper comes on strong during camp, McDuffie will be atop the depth chart for Week 1. How much he will play, though, remains to be seen. In the race to be the other linebacker on the field with Walker in the nickel package, McDuffie has the experience as a fourth-year player while Cooper has the elite athleticism. That will be a big battle.

For what it’s worth, the pass defense was 0.54 yards per snap better with McDuffie on the field compared to when he was on the sideline. The pass defense was 0.39 yards worse with Walker and 0.59 yards worse with Campbell.

“The biggest thing is running to the ball,” he said. “At the end of the day, I think I do that well, just getting to the ball, tackling the guy with the ball. I feel like they’re going to put us in positions to do that, and I’m excited about that.”

No. 31: QBs Sean Clifford, Michael Pratt

We’ve tried to refrain from ties in this series, but it’s hard to say Clifford is more important than Pratt or vice-versa. After all, however you rank them, whoever emerges as the backup quarterback in training camp will be one disastrous snap away from being the No. 1 quarterback for one play, one series or one month.

Clifford, a fifth-round pick last year, will enter training camp as the No. 2. He was the runaway winner with the job last summer, when he was the maestro of the 2-minute drill. With a year of experience in the system and attacking NFL defenses (at practice, anyway), Clifford should be even better.

Except he wasn’t better during the offseason practices. He failed to capitalize on his 2-minute opportunities and was picked off three times in one practice by safety Zayne Anderson.

“I got benched on national television, and I’m not afraid to say it because it’s those times that you know you can overcome anything,” Clifford said. “I’m not going to take two days and let that ruin a career that I’m really excited about.” 

Quarterbacks coach Tom Clements called Clifford a “gamer.”

“A little bit of Matt Flynn in him,” Clements said before the start of OTAs. “Once the season started and he was running the scout team … he started to make plays throughout the year. He developed throughout the year, which is what you’d like to see. I think he’ll make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2.”

Pratt was a seventh-round pick, but more than one scout considered him a better prospect than Clifford.

“Just evaluating the two players, we had a significantly higher grade on Pratt than we had on Clifford,” the Senior Bowl’s Jim Nagy said. “I think this guy at minimum could be a really solid No. 2 quarterback in the league and I thought, in the right situation, this guy could end up being a starter. I don’t know how or why he fell but, shoot, that could end up looking like a steal for Green Bay.”

In four seasons that included 44 starts, Pratt completed his career with 9,603 passing yards with 90 touchdowns vs. 26 interceptions. Plus, he rushed for 1,145 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Importantly, Pratt threw with better accuracy at the end of his career and resurrected the Tulane program.

“I think everybody, coaches and players included, believed in him. He didn’t give them any reason not to,” LSU assistant Slade Nagle, who was Pratt’s position coach in 2023, told Packer Central. “He was just a guy who laced his cleats up every day and went to work and went out there and competed his butt off. Obviously, he’s got good arm strength and so on and so forth, but I think most importantly those things are what led to all the success we had and all the success personally for himself.”

No. 30: DT T.J. Slaton

Kenny Clark is the Pro Bowler with the big contract. Devonte Wyatt has the first-round pedigree. It was Slaton, though, who ranked first on the defensive line in tackles last season.

A fifth-round pick in 2021, Slaton had 23 tackles in 2021 and 31 tackles in 2022. In starting all 17 games in 2023, he had 50 tackles. The run defense was 0.32 yards per carry better when he was on the field. He added two tackles for losses and two passes defensed; his lone career sack came as a rookie.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 330 pounds, only offensive tackle Caleb Jones and defensive tackle Jonathan Ford – neither of whom played a snap last season – are heavier than Slaton. Slaton, though, isn’t just a big slug.

“TJ Slaton might be the biggest man-athlete that I’ve ever seen in my life,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. “If you put a basket right here, my man can two-step jump and dunk that basketball. So, is he athletic enough [for the new defensive scheme}? There’s no question TJ Slaton is athletic enough to play in this scheme and system.”

Slaton is entering his final season under contract. It will be interesting to see how he performs following the switch from read and react to attack. Given the Packers’ chronic problems against the run, Slaton will play a big role. Don’t pardon the pun.

No. 29: RB MarShawn Lloyd

With powerful veteran running backs Josh Jacobs and AJ Dillon coming off disappointing seasons, there is an opening for the explosive Lloyd, a third-round pick in this year’s draft, to be an immediate X-factor.

“The good thing about him is he’s a pretty explosive player, not just in the run game but also in the pass game,” running backs coach Ben Sirmans said before the start of OTAs. “Then you kind of forget about how thick he is, so he’ll be physical enough to break tackles but then also fast enough to give you those long, home run plays.

“You just get the sense that he was a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. You can tell with him being here that he was happy and glad to be here and wants to fit in with this young nucleus that we have and be ready to contribute.”

At 5-foot-8 3/4 and 220 pounds with 4.46 speed in the 40, Lloyd, indeed, is explosive. Among running backs in the draft class with at least 100 carries in 2023, Lloyd was No. 2 in yards per carry and No. 1 in yards per reception. He wasn’t used much in the passing game – teams rarely blitzed quarterback Caleb Williams and Williams typically threw to his receivers – so that will be the test on how much he plays.

Lloyd said catching the ball would “definitely” be his focus during the break between minicamp and training camp.

“Just being able to be available as a pass-catcher, being able to use my abilities to make people miss and be used in space, I feel like that’s something I’m going to work on this whole offseason,” he said. “It’s been pretty good. I feel like they’ve been using me pretty good and in different ways. I’m super-excited about the season.”

Green Bay Packers running back MarShawn Lloyd / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

No. 28: RG Sean Rhyan

There might be only one open spot on the offensive line, and that’s right guard, where Jon Runyan started last season before signing with the Giants in free agency.

While the Packers used their first-round pick on Jordan Morgan, Rhyan, a third-round pick in 2022, is likely to get the first snap when training camp begins. He has zero career starts on his resume but played 183 snaps in the regular season and another 46 in the playoffs.

“I was really able to showcase that I’m able to play at this level, as well as show myself that I can play at this level,” he said during OTAs. “In that last game blocking (the 49ers’) Arik Armstead a couple times, going back and forth with him, it’s fun. It’s good. It’s comforting knowing that I can still play the game to the level that I expect myself to. The ceiling is still high.”

While there are some questions about Rhyan, they might be overblown. Initially when the Packers started getting Rhyan on the field, the team was going nowhere fast and had to find out if Rhyan could be part of its future. Then, the team started winning. Rather than turning back to the reliable Runyan, the team basically doubled-down. During the final four regular-season games and the playoff win at Dallas, Rhyan essentially played 50 percent of the snaps.

He wasn’t great but, again, if he was a liability, he would have been benched. He allowed zero sacks, zero quarterback hits and eight pressures (playoffs included), according to Pro Football Focus. According to league data, the Packers averaged 5.17 yards per rushing attempt with Rhyan in the game vs. 4.23 with Runyan in the lineup.

That run-game physicality could be a real asset.

“It was great to see Sean grow,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “Sean works at it. He loves football. He wants to go out and play, he wants to get a chance. When he had his chance last year, he improved. He is a big, strong kid, man. When you hold those bags for our players when you’re holding the bag for Sean Rhyan, you feel it.”

No. 27: WR Dontayvion Wicks

Coming off a disappointing final season at Virginia, Wicks was the 19th receiver selected last year. He greatly outplayed his draft slot.

In the entire rookie class, Wicks ranked 11th with 39 receptions, ninth with 580 yards, tied for seventh with four touchdowns and fourth with 18 explosive catches (defined as a reception of more than 15 yards). Among the 23 rookies who were targeted at least 20 times, he was fifth with a 14.9-yard average, fifth with 2.04 yards per route and sixth with 5.6 YAC per catch.

Among all NFL receivers who averaged at least two catches per game, Wicks was fourth with an explosive-catch rate of 46.2 percent. He led the Packers’ receiver corps with nine forced missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus.

That’s a lot of numbers to state the obvious: Wicks had a good rookie season and could become a very good player.

“It boosts confidence a lot,” Wicks said. “You’ve got to be confident to go out and play good. Building it from last year, it’s way better because now I can go out and have that chip that I’ve always had. Playing faster, that’s when I’m at my best.”

After quality rookie seasons, Wicks and Jayden Reed spent about three months together in Florida in hopes of taking the next step in their careers.

“He ran some great routes and he played competitive and he played physical,” passing-game coordinator Jason Vrable said at the start of OTAs. “He was blocking for his guys and playing the right way. He has a tremendous skill-set with his footwork and the way he runs route with his pad level. I think the biggest thing is where you left off last year, you’ve got to stack that type of production and play to maintain those high-end results. He’s looked exceptional right now.”

No. 26: C Josh Myers

This will be a make-or-break season for Myers, a second-round pick in 2021 who is entering his final season under contract.

After missing most of his rookie season with a knee injury, he started all 17 games in 2022. That should have been the jumping-off point for 2023. But it wasn’t. Starting 17 games once again, Myers didn’t take that big step forward that anyone had hoped or expected.

According to Pro Football Focus, Myers in 2022 gave up three sacks and 13 total pressures and ranked an excellent sixth in its pass-blocking efficiency, which weighs sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. In 2023, Myers gave up five sacks and 28 total pressures and was a mediocre 18th in PFF’s efficiency metric.

To be sure, Myers wasn’t terrible. He just hasn’t been what you’d expect from a former second-round pick. And he hasn’t been Creed Humphrey, the Chiefs’ All-Pro center who the Packers could have selected in 2022.

On the bright side, he took ownership of the offensive line and built a strong chemistry with quarterback Jordan Love. His run blocking improved, too. According to Sports Info Solutions, his blown-block rate went from 4.4 percent to 3.2 percent, and he went from six stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage) to two.

“Every day, get better. That’s where Josh excelled last year,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “He did get better as the year went on and he had command of this offense and took charge, was a little bit more vocal toward the end in commanding this offense. So, what do we need from him? Just to get better every single day. Keep improving.”

Myers, who perhaps contrary to popular opinion is the overwhelming favorite to be the Week 1 starter, is hoping to parlay a strong fourth season in Green Bay into multiple additional years with the team.

“It’s hard because I do love it here and I absolutely want to be a part of what’s happening here,” he said.

No. 25: K Anders Carlson

This ranking for a kicker who’s not guaranteed to be on the roster might be an eye-opener, but the margin for error in the NFL is so thin that a competent kicker is worth his weight in gold.

Carlson missed a field goal in a two-point loss to Denver. He missed an extra point at Pittsburgh, which forced the Packers to go for a touchdown in a four-point loss. He missed a field goal in a two-point loss to the Giants. And he missed a field goal in a three-point loss against the 49ers in the playoffs.

No kicker in the NFL missed more kicks last season than Carlson. He missed one in 11 of the final 14 games. While he limited it to one per game, those misses added up and – rather predictably – proved incredibly costly.

As a sixth-round draft pick, Carlson went without a challenger for about eight months last year. It will be different this year with veteran Greg Joseph and rookie James Turner poised to make it a three-man competition.

“It’s been good. It’s been a lot of good work,” Carlson said at the end of minicamp. “I think they’ve put us in front of the team a lot and really made us go out there and do our work in front of the team. I think it was good to build off of.”

No. 24: OL Jordan Morgan

Morgan would rank much higher than 24th if he were penciled in as the starting right guard or even a potential starter at left tackle. However, some rookie-year uncertainty is a factor.

Regardless, the Packers expect the first-round pick to get on the field, whether it’s as a Day 1 starter or the unit’s season-long utilityman.

“He reminds me a lot of myself, not to toot my own horn,” starting right tackle Zach Tom said, “but he has good feet, he moves really well. I think he’s going to be a really good player in the league. Obviously, he has that versatility. He’s going to be really good.”

Morgan, a three-year starting left tackle at Arizona, spent most of the offseason shuttling between right guard and right tackle. He played some left tackle, too, and even a little left guard.

“It’s a grind,” Morgan said at the end of minicamp. “It’s challenging, for sure, because in college I played left tackle. Being able to come out here and use my versatility and balancing right side, left side, guards and everything like that, it’s been a challenge, but it’s also been good for me.”

Morgan is an excellent athlete by the stopwatch and the eyeball test. He is explosive off the ball. However, does he have the requisite length to survive on the edge? It’s worth noting hiis 32 7/8-inch arms are rare but not unique.

According to our look at projected training camp depth charts, 44 offensive tackles have arms of at least 34 inches, 16 are in the 33s and four are in the 32s. Two of them are left tackles: the Colts’ Bernhard Raimann (32 3/4 inches) and the Rams’ Alaric Jackson (32 1/2). Raimann was PFF’s fourth-ranked left tackle last year while Jackson was just a bit below average.

“I laugh because that’s one of the first things people say is arm length is 32 1/4 or 3/4,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said. “There are a lot of guys that have played this game that were too short, that had too short of arms, that weren’t big enough. We’re used to hearing that. To me, it doesn’t matter. If your arms are too short, you better be really violent with your hands. That’s our job is to coach and teach that.”

No. 23: DT Devonte Wyatt

When new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich talk about an attacking defense, the prime beneficiary could be Wyatt, a first-round pick in 2022 based on athleticism more than his ability to be stout at the point of attack.

“The thing about Devonte Wyatt, he’s quick, fast, and athletic. So, you’re going to have to develop things around him to use those attributes,” Rebrovich said at the start of OTAs. “what a great opportunity for him and us. That’s the mindset that we’re working to develop is creating those TFLs, that mindset of getting into the backfield. And he executes every one of those. He checks all the boxes. So, we’re definitely looking for a great outcome for that young man for this upcoming season.”

Wyatt had a solid second-year jump, going from 1.5 sacks, 15 tackles and zero tackles for losses in 2022 to 5.5 sacks, 36 tackles and six tackles for losses in 2023. Of 98 interior defenders with at least 200 pass-rushing opportunities, Wyatt ranked second behind only Chiefs star Chris Jones in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap. Had he not missed so many tackles, he might have threatened a 10-sack season.

Wyatt played in 3-4 and 4-3 schemes at Georgia, so there is a sense of familiarity in new coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme.

“I liked that better,” he said of a four-man front. “I can’t for sure tell you why, I just feel like it gave me the best chance to attack, attack, attack instead of reading and reacting.”

No. 22: TE Tucker Kraft

First, Kraft tore his pectoral while on the bench press.

“It just popped right off the bone,” he said.

Ten days after surgery, he got married.

“It impacted a lot,” he said. “Not being able to use half your torso is not very fun when you’re trying to dance, especially when you like to swing dance and stuff like that. It was a bummer.”

Also a bummer was not being able to participate in offseason practices. Kraft has a lofty goal for the season in becoming one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the NFL. When the Packers absolutely need to gain yards, he wants the team to run the ball his direction.

“I want to be better with my first two steps of contact on back side and inside zone. That’s where I want to improve,” he said. “This year, I want to take over the run at the tight end and the inside zone kind of throughout the entirety. That’s my goal. When my number’s called and it’s run at me, that my running back is comfortable pressing his landmark and getting the ball back upfield.

“I think that’s a huge emphasis – having a tight end who’s really steady, really consistent in the run game, especially in our offense. We’re outside zone. I want to be 100 percent secure and comfortable and confident every single time.”

Kraft had an excellent rookie season. After barely playing at the start, Kraft caught 31 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns to post one of the best rookie seasons by a tight end in franchise history. During the final eight games, he caught 28-of-35 passes for 344 yards. While Luke Musgrave wins with graceful athleticism, Kraft wins with physicality.

That’s where he excelled at South Dakota State. But would that skill transfer against the bigger, faster and more talented athletes of the NFL? Yes, was the resounding answer. Among the 45 tight ends who were targeted at least 30 times in the passing game, Kraft’s 7.5 yards after the catch per catch was best in the NFL.

“Everyone was wrong,” he said. “Anyone who tries to shove that small-school narrative, they can put it where the sun don’t shine.”

No. 21: LB Edgerrin Cooper

It’s not easy being a rookie linebacker. The basis of many NFL offenses are dressing up relatively simple plays with a bunch of movement and misdirection – eye candy – to get a defender’s eyes moving to one side to get the ball to the other.

As ESPN’s Mina Kimes put it recently: “Very few off-ball linebackers seem to do well when they come into the NFL these days. I think a lot of that has to do with offensive coordinators … who really isolate them and make their lives hell. It’s very hard to play linebacker right now in the NFL, because of all the motions and the RPO-centric offenses and everything that offensive coordinators do on that front.”

The Packers need Cooper to play. Not at some point during his rookie season but right away. The second-round pick is too talented and fills too big of a hole to not be on the field. With 8.5 sacks and an SEC-leading 17 tackles for losses, he was an All-American at Texas A&M because of his skill as a tackler, blitzer and cover guy.

“Think this is a critical time for, in particular his case, he’s got to keep building on the foundation that he’s laid,” coach Matt LaFleur said at the end of minicamp, “and we expect him to come back even better and have a better knowledge base on what is required of him.

“There was one play in particular today that I thought for sure we were going to get him on and he did a heck of a job with it. And I was kind of teasing the coaches, did you preview him for that play? And they did not. So, that’s a credit to him and just how engaged he’s been and how locked in he’s been throughout the course of the offseason.”

That sounded like a challenge by LaFleur. Cooper’s been challenged before.

“I thought he really showed this past season what he’s really made of, what his work ethic is, and how important football is in being a top-notch guy,” D.J. Durkin, the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach the past two seasons at Texas A&M, told Packer Central. “I challenged him and he made his mind up to say, ‘I’m going to go prepare and do things at a higher level,’ and I thought his play certainly showed it.”

No. 20: DE Lukas Van Ness

Van Ness, last year’s first-round pick, had four sacks during the regular season and added another in the playoffs. By the end of it, Van Ness said he was “light-years ahead” of where he started. That was evident in the numbers. Including a sack against future Hall of Famer Tyron Smith in the playoff win at Dallas, he had four sacks in his final eight games.

In his 19 total games, Pro Football Focus credited him with 22 pressures. After recording a sack and five pressures in his debut at Chicago, Van Ness had two pressures in the next nine games. In the final nine games, he recorded 15 pressures.

“I feel like this business, a lot of people are quick to judge (and) want instant results,” Van Ness said last year. “But in a transition like I had coming from Iowa and playing interior D-line and a lot different techniques, to come into Green Bay and change up my technique and learning a different defense. I had a lot of hurdles to get over and I felt like, especially the last month or two, I’ve been able to put together and play a lot more free.”

There’s a new defensive scheme, which should fit Van Ness’ style well. Last year, he was fourth among the team’s outside linebackers in snaps. This year, he should have a larger role behind starting defensive ends Rashan Gary and Preston Smith.

After being a limited participant in the offseason practices after breaking the tip of his thumb, expectations are high for Year 2.

“I’m excited about Lukas,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “I think a lot of times you see a lot of those guys that are pass-rushers take a huge jump from Year 1 to Year 2. He’s a guy that’s put in a ton of work.”

While there are exceptions, several of last year’s sack leaders did have big jumps in production in their second season. For instance, T.J. Watt went from seven as a rookie to 13 in Year 2, Khalil Mack went from four to 15, Danielle Hunter went from six to 12.5 and Myles Garrett went from seven to 13.5.

No. 19: CB Carrington Valentine

As a seventh-round pick last year, there were almost no expectations for Valentine. After all, he was joining a cornerback group that featured Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas and Eric Stokes. Certainly, Valentine wouldn’t have to play.

Well, Valentine did play. A lot. Among the team’s perimeter corners, he played 207 more snaps than anyone else. He started 12 games, and while he didn’t have any interceptions, he led the team with nine passes defensed. According to Pro Football Focus, 75 cornerbacks played at least 400 coverage snaps. Valentine ranked 13th with a completion percentage allowed of 55.6 percent. That ranked third among rookies.

“I learned a lot,” he said during OTAs. “From the start to the middle to the end, I learned who I was as a player. I learned what worked, what didn’t work. So, now I know my identity of who I am and what I’ve got to do to take that next step.”

When the defense was at full strength for the offseason practices, Alexander and Stokes were the No. 1 corners with Valentine working with the second unit. Stokes vs. Valentine will be one of the hottest battles of camp. Based on how Stokes played in 2022 and 2023 vs. how Valentine played in 2023, Valentine probably is the favorite to win the job, no matter what the depth chart says.

Now that Valentine knows his identity, what is it?

“He a dog, honesty,” said Valentine, who will bring a new physique to his second training camp. “That’s who I am. Hard-worker, I’m a competitor. I’m always going to strain. I’m always going talk a little, as well. Just my personality. I don’t really care who you are. I don’t care if you’re All-Pro, Hall of Famer. At the end of the day, you’ve got to beat me. That’s who I am.”

No. 18: TE Luke Musgrave

Even while missing six games with a lacerated spleen, the second-round pick tied Bubba Franks’ franchise rookie record for a tight end with 34 receptions.

Franks is one of the better tight ends in Packers history. Musgrave has the potential to be the best. He’s got the height (6-foot-6), speed (4.61 in the 40) and athleticism (36-inch vertical) to be that matchup problem that every offensive coordinator covets and every defensive coordinator fears.

A little of that was evident last year. Musgrave had five catches of 25-plus yards during the regular season. Four of them came during his final two full games before the injury, including a 20-yard touchdown against the Rams and a 36-yard catch at Pittsburgh. Among his six catches in the playoffs was a 38-yard touchdown at Dallas. Considering the significance of the injury, was that touchdown a big deal?

“I don’t know if I didn’t put any too much meaning to it,” he said during minicamp. “I think it was just cool to score a touchdown in the first round of playoffs. It was super cool, super fun.”

No different than his sidekick, Tucker Kraft, what makes Musgrave dangerous is his ability as a blocker. Not that he’s in-his-prime Franks in the run game, but he’s good enough in that phase to not make the offense predictable.

“I think I shine through in the in the pass game a little bit more than I do in the run game,” he said, “but I just want to be the best I can be and help the offense.”

No. 17: S Javon Bullard

By necessity, general manager Brian Gutekunst dropped a nuke on his safety room. Gone are the top three players from last year. In their place are veteran Xavier McKinney and three rookies, including Bullard, the second-round pick who is practically a lock to be a Week 1 starter.

New defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley tried to recruit Bullard to Boston College.

“Just loved his tape. Loved the way he played. Loved the play style. Loved the versatility,” Hafley said before the start of OTAs. “He’s a physical guy. He can run, he can cover, he can play deep, he can play in the slot, he can blitz. He’s bigger when you see him. He’s thick (and) strong.

“The best part about it, and I kind of said the same thing about X is, you don’t really know what you’re getting until you get into the meeting room with them. He’s a sharp guy. His ability to learn and process in those two days (or rookie camp) was impressive. You get a guy who can play that fast and can take what he learned in the meeting room and bring it out to the field and he’s got a chance.”

The Packers hoped they’d have a great safety tandem when they signed Adrian Amos and drafted Darnell Savage in 2019. That didn’t come to fruition. Now, they hope they’ll have a great tandem with McKinney and Bullard.

That’s exactly what NFL analyst Louis Riddick is predicting.

At Georgia, Bullard played mostly in the slot in 2022 and mostly free safety in 2023. According to Pro Football Focus, among safeties with 200-plus coverage snaps in the draft class, Bullard ranked No. 1 in forced-incompletion percentage. Among safeties with 400-plus total snaps, Bullard ranked 19th out of 100 in tackling percentage.

Bullard isn’t tall (5-foot-10 1/2) but he’s not small (198 pounds). With 4.47 speed in the 40, he was a “little stick of dynamite” at Georgia.

“He’ll be good. He’ll fit in. He’ll do whatever the team needs,” Fran Brown, the former defensive coordinator at Georgia and new coach at Syracuse, told Packer Central. “He’s a leader. He gets his hands on the ball. He likes contact. He’s going to want to learn. That’s going to be the good thing about him. He’s going to know what everyone else does. I think by you understanding and knowing what everyone around you is doing, it allows you to play your position a lot easier and a lot faster. It allows you to relax and just play football.”

No. 16: LT Rasheed Walker

A year ago at this time, Walker seemed like a bubble player. After all, as a seventh-round pick in 2022, his one game of NFL experience consisted of four snaps on special teams. With a potentially healthy David Bakhtiari, the emergence of Zach Tom and the re-signing of Yosh Nijman, Walker seemed destined for a limited role.

Or no role at all.

Instead, Walker shot past Nijman on the depth chart and replaced an injured Bakhtiari in the starting lineup for 15 of the final 16 games of the regular season and both playoff games. He wasn’t in-his-prime Bakhtiari but he wasn’t bad, either. It’s not as if coach Matt LaFleur had to create wide-ranging updates to the weekly game plan.

Of 70 offensive tackles to play at least 500 offensive snaps last year, he finished 46th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He was charged with six sacks. In the run game, he yielded three stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage); his stuff rate of 0.9 percent was a little better than the league average.

In the playoffs, he battled the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons and the 49ers’ Nick Bosa. Two of the NFL’s premier pass rushers failed to beat Walker for a sack.

“Elite. I feel elite,” Walker told Packer Central. “Names and labels don’t really dictate how I move. I see man just as man is. I’m in a good spot. I’m never really worried about who I’m going against. It’s, ‘Am I prepared? What do I have to do to prepare?’ That’s where I keep my focus on.”

Presumably, he will be better in Year 2 as the starter. Assuming there is a Year 2. The Packers used a first-round pick on Jordan Morgan.

“I think you always wonder about that,” coach Matt LaFleur said of how Walker reacted, “but there’s only two ways you can go about it and I think he’s chosen the right way. Ultimately, our job is to continue to bring in as much talent as possible that’s going to make your roster better, and I think competition brings out the best in everybody.”

No. 15: DE Preston Smith

The 31-year-old Smith is the oldest player on what might wind up being the youngest roster in the NFL again.

Smith started every game in 2023 because, well, he almost always starts every game. In 17 games, he tallied 48 tackles, eight sacks, four tackles for losses, 21 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles and four passes defensed.  The eight sacks marked his third consecutive season with at least eight. Only once has he recorded more quarterback hits.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Preston Smith has missed just one game during his nine-year career. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

During the final five games – the three must-win games to close the regular season and the two playoff games – Smith had 4.5 sacks. However, of 62 edge defenders with at least 300 pass-rushing snaps, he ranked only 41st in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, a metric that measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap.

“Preston is the heartbeat, man,” Rashan Gary said. “He’s going on 10 years. I’ve been with him my whole six years. Everybody feeds off him. When Preston talks, everybody be quiet and listen because when 10 years talk, he’s coming from experience and understanding.”

In his nine seasons, Smith incredibly has missed only one game.

“It’s always the goal of mine to make Year 10 and, now that I’m here, it’s always a goal to just keep on chopping,” Smith said during minicamp. “Keep on chopping at the wood and making sure that I keep on doing what it takes to stay here, and I keep on doing what it takes to reach my own personal goals because I’m so close to a lot of them.

“I feel like I got so much ball left in me. I feel like I got a lot of gas left in the tank and I still have an opportunity to make big plays and play for a long time in this league.”

Even with a revised contract, Smith’s cap hit of $14.11 million is the fourth-highest on the team.

No. 14: WR Romeo Doubs

Doubs picked one heck of a time for a breakout game.

In 30 career regular-season games, Doubs didn’t have a single 100-yard game. In fact, he had 80-plus yards only once. In the blowout loss to Detroit early in 2023, he caught nine passes for 95 yards. It was almost all fluff, with the majority of his receptions and yards coming on third-and-long catches that failed to gain a first down.

However, in the playoff win at Dallas, Doubs looked like – dare we say it – a No. 1 receiver with six receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown. Four of his six catches gained 20-plus yards. The only other Packers receiver to accomplish that feat in a playoff game since 2000 was Greg Jennings in the 2010 NFC Championship Game. He added four catches for 83 yards against the 49ers.

“I thought going into the playoffs, the goal was to get the Lombardi and we didn’t do that,” Doubs said during OTAs. “But I think for me, experience is everything. There’s no doubt those were big games for me. But it’s not about me.

“We’ve all got a taste of what it’s like to be in the playoffs and what kind of mindset you have to have. It was a bitter feeling not coming out with the win. But just kind of wrapping around that experience, it’s just progression for me. I’m looking forward to this year. I’m looking forward to the days, the grind and I’m excited to be part of this team.”

Still, in two seasons, Doubs has 101 receptions for 1,099 yards and nine touchdowns. In 17 games last year, he caught 59 passes for 674 yards and eight touchdowns. He tied for fourth in the NFL with seven red-zone touchdowns and caught 13-of-25 in contested-catch situations, but was one of the worst in the league with 2.3 YAC per catch.

No. 13: WR Christian Watson

Watson was supposed to be last year’s breakout star. Instead, because of his cantankerous hamstrings, he went from 41 receptions for 611 yards and seven touchdowns with a 62.1 percent catch rate in 2022 to 28 receptions for 422 yards and five touchdowns with a 52.8 percent catch rate in 2023. Moreover, after making the play on nine of 12 contested-catch chances in 2022, he grabbed six of 18 in 2023. Of Jordan Love’s 11 interceptions thrown to receivers, five went to Watson.

Still, he’s 6-foot-4 with 4.36 speed in the 40 and a 38.5-inch vertical. Watson’s got a premier skill-set, and he showed it during a sensational stretch as a rookie in which he scored seven touchdowns in four games. Even while playing in only 23 of a possible 34 games, his 12 touchdown catches are No. 1 in his draft class.

In the big upset win at Detroit, he caught five passes for 94 yards and one touchdown. In the big upset win over Kansas City a week later, he caught seven passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns. When he’s scored, the Packers are 6-3.

Is Watson the best receiver on the roster? No. But he’s the one that can swing a game on any given play. If he can stay healthy – and there is optimism that will be the case – and stack one week after another, he could be the player that turns a playoff team into a championship team.

“Certainly, the sheer size and physicality and speed that he possesses, you better know where he’s at at all times because all it takes is one play,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “If he gets a sliver of light, he’s able to outrun everybody on the defense. So, yeah, he definitely changes and tilts the field in our favor when he’s out there.”

No. 12: CB Eric Stokes

Not every first-round pick is going to be a star, but every first-round pick should at least be a competent starter.

What will be Stokes’ fate in 2024?

Had Vikings star Justin Jefferson not had a dominant performance at U.S. Bank Stadium, Stokes might have been an all-rookie performer in 2021.

According to PFF, 89 cornerbacks played at least 350 coverage snaps in 2021. Stokes ranked fifth with a 51.0 percent completion rate, 12th with a forced-incompletion rate of 18.8 percent and 23rd with a 78.8 passer rating. Among rookies, he was first in completion percentage, second in forced-incompletion percentage and second in passer rating.

The last two years, of course, could hardly have gone worse. Even before suffering foot and knee injuries at Detroit in November 2022, Stokes’ career had taken an abrupt and unwelcome U-turn. PFF charged him an 84.0 percent completion rate before the injury.

Injuries, of course, completely ruined last season. He didn’t play his first snap on defense until the 14th game of the season. In two games before his season ended with another hamstring injury, PFF charged him with 8-of-10 passing for 112 yards and three touchdowns. Of the 160 cornerbacks who played at least 69 coverage snaps (Stokes’ number), Stokes ranked 158th with a 152.9 passer rating allowed.

With that, the team’s decision to decline the fifth-year option was the easiest move ever.

Stokes’ last pass breakup came on Christmas 2021. When the season kicks off against the Eagles, it will be 986 days between PBUs.

The team and Stokes hope they’ve found answers to the hamstring issues. Stokes, for his part, said he’s “faster” than ever. Stokes will enter training camp running with the No. 1 defense, but his battle against Carrington Valentine will be the most important individual battle of training camp.

No. 11: CB/KR Keisean Nixon

What a few years it’s been for Nixon.

The Packers signed him to a one-year contract in 2022 to hopefully improve depth on defense and special teams. After an All-Pro season as a returner, the Packers re-signed Nixon to a one-year contract in 2023 to repeat his role on special teams and hopefully compete for a starting job on defense. This offseason, the Packers re-signed Nixon with a three-year deal worth $18 million.

Hoping has been replaced by expecting. The Packers expect Nixon to be a solid starter on defense and an elite threat on special teams.

“If you know his story,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said before the start of OTAs, “he’s been to like four high schools and junior college, and then his mom fights the rollercoaster of cancer up and down. We go out to Vegas, and it’s exciting for him, and she’s as sick as she’s ever been.

“I love Keisean Nixon. I also adore the player. I get mad at 25, and I used to get mad at 22 with the Raiders. But it’s rare that I get mad at Keisean Nixon, who he is, the man he’s developing into and the father that he is and the teammate that he’s become here. ….

“I think Keisean feels that he has a great relationship with our head coach and he can visit with him and he can be a leader in his own way. He doesn’t have to be some sort of a robot or whatever that’s expected. He just can be himself, and that’s accepted here. Yeah, I’ve got an affinity for Keisean Nixon.”

Last season, Nixon became the fourth back-to-back All-Pro kick returner. The new kickoff rule should create more opportunities to get the best in the business the ball with room to do this thing.

“I feel like they’re changing it for me,” Nixon said.

Nixon has gotten better every year. Now, he must get better on defense. Only one player allowed more slot yards last year than Nixon, according to PFF. Of 43 defensive backs to play at least 150 slot coverage snaps, Nixon was 32nd in snaps per reception.

No. 10: LG Elgton Jenkins

At $17 million per season, Jenkins is the sixth-highest-paid guard in the NFL. For that price, dominance should be the expectation. Jenkins was good last year. He just wasn’t dominant.

On one hand, Jenkins didn’t allow any sacks. Only one guard, Pittsburgh’s Isaac Seumalo, played more snaps without giving up a sack. Dating to 2022, he hasn’t allowed a sack in 26 consecutive games.

On the other hand, he allowed a career-high 23 pressures last season, according to PFF. He allowed five stuffs (a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage vs. the run), according to Sports Info Solutions. He had given up a total of seven the previous four seasons, including just one in 2022.

Never mind the money. While Rasheed Walker probably will start at left tackle, there’s a chance it could be rookie Jordan Morgan. Josh Myers has been merely OK at center. Veteran Jon Runyan no longer will line up at right guard. The Packers need Jenkins, already a key leader, to be a stabilizing force and go-to blocker.

No. 9: RB Josh Jacobs

On Day 1 of NFL free agency, the Packers released Aaron Jones, statistically one of the most explosive runners in NFL history, and replaced him with Jacobs, the 2022 NFL rushing champion. That decision could very well decide the team’s fate in 2024.

Jacobs’ decline in production last year was staggering. He went from 1,653 rushing yards and a 4.9-yard average in 2022 to 805 yards and a 3.5 average in 2023. It’s easy to blame it on coaching (Josh McDaniels) or quarterbacking (the decision to dump Derek Carr).

However, it’s at least worth pointing out that Jacobs’ backup, Zamir White, averaged 4.3 yards per carry last year. That White’s 3.21 yards after contact per carry crushed Jacobs’ 2.35. That White had eight runs of 10-plus yards out of 104 carries while Jacobs had nine out of 233.

So, did the Packers sign the 2022 NFL rushing champion who is 38 months younger than Jones? Or did they sign a running back who lost his fastball after getting about 400 touches in 2022 and 1,500 touches in five NFL seasons?

Running backs might be viewed as discardable assets in some circles, but they’re not in Green Bay. Jordan Love was sensational down the stretch last year, to be sure, but it also corresponded to the healthy return to the lineup of Jones after an injury-plagued start to the season. In Jones’ games with 70-plus yards from scrimmage last year, the Packers went 5-1, with their lone loss coming in the playoffs against the 49ers.

In 2022, Jacobs didn’t just lead the NFL in rushing but yards after contact (1,103 yards on its own would have been ninth in overall rushing), broken tackles (23 more than the runner-up, who happened to be Jones) and broken-tackle rate (23.2 percent; Jones was 22.1 percent), according to Sports Info Solutions. To make the offense go, the Packers need that version of Jacobs and not the one who finished near the bottom of the league last year in yards after contact per carry.

Jacobs believes he will. The Packers are betting everything that he will.

“I think everyone’s watched what Josh Jacobs has been about when he’s been on the Raiders,” Love said. “There’s definitely no question what kind of player he is when he’ll get out there on the field. He’s a phenomenal player, obviously. He’s got the speed and the cuts and agility, so I’m excited to see him once the season gets rolling and see how hard it is for guys to tackle him.”

No. 8: WR Jayden Reed

The Packers not having a No. 1 receiver was one of the offseason’s many time-killing narratives.

Unless they do. And if they do, his name might be Jayden Reed.

Reed had a superb rookie season. Packers legend Sterling Sharpe is one of the best receivers in NFL history; Reed crushed Sharpe’s rookie record of 55 receptions by catching 64. That’s not to say Reed is better than Sharpe or ever will be better than Sharpe. It is to say Reed, with his elite combination of athleticism, skill and toughness, is a very good player who could become great.

Among rookie receivers, only the Colts’ Josh Downs had more slot receptions than Reed. While Downs had 51 receptions to Reed’s 44, Reed crushed Downs in yards (653 to 594), yards per catch (14.8 to 11.6) and touchdowns (seven to zero).

Among all receivers, Reed in the slot ranked seventh in receptions, third in yards, second in touchdowns, eighth in passer rating when targeted and 10th in yards per route.

Whether lined up in the slot or on the perimeter, only Tyreek Hill (14), D.J. Mooe (12), George Pickens (11) and DK Metcalf (11) had more 30-yard catches than Reed (10).

“He is a dog. He’s a war daddy,” coach Matt LaFleur said after Reed had 92 total yards and a touchdown in a win vs. the Chargers.

What’s a war daddy? Reed didn’t know, either, but “it’s got to be something good,” he said.

Reed dominated the offseason practices. If not for the depth of the passing game, Reed might be worthy of a 100-catch projection.

Whatever the numbers, so long as Reed can stay healthy, he will be the most dynamic weapon in a stacked group of pass-catchers.

No. 7: RT Zach Tom

Tom was the 140th player selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. If there were a redraft, he’d probably go in the first round. Before this year’s draft, a Packers source told ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky that the team views Tom as a “potential Hall of Fame” center. Tom, however, is an ascending right tackle. While center is an important position, right tackle is one of the most important in the sport.

Just look at last season. The Cowboys’ Micah Parsons led the NFL with 103 pressures. The Lions’ Aidan Hutchinson was second with 101, followed by the 49ers’ Nick Bosa was 95 and the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby with 94. The Steelers’ T.J. Watt led the NFL in sacks and was seventh in pressures.

What do those five players have in common? They rushed from the left side of the defense – or against the right side of the offensive line, in general, and the right tackle, in particular – at least 68 percent of the time. Tom faced them all and didn’t give up a sack.

Overall, Tom was one of 70 offensive tackles to play 500 snaps in the regular season. Tom ranked 16th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He allowed two sacks. According to league data, runs directly behind Tom averaged 5.16 yards per carry, which was sixth-best in the league.

“However many sacks I gave up is too many,” Tom said while recovering from a torn pectoral. “This was really my first year starting and I was able to go up against some of those premier guys. Learned a lot. Now, this year, come back even better. I’ve got big goals in mind for this year.”

Tom doesn’t have typical right tackle size. He doesn’t have ideal length. What Tom has is athletic ability, feel and balance. He is a tremendous player who is one more strong season away from being eligible for a monster contract extension.

His recovery from the pectoral injury is vital.

No. 6: LB Quay Walker

Walker opened his career with seasons of 121 tackles in 17 games 2022 and 118 in 14 games in 2023. While the per-game tackle production went up, he went from seven passes defensed to three, three forced fumbles to zero and a 67.4 percent catch rate to 85.2 percent.

Injuries last year sidelined him for three games and limited him to 76.4 percent playing time. So, he was sidelined enough to add some relevancy to these numbers: According to league data, the run defense was 0.02 yards per carry worse when he was on the field and the pass defense was 0.39 yards per passing attempt worse when he was in the lineup.

Still, Walker has played a lot of good football. He hasn’t gotten any smaller or slower. Rather, he’s gained plenty of seasoning with almost 1,700 defensive snaps in two seasons. He said the scheme, and what he’ll be asked to do in it, reminds him of what he did at Georgia.

As the man in the middle of the new defense, as a former first-round pick and as the best returning player on the unit, Walker must rise to the occasion for the defense to be as good as it needs to be to win a championship.

Asked this offseason by Packers legend and commentator Larry McCarren if the team was in a good spot, Walker said:

“Mr. Larry, I’d be lying to you if I said we wasn’t because, honestly, I done been on a championship team and I understand that it’s college and this is the NFL, but chemistry is there already. Any time you have a team with chemistry, that’s a good, good sign. At the end of the day, we’ve still got to play football, but the chemistry is there and that’s all you could ask for right now, to be honest you.”

No. 5: DT Kenny Clark

For the last several years, Clark has dominated at a position that’s not really meant for him to dominate.

A three-time Pro Bowler playing mostly a read-and-react style under past defensive coordinators, Clark and the rest of the defensive line is set to be unleashed in Hafley’s defense.

“I’m not trying to correlate football with war or anything like that,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said before the start of OTAs, “but we’re the Navy SEALs. We’re the first line of defense. The rest of the guys are going to sit back there and do what they need to do. We are going to work to get our forces in first.”

During Joe Barry’s run as defensive coordinator from 2021 through 2023, the Packers were 21st with 118 sacks, which was just eight less than the league median. However, they had a league-low 196 tackles for losses – 41 less than the league median. This defense is meant to crank up the TFLs to create third-and-long situations.

As he enters Year 9 in the NFL, Clark is excited about his new role.

“I think it’s going to be really good,” he said. “It’s one of things where all my career I’ve been kind of been playing this way, but in more of a controlled way. And I think now this is giving us a chance to shut all that other stuff off, no technique really, and just use your ability and just go up the field and be disruptive. I just think with my get-off and how I am, I think it’s going to suit me well.”

Clark plans on playing at about 10 pounds lighter than last year and getting below 300 for the first time in high school.

The new scheme should suit fellow defensive tackles Devonte Wyatt, Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden, too, but Clark is the established star. Before signing a three-year extension upon arriving at training camp, his cap number of $27.49 million for 2024 is the highest among interior defenders by about $5 million. The combined cap number for every other defensive tackle on the roster is $11.28 million. With Clark entering his final season under contract, an extension would take a significant bite out of that number.

“I was able to make some plays” in the old scheme, Clark said, “but now I’m going to make more. I’ve got to make more.”

No. 4: DE Rashan Gary

Players are defined by numbers. 100 receptions. 1,000 rushing yards. 4,000 passing yards.

Ten sacks.

Gary is entering Year 6 of his career still chasing his first 10-sack season. He might have gotten there in 2022 if not for a torn ACL. Now that he’s a year beyond the injury, maybe this will be the year when Gary finally hits the statistical mark.

“I said it before, I’ll say it again: He’s the best leader on our team,” defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich said. “Every day he comes to work. Every day he’s encouraging. Any of you guys that have seen pre-practice when he’s out there, he’s constantly pulling somebody aside to talk to them.

“He’s the engine. He drives it. It’s what he does. So, from a mentality standpoint, I don’t see any difference. Now the good thing is, he’s had a full year of his injury that he’s come back from. Hopefully, we’re wishing for the best for him this upcoming season.”

Gary doesn’t have the glitzy sack numbers, but he’s consistently applied pressure. He ranked third in pass-rush win rate in 2021, eighth in 2022 and 14th in 2023, according to PFF. Perhaps the attack-driven defense being installed by new coordinator Jeff Hafley will help Gary not just get 10 sacks but 12 or 14.

“Attack, attack, attack. Aggressive and I’m loving it. Just pin your ears back and relax and play,” he said. “Get off the ball and playing with effort. That’s what this defense is and that’s all about me.”

No. 3: S Xavier McKinney

X marks the spot of the biggest upgrade on the roster.

The Packers reached the playoffs last season despite arguably the worst safety corps in the NFL. This offseason, general manager Brian Gutekunst signed McKinney, the best veteran on the free-agent market.

In 17 games and 1,128 snaps on defense with the Giants last season, McKinney had 116 tackles, three interceptions, 11 passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Compare that to Green Bay’s safety duo for the stretch run, Darnell Savage and Jonathan Owens. In 21 starts and 1,333 snaps on defense, they combined for 124 tackles, zero interceptions, four passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Moreover, of 74 safeties who played at least 500 snaps last year, McKinney missed seven tackles and ranked fourth with a missed-tackle rate of 5.7 percent, according to PFF. Savage missed 12 and ranked 69th with a missed-tackle rate of 18.5 percent and Owens missed seven and ranked 24th at 9.2 percent.

In coverage, McKinney ranked sixth in passer rating (52.1), Savage was 40th (96.1) and Owens was 61st (115.8).

“What a pro,” Hafley said before the start of OTAs. “How hard he works, the communication, the way he is in the meeting rooms, the way he looks out for the younger guys – that’s the stuff you don’t see. All the stuff I explained to you in my first meeting, yeah, we think he can do all those things – and he’s shown that he can – but the coolest part about him is, and I told him this the other day, you don’t find out about somebody and who they are and how hard they work until they get here.

“That’s been the thing that’s probably made us the happiest. Great pro, great attitude, great effort. He’s done a great job so far, so really excited to have him here, continue to have him grow in the scheme and really understand the scheme. I think it’s our job to put him in position to make a lot of things happen. It’s been fun to see everything that he can do and how quickly he can learn. I’m really glad we have him.”

No. 2: CB Jaire Alexander

Even in an offseason filled with one mega-contract after another, the $21 million average of the contract extension Alexander signed in May 2022 remains the largest ever at the position.

Alexander didn’t play like that kind of player last year. Injuries sidelined him for nine games; a suspension kept him out for a 10th. When he did play, he wasn’t close to meeting his usual standard. Whether it was the pain of the injuries or the pain of playing in Joe Barry’s scheme, Alexander was practically an uninterested observer.

In 17 games in 2022, Alexander intercepted five passes to earn All-Pro honors. In 2023, he intercepted zero passes. In 2020, according to PFF, Alexander in 16 games allowed 37 completions and a 48.7 percent catch rate. In 2023, he allowed 28 completions and a 71.8 percent catch rate. Only six corners allowed a passer rating worse than Alexander’s 127.4.  

The season officially went in the ditch when he appointed himself a captain at Carolina and nearly botched the coin toss. The next week, Alexander was suspended for a must-win game at Minnesota and against premier receiver Justin Jefferson. However, in a playoff win at Dallas, he made a key interception. In the two playoff games, he delivered Alexander-esque coverage despite a sprained ankle.

“The reflection? I just had to go out there and ball, show them that I was still me regardless of the adversity,” he said last month. “That’s all behind us know and we’re just going to move forward.”

The Packers need Alexander to return to his usual standard. Whether he plays a side or a specific man, how he’ll be used by Hafley remains a mystery. Regardless, seemingly every team on the schedule has a premier receiver. That includes all three NFC North teams, the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 and the San Francisco 49ers, who are the biggest obstacle in the way of the Super Bowl

“I think the biggest thing,” Alexander said, “is just understanding that although I am on an island all the time and all day, it’s the culmination of everybody being around and the culmination of the chemistry that we’re building now that’s going to matter later on in the season. You’ll see it.”

No. 1: QB Jordan Love

Wherever a quarterback is on the experience or salary spectrum, he is the most important player on the field for every game on the schedule. No, he is the most important player on the field every day of the week, whether it’s a Sunday playoff game or a typical Wednesday practice.

Love faced a Mission Impossible type of debut season as Green Bay’s starter. Or so it seemed. Aaron Rodgers left behind some impossibly big shoes to fill when he was traded to the New York Jets last year, just like Brett Favre did when he was traded to the Jets in 2008.

Who knows if Love is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, but the second half of the season showed a sky’s-the-limit sort of player. During the final eight games of the regular season, he lifted the team from the abyss by throwing 18 touchdowns vs. one interception. In his playoff debut, he destroyed the powerhouse Cowboys with three touchdowns and a near-perfect passer rating.

In the first nine games, Love was last in interceptions and close to last in completion percentage and passer rating. In the final eight games, he was first in interceptions, second in touchdowns, third in completion percentage and second in passer rating.

Brock Purdy might be the perfect fit for how the 49ers want to play under Kyle Shanahan. Love might be the perfect fit for how the Packers want to play under LaFleur, but Love has top-tier talent. He’s got a big-time arm, more than enough mobility and now a full season’s worth of starting experience.

The Packers are in good hands, so long as the killer interception at San Francisco is nothing more than the type of mistake an inexperienced player makes in the biggest moment of his career.

“I think it’s just excitement,” Love said at the end of minicamp. “Everyone, I think, from when the season ended last year, the way it ended for us, I think everybody was hungry and ready to just get back to it, get back to training camp and get the new season rolling.”

More Green Bay Packers News

The first practice of #Packers training camp is tomorrow. Here are the best- and worst-case scenarios. ⬇️https://t.co/gh5hbd6GWc

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) July 22, 2024

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