With that in mind, what questions can the Packers answer in Denver?

Some matters -- MarShawn Lloyd’s increasing importance to the offense, the various concerns along the offensive line, and Trey Smack rebounding from a slow start to training camp -- have already received extensive coverage here at The Leap. Rather than rehash those topics again today, interested readers can check out these stories:

• Future is now for Brandon Cisse as Packers can’t afford to wait at cornerback

• Fine, let’s have the MarShawn Lloyd conversation

• Packers starting to tip hand when it comes to offensive line

• Right guard is becoming a black hole for the Packers

• Trey Smack shines as Packers put their faith in rookie kicker in preseason debut

Even with those subjects addressed, several consequential questions remain unanswered entering Friday’s preseason game.

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Around the NFL, plenty of teams face intractable position deficiencies. No matter how hard they try, the money they spend or draft resources they allocate, they can’t seem to fix the issue. Right now, the Packers have an issue at right guard. And that’s been true since T.J. Lang left the building.

For a year, Green Bay used stalwart Jahri Evans at the end of his career as a temporary salve. Since then, the wound has split open, festered, and become resistant to antibiotics.

It’s now a gaping wound, in danger of becoming a case worthy of The Pitt.

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The Green Bay Packers have their first preseason game under their belts and another exhibition set to kick off in four days. The shape of the roster has come into focus, and fewer roles seem genuinely up for grabs with just a few weeks remaining before final cuts.

Today’s edition of The Leap looks at what the recent roster developments mean for a 21-year-old streak as well as some key position battles.

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Is the Packers’ UDFA streak in danger?

Jason B. Hirschhorn: For the past 21 years, the Packers entered their Week 1 matchup with at least one undrafted rookie on the 53-man roster. That streak seems at least somewhat in jeopardy, as no member of the team’s 2026 UDFA class appears to have a clear path to a roster spot.

Take RJ Maryland, an undrafted rookie tight end the Packers signed to fill out the roster behind then-injured starter Tucker Kraft and oft-injured Luke Musgrave. Kraft didn’t appear in the preseason opener and only returned to 11-on-11 work on Sunday, while Musgrave has spent all of training camp so far on the physically unable to perform list due to a neck injury. On paper, a tremendous opportunity exists there for a UDFA, but Maryland went down less than a full week into August. Green Bay eventually reached an injury settlement with Maryland.

Fellow UDFA J. Michael Sturdivant faces a different problem. He has delivered an exemplary training camp to date, most recently making a diving touchdown catch to close out Sunday’s one-on-one period. Sturdivant offers enough talent and upside to warrant a roster spot, but he’ll have to unseat a veteran in order to do so.

Health permitting, Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, and Christian Watson will serve as the Packers’ starting wideouts this season. Savion Williams, a third-rounder in 2025, will also presumably receive safe passage to the 53, as will returner and backup slot Skyy Moore. Unless Green Bay opts to retain more than six receivers, that means Sturdivant will probably have to take Bo Melton’s job while also staving off pushes from guys like Isaiah Neyor, the team’s leading pass catcher in the preseason opener.

Could a different undrafted rookie sneak his way on the 53? Linebacker TJ Quinn has made some inroads on special teams, working with the No. 1 punt unit last week. However, based on the preseason opener, it still appears the Packers prefer veterans Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch, and Quinn will need to beat out at least one for a job. Safety Murvin Kenion III has delivered a few nice moments over camp, but his rise has largely reflected the lack of healthy depth behind Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard. Quinn and Kenion each have a chance to stick in Green Bay, but that might require time on the practice squad.

Perhaps the best hope for the Packers’ UDFA streak comes from a player currently not on the 90-man roster. The team has claimed rookies off waivers directly following final cuts in the past, such as tight end Ben Sims in 2023. That example could prove particularly instructive, given the aforementioned depth issues at that position. General manager Brian Gutekunst and the personnel department have already circled a few tight-end cut candidates with other clubs, possibly including some undrafted rookies. Green Bay could also look out for options at safety and in the slot for similar reasons.

Whether the right undrafted rookie at one of those positions or another hits the waiver wire remains entirely out of the Packers’ control. However, their pre-draft visits could offer some insight into which players Gutekunst could target.

Regardless, Green Bay’s UDFA streak seems in genuine danger of snapping this year.

Clarity coming to both guard spots

JBH: Over the past week, it has grown increasingly clear which players have a viable path to starting at guard and, just as importantly, who doesn’t. Last Monday, The Leap laid out the case that Anthony Belton had “lost the inside track at right guard.” It now seems he won’t factor into that competition in any meaningful way.

During the preseason opener, Belton played 36 offensive snaps, all at right tackle. Meanwhile, Jacob Monk opened the game at right guard before later moving to center, allowing Donovan Jennings to backfill. Jager Burton, another option for the open job, played entirely at left guard. Even with starting right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele spending the night in street clothes, it seemed telling that the Packers didn’t give Belton any work inside.

If that didn’t paint a clear picture, head coach Matt LaFleur’s subsequent statements added some transparency. He didn’t refute that starting left guard Aaron Banks underwent a medical procedure between the offseason program and training camp when asked during a press conference, though the veteran lineman has since denied having surgery. Just as importantly, LaFleur strongly suggested that Burton or Monk could take Banks’ job.

“I think he’s going to make it extremely difficult,” LaFleur said of Burton potentially starting over Banks. “Jager has done a really good job. I think not only him, but Monk. [Banks] hasn’t been out there, so it’s hard to say.”

LaFleur bringing up Monk unprompted also seems telling. The Packers’ coaching staff has gone out of its way to praise the third-year pro. LaFleur has previously said that Monk “plays to the play style we want” and “shows that toughness, that grittiness, the strain.” OC Adam Stenavich praised the offensive lineman’s performance in camp, saying he “plays the game the right way.”

Since Belton’s demotion from the guard competition, Monk has effectively taken every meaningful rep at right guard with the No. 1 offense. And with Banks sidelined, Burton has done the same at left guard. That bifurcation appears intentional, not unlike how the Packers handled the two guard spots entering 2021 with Elgton Jenkins kicking out to left tackle, leaving Jon Runyan Jr. and Royce Newman to handle left and right guard, respectively.

Granted, Green Bay has worked Jennings at guard as well, and LaFleur praised the “edge that he plays with.” But a large gap currently exists between Jennings and either Burton or Monk, and an even larger gap between any of those three and Belton when it comes to playing along the interior. That latter notion became harder to ignore when starting left tackle Jordan Morgan briefly left practice and the team moved Belton to the blindside over John Williams. Until further notice, Belton has assumed the job of swing tackle, a key backup role but not a starting one.

At this stage, the focus has shifted from figuring out who will battle at right guard to whether Burton and Monk will open the regular season as the two starting guards. Banks presumably still has the inside track at left guard, but LaFleur and the coaching staff don’t appear to have much patience remaining. Even if Banks does return as the starter, his injury history suggests that Burton could usurp him in the coming months.

All of which will make the next two weeks fascinating and important. The Packers open the season with a matchup against the Minnesota Vikings and defensive madman (compliment) Brian Flores, a particularly difficult assignment for inexperienced offensive linemen. Ideally for Green Bay, the offense would go into that game with more than one combined start between its two guards, but that scenario seems very much on the table.

This is the guy the Green Bay Packers envisioned when they traded up in the sixth round to acquire him. Brian Gutekunst recently said he didn’t think they’d have any chance to draft Smack, believing he’d go early on Day 3. Now he’s a Packer, and they sure looked glad he was on Thursday night.

“I don’t really try to feel relief in this business because we’ve always got next week,” Smack said when asked about his night after some inconsistencies in training camp.

“I think it’ll build some confidence and every day’s a new day.”

A new day may have arrived in the Packers kicking game.

“Cam [Achord] was telling me, ‘No.’ I told him, ‘Yes.’ But to put him in that situation to hit really two in one game is pretty incredible,” LaFleur said after the game, calling it the highlight of the night on a night where highlights were few and far between.

With the Steelers third-string offense set up to score a touchdown, the Packers chose to take a timeout to preserve time for Kyle McCord to try and set up a late field goal try. With less than 15 seconds left in the first half, the Packers took the middle of the field Pittsburgh was given them to set up another 58-yard field goal.

Sure, it’s only preseason, but it was hard not to be reminded of the Packers marching down the field at the end of the first half against the Chicago Bears in the playoff game. Love made it look easy, and Brandon McManus had a shot at a 55-yard field goal he drilled the first time, but missed after Ben Johnson iced him.

After Green Bay drafted Smack, they showed McManus the door. On Thursday’s Smack showed McManus how it’s done.

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Fitting given the paradigmatic changes this offensive line faces.

According to LaFleur, the only way for this group to coalesce is actually to play together. Practice is not enough.

“I think it takes games for that to happen,” LaFleur said this week.

“The more these guys can play together, then the faster it will happen.”

Unless LaFleur changes his mind, something he reminded everyone he could still do, healthy starters will be expected to play some snaps in Pittsburgh. The Packers’ head coach said he believes the team has played better early in the season when they’ve played frontline players in the exhibition season, and Green Bay has a divisional opponent in Week 1 in Minnesota for the Kyler Murray-led Vikings.

“There’s a lot of data out there that will tell you that if your guys get ‘X’ amount of snaps in the preseason, I think it’s like over three times less likely that they get injured in the regular season.”

Last year, LaFleur also mentioned studies supporting players playing in the preseason, and The Leap found several studies that confirmed his thesis (though the NFL didn’t confirm those were the studies sent to teams as LaFleur suggested). The data in the studies we found did not offer the specific snap count thresholds LaFleur referenced.

For the offensive line, it’s a simple syllogism: If Jordan Love is going to play, then some offensive line starters have to play. Matt LaFleur wants Love to play, ergo, some offensive linemen have to play.

Even then, though, the starters are far from a sure thing.

Left tackle has been no problem in training camp for Jordan Morgan moving over from guard and right tackle, but he’s never been the preferred starter before. Even if Tyrod Taylor and the backups had been out there, Morgan would have been a lock to see some time.

He needs the reps.

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In three days, the 2026 Green Bay Packers will play their first football game, or something approximating one. Head coach Matt LaFleur hasn’t said affirmatively whether healthy starters will appear in the preseason opener, commenting only, “Anyone that’s healthy, get ready to play.”

But while LaFleur hasn’t revealed the team’s plans for Thursday’s exhibition against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he and his coaching staff have begun putting their cards on the table regarding the offense, albeit tacitly. Today’s edition of The Leap separates the signal from the noise to determine where the roster stands at a key position.

Thank you for reading and supporting our coverage. You can also support our work by following us on social media:

Jason B. Hirschhorn: @by_JBH on Twitter / @byjbh@bsky.social on Bluesky / @by_jbh on Threads

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The offensive line’s current state of flux extends beyond Anthony Belton’s recent demotion

Jason B. Hirschhorn: At the outset of training camp, the Packers’ preferred five starters seemed clear. Jordan Morgan would end his multiyear odyssey and return to his college position of left tackle. Aaron Banks would again start next to him at guard, with Sean Rhyan entering his first season as the incumbent at center. On the right side, the newly christened Zach Bako-Bewele would take up his usual post at right tackle with second-year pro Anthony Belton set to start at right guard.

Most of that plan remains intact. Granted, Banks has yet to participate in 11-on-11 periods during practice, but the coaching staff hasn’t suggested that he won’t start at left guard when the season begins. Meanwhile, Morgan appears to have settled in nicely thus far on the blindside, and Rhyan hasn’t budged from the pivot. And, as of Sunday, Bako-Bewele notched his first full practice since his offseason surgery to repair a partially torn patellar tendon.

However, Belton’s camp has unfolded quite differently.

In part because of the Packers easing Bako-Bewele back into practice, Belton has seen a considerable number of reps at right tackle. That didn’t seem overly peculiar at first -- Belton played left tackle in college and only moved to guard late last season -- but the narrative began to shift over the past week, starting with LaFleur’s comments about the second-year offensive lineman after Friday’s Family Night public practice.

“I love his versatility,” the head coach said of Belton. “Certainly, I think the tackle position comes a little more natural for him, just time on task. But I think he continues to show great promise at guard as well.”

In the Packers’ very next practice session, Bako-Bewele made his return to 11-on-11 work, ostensibly allowing Belton to slide back inside. However, the coaches opted to play Jacob Monk at right guard, limiting Belton to a rotation with Bako-Bewele as right tackle. In the locker room after practice, Belton acknowledged the demotion to reporters.

At the same time, the coaches haven’t hidden their enthusiasm for Monk, Belton’s apparent competition for the starting job at right guard.

“I love Monk’s play style,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich, a former O-lineman, said last week. “He’s got the right mindset. He tries to get after people and plays the game the right way. I’ve been happy with how he’s played so far in camp.”

“You talk about a guy that plays to the play style we want,” LaFleur said Sunday of Monk. “He shows that toughness, that grittiness, the strain, and I think he’s done a pretty good job inside. He’s a valuable guy. He can play any of the inside three positions.”

The decision to demote Belton and the praise for Monk paint a pretty unambiguous picture of where the offensive line currently stands. That doesn’t mean the Packers have rendered a final decision -- they haven’t even played a preseason game yet -- but Belton has lost the inside track at right guard.

And considered in the larger context, the development doesn’t seem as surprising as it might on first blush. Last season, Green Bay worked Belton almost exclusively at offensive tackle in training camp, the preseason, and for the first few months of the regular season before issues at guard forced the coaching staff to get creative. Given that the Packers cross-train virtually all of their young offensive linemen, the fact that they didn’t extensively rep Belton inside until late November suggests that the team’s decision-makers don’t envision him as a guard.

That notion runs counter to what a certain segment of the football internet has loudly believed since Belton arrived in Green Bay, but that concept always seemed flawed and reactionary. At the time the Packers drafted him, the Philadelphia Eagles had just come off a Super Bowl-winning season in which a similarly mammoth offensive lineman (Mekhi Becton) successfully converted from tackle to guard. That alone appears to have convinced a lazy contingent of “ball knowers” that Belton too should move inside.

But Belton never spent meaningful time playing guard at any point in his football career. He played 2,240 combined O-line snaps over his four years at NC State. According to Pro Football Focus, he spent only 11 of those at a position other than left tackle, and those came over at right tackle. And Belton’s measurements don’t suggest the type of prospect destined for a move to guard. At 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds, he possesses the requisite mass to handle a bookend spot, and his nearly 34-inch arms exceed those of both Morgan and Bako-Bewele.

Does that mean Belton can’t develop into a starting guard? Of course not. But the assumption from many that his future necessarily involved kicking inside seems at odds with how his coaches view him.

Whether the Packers’ preference for Monk proves justified remains to be seen. The Leap named him one of the players “running out of time in Green Bay“ shortly before the start of training camp. To date, he has played more than 10 snaps in just one non-exhibition game, a de facto preseason tilt with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 last season. Perhaps Monk has taken a step in Year 3, but that would require a significant amount of progress, the majority of which would have taken place this past offseason.

Both believers and critics of the Packers’ confidence in unheralded offensive linemen have precedent to highlight. About a decade ago, Lane Taylor went from a mostly unplayable guard over multiple seasons to a multiyear starter at guard. His sudden development helped convince the front office to release All-Pro Josh Sitton before final cuts in 2016, a truly shocking decision in the moment. Six years later, Green Bay took a similar approach with Jake Hanson, a third-year interior lineman with zero starts under his belt. He opened the 2022 season as the starting right guard. By Week 2, the coaching staff had benched him for good.

At least on paper, Monk shares no more in common with Taylor’s situation than Hanson’s. Packers radio analyst Larry McCarren revealed that Monk has bulked up to 320 pounds -- up from his listed weight of 308 pounds -- so perhaps the added mass will make a difference. Still, the former fifth-round pick has plenty to prove on the field before the coaching staff can fully close the door on Belton or someone else ultimately securing the permanent starting job.

When asked in April if the team could depend on the oft-injured running back, general manager Brian Gutekunst deflected, saying, “We can count on his talent.” Running-backs coach Ben Sirmans spoke cautiously as well, offering, “We’re very optimistic, but we’ve all been optimistic before.” Even head coach Matt LaFleur seemed subdued about Lloyd’s outlook: “He’s got to show that consistency over the course of OTAs into training camp into the preseason, and we’ll see where we go from there.”

None of that came as a surprise. At the conclusion of the 2025 season, Lloyd had amassed only 35 total snaps in the NFL, including the preseason. That limited NFL résumé came courtesy of four lower-body muscle injuries, an ankle sprain, and an emergency appendectomy. Lloyd didn’t appear in a single non-exhibition game last year, instead enduring two stints on injured reserve.

But more recently, the Packers have sung a slightly different tune about Lloyd’s prospects. Rather than focus so heavily on all the time missed, the team’s leadership has begun to express more positivity about what the running back might do later this year.

“Every day he’s out there and doing it, I have a little bit more [confidence],” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said of Lloyd on Wednesday. “It’s just one of those things, with how his career has gone so far, I just want to take it one day at a time with him. Every day he’s out there, he’s doing a great job. He’s competing. I’m very optimistic and hopeful that it works out and we’re good.”

Even the previously deflective GM sounds upbeat about Lloyd of late.

“Every time he’s gotten an opportunity and he’s been healthy and out there, he’s been impactful,” Gutekunst said of Lloyd this week. “He’s continuing to do that. I’m excited for him. Again, it’s very early. We’ve got a long way to go. But when he’s out there, he’s making plays.

“He always kind of has done that since he’s been here when he’s been able to be out there.”

Lloyd seems similarly sanguine about his trajectory, at least based on his actions. After scoring a touchdown during Thursday’s practice, he celebrated with a backflip. That feat of athleticism scared his teammates and head coach -- quarterback Jordan Love called it “dicey,” and LaFleur told him not to do it again -- but it underscores how much has changed for Lloyd since the end of last season.

So, with an increasing number of signs pointing to Lloyd actually playing meaningful snaps for the Packers this season, the time has come to consider what his role could look like and how he could change the offense.

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He hasn’t gone quite that far, but he’s shown the talent that made him one of the top cornerbacks in the 2026 draft class. Matt LaFleur and Jonathan Gannon can’t take the traditional approach and offer deference to veterans. If this competition is even close, the tie has to go to the rookie.

The Packers have been through this before, most recently with Eric Stokes. He came through camp in 2021 after a disastrous secondary performance from Mike Pettine’s group in the NFC Championship Game. Expectations, as Aaron Rodgers publicly feuded with the team, couldn’t have been higher.

It had become obvious Kevin King no longer possessed the physical tools that made him such a tantalizing draft prospect and helped him develop into a legitimately solid player earlier in his career. Stokes didn’t play in preseason despite not being a projected starter, and the Packers went through the charade of letting King start the season.

More poor play and another injury gave way to Stokes, who hit the field and immediately upgraded that spot. Unfortunately, injuries likewise sapped him of athleticism and confidence in Green Bay, leading to the team deciding not to re-sign him and his career experience a resurgence in Las Vegas last season.

Still, a promising rookie year likely could have been even better had he had more opportunities in training camp, preseason, and early in the season to play.

Valentine doesn’t offer that same level of experience or pedigree in Green Bay. He’s going into the last year of his deal. And Cisse already shows tantalizing upside. His coaches rave about his work ethic, and as soon as the team put on the pads for 1-on-1 drills this week, he shone.

(via NBC 26)

That’s not proof he’s going to become a starting-caliber player in Year 1, but that conversation has to start now because the team has to begin preparing him to start if there’s even a chance he could get there.

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Since reporting for training camp early last week, the Green Bay Packers have already completed multiple practices. On Monday, they’ll put on pads for the first time. At long last, something approximating real football will take place on the practice fields around 1265 Lombardi Ave.

At the same time, the topic du jour in Green Bay involves a player who began camp on the sidelines and only just passed his physical on Friday. Today’s edition of The Leap tackles that heady matter.

Thank you for reading and supporting our coverage. You can also support our work by following us on social media:

Jason B. Hirschhorn: @by_JBH on Twitter / @byjbh@bsky.social on Bluesky / @by_jbh on Threads

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If you appreciate thoughtful, independent coverage of the Packers and NFL, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support allows us to serve this community with the stories and reporting it deserves.

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With Tucker Kraft back in practice, the clock truly starts on extension talks

Jason B. Hirschhorn: The Packers have made a handful of major contractual commitments this offseason. Between new deals for Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, and Devonte Wyatt, the team officially committed $197.15 million ($73.22 million guaranteed at signing). That figure doesn’t include smaller extensions for players like Isaiah McDuffie or money allocated to free agents such as Javon Hargrave and Benjamin St-Juste.

Yet, the Packers’ biggest piece of business remains unresolved: completing a long-term extension for star tight end Tucker Kraft.

Unlike the players who signed extensions earlier this year to remain in Green Bay, Kraft began training camp on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to work his way back from last season’s ACL tear. Though both he and team leadership expect he’ll ramp up to a full workload prior to Week 1, his recovery still complicates contract talks.

“There’s been discussions,” general manager Brian Gutekunst said of negotiations with Kraft. “Both us and him, I think it’s in the best interests to try and get something done. But these things take time, and we’ve gone through a bunch of extensions this summer kind of knowing this was going to be the one right about now. We have a little bit of time. He’s just not there yet. I would expect, hopefully, that would get done, but you never know how they’re going to go.”

Those comments came last Wednesday, before the first practice of training camp. In the time since, Kraft has passed his physical and returned to practice, a significant milestone in his rehab process.

So, with Kraft officially back in the fold, will a new contract finally come to fruition?

While certain aspects of contract talks will always stay behind closed doors, the public generally doesn’t understand the nuances of these types of negotiations. In particular, some fans worry that the team and Kraft’s agent could have material disagreements over a potential deal’s total value and/or duration.

However, given the circumstances of this negotiation -- a 25-year-old emerging superstar at a position where the two largest contracts emerged over the past 16 months -- both sides already know approximately where those figures will land. Kraft’s extension will feature an average annual value at or near George Kittle’s deal ($19.1 million) with the vast majority or all of the fully guaranteed money coming in a signing bonus (a Packers staple). As for the contract’s length, it will most likely mirror the agreements signed by Kittle and Trey McBride (four years).

A contract negotiation like Kraft’s still involves plenty of variables outside of the overarching terms that every NFL insider will race to post on social media when the time comes. For example, the two sides must agree on incentives for offseason-program participation (another Packers staple), the timing and amount for roster bonuses (often converted to signing bonuses later to spread cap hits or used to force favorable timing of a player release), and any void years tacked on to the deal (also for cap purposes).

And, of course, the Packers had no reason to rush an extension this offseason while Kraft mended from his ACL tear. While knee reconstruction has transformed from a career changer to the type of surgery and rehabilitation process from which most players fully recover, no doctor can guarantee a good outcome. Just because, say, Christian Watson returned from his torn ACL and looked like the best version of himself doesn’t mean that Kraft will do the same. Green Bay surely remembers all the challenges involved with David Bakhtiari’s reconstructed knee.

Accordingly, when Gutekunst said the Packers “have a little time” because Kraft was “just not there yet” in his recovery, those words carried real weight. The team wanted to see the young tight end clear the necessary hurdles in his rehab before moving forward with a long-term extension.

But soon, Kraft will check the final box in his return. Over the next few weeks, he’ll begin participating in 11-on-11 periods, the final checkpoint in his recovery. Once that moment arrives, the Packers won’t have a compelling concern holding them back from extending Kraft.

So, while a certain segment of fans vents on the internet about the absence of an agreement, the signs always pointed to a deal materializing after Kraft came off the PUP list. And for his part, he seems to understand this as well.

“I think the best chance for Green Bay to win a Lombardi is with me on the field as well,” Kraft said last week. “That’s people in the front office telling me that, and the importance of us getting this deal done in a timely fashion. But ultimately, I’ve said over and over again that I’m so grateful to be a part of this organization, and I would like to keep it that way.”

Barring an unforeseeable development, the Packers and Kraft will reach an agreement on a new contract, likely before the start of the regular season. Every available sign points in that direction. That might not quiet the most vocally nervous members of the team’s fanbase, but that contingent shouldn’t have to worry much longer.

Jonathan Gannon’s Arizona Cardinals, though he didn’t coordinate the defense, played the most diverse defense in the league in 2025. They would play three and even four safeties at a time. The Buffalo Bills under Bobby Babich, now the Green Bay Packers defensive passing game coordinator, also played one of the highest rates of dime defense last season.

As the league wants to get more pass defenders on the field, the Packers brought in two coaches who love to play more defensive backs. Case closed, right?

Don’t be so sure, especially if the first few glimpses of the Green Bay defenses offer a barhinger of things to come. And it’s less about league-wide trends than about the Packers’ specific personnel. That’s because playing the extra defensive back would take Edgerrin Cooper or Zaire Franklin off the field, and for the Packers, that flatly doesn’t make a lick of sense.

Instead, the Packers have already shown a willingness to slide bigger edge players like Lukas Van Ness and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton inside to create more advantageous pass rush options, while leaving their dynamic linebackers on the field.

They’re attempting to do the same thing teams who move to dime are, namely, find better ways to defend opposing passing attacks. But they’re moving to NASCAR packages rather than flooding the field with defensive backs. Dime puts smaller, quicker bodies on the field to defend the pass. It appears the Packers will do the same, only they’re doing it with defensive linemen.

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With so much excitement arriving in such a condensed period, observers will cling to any bit of new information and attempt to draw far-reaching conclusions from it. Some cases will warrant this approach, but other developments won’t survive long enough to see Week 1.

So, what situations merit monitoring and which should go ignored until further notice?

Monitor: how the Packers deploy Zaire Franklin and Edgerrin Cooper

Following the Packers’ trade for linebacker Zaire Franklin, it seemed fair to wonder how he might alter the defense. Already, that unit appeared headed for significant changes under new DC Jonathan Gannon, though the arrival of a former All-Pro with a preexisting relationship with the new defensive play-caller raised legitimate questions about the deployment of the off-ball linebackers.

By the time organized-team activities arrived, it became clear that the Packers expected Franklin to become the literal voice of the defense.

“Zaire has been awesome, just a real leader, an alpha, you can feel him, he does a great job communicating,” head coach Matt LaFleur said in May. “He wears the green dot, so, naturally, you’re the quarterback of the defense. I think he holds himself to a high standard, and he holds those around him to a high standard.”

But with Franklin serving as the “green dot” -- the player designated to relay defensive play calls to the rest of the defense -- could Edgerrin Cooper see a snap reduction in the Packers’ new-look defense? And if so, in what situations will Cooper come off the field?

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This week, the Green Bay Packers open camp for the 2026 season, and while the Chicago Bears playoff loss looms over the start of the year, along with Micah Parsons’ health, there’s not actually anything the team can do about that in late July and August.

But training camp can still provide plenty of answers to essential questions for this team as they set themselves up to make a run the 2025 team couldn’t muster.

Thank you for reading and supporting our coverage. You can also support our work by following us on social media:

Jason B. Hirschhorn: @by_JBH on Twitter / @byjbh@bsky.social on Bluesky / @by_jbh on Threads

Peter Bukowski: @Peter_Bukowski on Twitter / @peterbukowski@bsky.social on Bluesky / @peter_bukowski on Threads

The Leap: @TheLeapGB on Twitter / @theleap.bsky.social on Bluesky / The Leap's YouTube channel

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Who is starting at cornerback?

Peter Bukowski: Expect this competition to go right up to Week 1 and perhaps even into the season, with Matt LaFleur proving himself willing to rotate players in search of a positional winner.

Neither Keisean Nixon nor Carrington Valentine have contracts beyond this year, and Valentine didn’t open the 2025 season as the preferred starter either; Nate Hobbs did. His injury opened the door for Valentine, but once Hobbs returned, he immediately captured the lion’s share of snaps.

His ineffectual play and injury problems gave Valentine a firmer grasp on that starting job, but his own inconsistent play caused the Packers to see if Kamal Hadden could steal a spot. He also got hurt, leaving Valentine as the last man standing.

Benjamin St-Juste got a bargain deal to compete for a starting spot with the Packers, and Brian Gutekunst tabbed Brandon Cisse with his first pick in the draft to come in and compete.

Coverage breakdowns led to 25 fourth-quarter Bears points, including messy play from Valentine and Nixon. It’s possible the 2026 team will open with two new starters on the boundary, with St-Juste coming off the No. 1 graded zone corner season according to Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Cisse already does one of the most important things most rookies struggle to do: tackle.

Can the Packers trust rookie kicker Trey Smack?

PB: It may be a little unfair to put this on training camp, but after a spring that saw Smack miss a slew of kicks, the Packers rookie has a chance to show Green Bay was right to trade up for him in April’s draft.

It will be yet another proposition for Smack to go out and show it during the regular season. Still, at the very least, if Smack wins the kicker job over Lucas Havrisik, who does have the Packers record for longest field goal, it will show the team’s faith in his trajectory.

The last time Green Bay put its faith in a rookie kicker, Anders Carlson hardly covered himself in glory, culminating in a debut campaign that saw him miss a crucial field goal in the fourth quarter of the playoffs. Smack would replace Brandon McManus, who did the same back in January against the Bears.

The season hardly hinges on Smack being capable. Havrisik flashed plenty of his own ability last season in place of McManus, but training camp will be the first chance for these two to truly have it out for that spot.

Does the defensive front have enough to make it by while Micah Parsons is out?

PB: Players like Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell may not be able to prove definitively the defense will be fine without Parsons, but they certainly can show the opposite.

Van Ness had one of those camps last season when he started to dominate consistently. It felt like a lightbulb moment. Then he got hurt. Again. Another injury would seal the team’s fate as plainly not good enough. But even if he’s healthy and has another one of those camps, Jonathan Gannon will need more than that.

Sorrell, Collin Oliver, and rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton have to show something too, and if they don’t, the calls for Gutekunst to rescue Josh Sweat from football purgatory in Arizona will only get louder. Sweat began training camp on PUP, and his reported disinterest in remaining a Cardinal has already been reported.

If Sweat can be pried from the other LaFleur, it’s worth exploring in any case, but a discouraging camp from the Packers’ other edge players would create far more urgency to make some sort of move, whether it’s Sweat or signing a veteran like Jadeveon Clowney.

There’s also the time element. As we move into August, the Packers and Parsons will have a clearer health picture for their superstar pass rusher. Will it be six games or eight? Nine? The longer the projected window, the better the players on the roster have to be for the Packers to feel comfortable moving forward with them as temporary replacements.

A lot will happen between the players arriving at 1265 Lombardi Ave. and the final cuts in September. Still, this moment provides a perfect opportunity to evaluate the roster and figure out who has the inside track to roster spots and key roles. With that in mind, The Leap has made its initial projection of the Packers’ 53-man roster to set a baseline from which to draw comparisons over the ensuing month and change.

A few things to note: Player order does not necessarily reflect the order of the depth chart. Those projected to begin the regular season on the physically unable to perform list do not count against the 53-man roster limit. Also, teams can place up to two players on injured reserve before final cutdowns and bring them back to the active roster during the same season.

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At its most basic, there is always that it’s better to have an awesome player than not to have him. More than that though, Kraft’s injury dulled a key arrow in LaFleur’s otherwise deadly offensive quiver.

The desire to play 12 and 13 personnel has become the new hotness in the NFL, regardless of whether a team wants to throw it a lot or a little, because it allows the offense to dictate terms. If an offense can put two tight ends on the field (12) and credibly run the ball (ideally better than from 11 personnel) the theory goes that defenses have to adjust with base defenses.

In a perfect world, that makes it easier to throw over the top, leaving linebackers to run with tight ends. With a tight end like Kraft, that’s a mismatch in favor of the offense.

This is why being able to defend the run from nickel is the advantage in modern defense right now

Without Kraft, though, the offense doesn’t generate the same type of advantage.

With their star tight end, the Packers played with a second tight end on 39.91% of snaps, which would have been second in the league on the season. After Kraft got injured, that number plummeted to 29.28%.

And as you’d expect, their efficiency fell off a cliff as well. With Kraft, the Packers generated .111 EPA/play with two tight ends and .03 without him. To put that into perspective, the Packers had a .10 EPA/play on all plays in 2026, and finished fourth in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens had a .03 EPA/play and landed 13th.

With Kraft, the Packers used two tight ends like one of the best offenses in football. Without him, they were closer to average.

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Later this week, the Green Bay Packers will report for training camp, effectively kicking off the 2026 season in earnest. While the majority of the past few months have focused on which players need to step up for the team to achieve its goals, today’s edition of The Leap will spotlight the notable veterans who need to perform well during camp and the preseason or risk leaving town for good.

Thank you for reading and supporting our coverage. You can also support our work by following us on social media:

Jason B. Hirschhorn: @by_JBH on Twitter / @byjbh@bsky.social on Bluesky / @by_jbh on Threads

Peter Bukowski: @Peter_Bukowski on Twitter / @peterbukowski@bsky.social on Bluesky / @peter_bukowski on Threads

The Leap: @TheLeapGB on Twitter / @theleap.bsky.social on Bluesky / The Leap's YouTube channel

If you appreciate thoughtful, independent coverage of the Packers and NFL, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support allows us to serve this community with the stories and reporting it deserves.

Subscribe now

As always, thanks for making The Leap a part of your day.

Which Packers veterans are running out of time in Green Bay?

Jason B. Hirschhorn: At this point, any regular reader of The Leap knows which players need to take the leap in 2026 for the Packers to reach their goals. For example, Lukas Van Ness must build on the potential he flashed over the previous three years and become a major contributor, especially with Micah Parsons sidelined to start the season. MarShawn Lloyd, now apparently healthy, has the chance to supercharge the backfield if he can finally avoid injury.

However, even if Van Ness doesn’t show progress or Lloyd’s explosivity doesn’t manifest on the field, both will presumably remain in Green Bay for the 2026 season. The same might not apply to some other notable veterans on the roster.

• Travis Glover and Jacob Monk

The Packers’ offensive line faces a lot of valid questions entering training camp -- can Aaron Banks bounce back from a disappointing first year in Green Bay, will Anthony Belton settle in at guard after a rough midseason transition, and has Sean Rhyan finally found a home at center -- but the hierarchy does appear well established. Barring injury or an unforeseeable development, the coaching staff probably already knows the starting five before the first practice in pads.

The situation looks far less certain behind the starters, however. Darian Kinnard returns as a versatile tackle-guard backup, and fifth-round rookie Jager Burton spent the offseason program as the top interior swing. Still, Kinnard spent the vast majority of 2025 as a backup right tackle and “jumbo” tight end, and Burton’s status remains entirely in flux until he shows something in pads. Accordingly, the Packers likely need competition from some of their Year 3 linemen to feel confident about the depth in the trenches.

That means Travis Glover and Jacob Monk, two draft picks from 2024, have a lot at stake over the coming months. The former has played meaningful snaps, including some in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the latter has mostly made the 53 due to his draft status, playing six offensive snaps outside of a de facto exhibition against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 of last season. However, a season-ending shoulder injury prevented Glover from pushing for a top backup role in 2025, and Monk saw his potential replacement drafted in Burton earlier this year.

Glover has tackle-guard versatility as well as the size that the Packers have prioritized over the past two offseasons. Head coach Matt LaFleur spoke glowingly of him when the aforementioned injury wiped out his 2025. That suggests Glover has real potential in the coaching staff’s estimation, but the front office won’t continue to make space for him without evidence of progress. As for Monk, he’ll have to fight just to get consistent practice reps and preseason snaps with either the No. 1 or No. 2 offense.

Given the numbers, it seems unlikely that both Glover and Monk will earn safe passage to the initial 53-man roster later this year, and a scenario exists where neither makes the cut.

• Ty’Ron Hopper

General manager Brian Gutekunst went against consensus when he selected Ty’Ron Hopper in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. While the linebacker started college games at Florida and Missouri -- both quality SEC programs -- he lacked the type of elite physical tools that typically push prospects at his position into the top 100.

Though two full seasons in the league, Hopper has yet to validate the Packers’ faith in him. While he has appeared in every game over that stretch, Hopper has managed just 144 defensive snaps thus far. More concerning still, nearly half of those snaps came in Green Bay’s meaningless regular-season finale in Minnesota. Hopper has carved out significant roles on special teams, but that alone might not save him when final cuts arrive.

For better or worse, Hopper will have new coaches to impress in 2026. On defense, he’ll operate within a new system installed by recently hired DC Jonathan Gannon. The Packers also have a new special-teams coordinator following the departure of Rich Bisaccia. Perhaps Hopper benefits from those changes and can push for playing time from scrimmage. Of course, if Green Bay felt good about such an outcome, the front office probably wouldn’t have just extended reserve linebacker Isaiah McDuffie.

• Messiah Swinson

Though the Packers didn’t draft Messiah Swinson, they have still invested a considerable amount of time into the former UDFA. Officially, the tight end has three separate stints in Green Bay, the most recent beginning in early January when the team signed him to the practice squad.

Even at a position like tight end, Swinson quite literally stands out, measuring over 6-foot-7 and weighing roughly 260 pounds. Such imposing size offers upside on special teams and as a blocker on offense, especially in a league that has seen a significant uptick in the use of 12 and 13 personnel over the past year. Swinson also has a notable college pedigree, having split his time between Missouri and Arizona State.

However, the Packers have brought in competition for the final roster spots at the position, signing 2025 draft pick Luke Lachey off the street and adding RJ Maryland as a UDFA. The Lachey acquisition in particular puts Swinson behind the eight ball, given their comparable statures.

Swinson, who has spent more time in the league, could still overcome the competition. But if he doesn’t, the Packers probably won’t consider a fourth stint for him.

Our methodology: We order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the “best” players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most “value.” That means the starting quarterback doesn’t have to top the list because of the position he plays.

Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.

Today’s slate is the slate. It’s the best players on the Packers, some of them fighting for respect as the best at their position and others already stamped as elite playmakers.

10. Jayden Reed

Position: wide receiver
How acquired: second-round pick (2023)

Clearly, the Packers agree with our rankings because they extended Jayden Reed with a three-year $50.25 million deal that pays him annually only slightly less than Romeo Doubs got in the offseason market.

They chose between Doubs and Reed, with Reed coming out on top despite an injured, beleaguered season between a foot injury to open the year and a collarbone break that kept the Packers star slot out half the season.

“You guys see how we’ve used him in the past in regards to moving him all over the place,” LaFleur said as Reed returned from injury last season.

“There’s a lot of things that he brings to our team just in regard to—he’s a YAC machine. He really does a really good job whether it’s handing him the ball, flipping him a screen, getting him downfield in a pass concept.”

Green Bay schemes Reed to get more touches than any receiver on the roster since he’s been in the league. When the Packers face zone coverage, Reed has been their go-to killer, someone able to break down underneath coverage or stretch it vertically. With Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks out, expect Reed to get even more chances this season.

9. Evan Williams

Position: safety
How acquired: fifth-round draft pick (2023)

Outside of another player coming up on this list, Evan Williams has a case as the most underrated player on the Packers. He immediately thrived as a rookie in training camp, despite the perception that the fifth-round draft capital used on him was a reach.

Williams was the only defensive back last season who didn’t appear to be allergic to catching the ball; he defends the run from depth as well as any safety in football, and he’s a cerebral player who sees plays even before they happen. Pro Football Focus graded him as the third-best run defender at the position last season.

If there’s one knock on Williams, it’s the high number of missed tackles, but one of the reasons for that is that he gets into positions to make tackles most safeties would not be able to make.

Williams deserved Pro Bowl consideration last year, and not even getting a vote in ESPN’s safety rankings was a joke. Along with Xavier McKinney, who is coming up on this list, Williams is part of one of the best spines in any defense in the NFL.

And if you don’t believe me, before the fateful Wild Card game against the Chicago Bears, Jeff Hafley declared, “He’ll be one of the best safeties in this league.”

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Our methodology: We order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the “best” players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most “value.” That means the starting quarterback doesn’t have to top the list because of the position he plays.

Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.

Today’s slate features a handful of recent draft picks and bounce-back candidates.

20. Aaron Banks

Position: guard
How acquired: unrestricted free agent (2025)

The Packers’ decision last offseason to sign free agent Aaron Banks to a four-year, $77 million deal raised eyebrows from the rip. While the veteran guard had played at a high level for stretches of his time with the San Francisco 49ers, he hadn’t established himself as a premier player at the position. Nevertheless, Green Bay awarded him a contract that, even a year later, ranks among the top 10 for a guard by average annual value.

Banks’ agreement wouldn’t remain a talking point if not for the disappointing debut campaign with the Packers. Injuries limited him to just two starts over the first five weeks of the season, and he missed snaps in each of the games in which he did play over that span. He lasted just nine snaps in Week 9’s loss to the Carolina Panthers as well. Banks’ fluctuating availability contributed to the game of musical chairs that the offensive line devolved into over the course of 2025.

But while expectations for Banks have understandably fallen, he remains a capable guard when healthy. From Week 11 to Week 14, he played every snap and allowed zero sacks or quarterback hits, his best sustained run thus far in Green Bay. Given that three of the four other spots along the offensive line will feature either a new starter or a player who has less than a full season working at his current position, the Packers likely need Banks to deliver a solid performance in 2026.

19. Carrington Valentine

Position: cornerback
How acquired: seventh-round draft pick (2023)

Carrington Valentine has reached a crossroads of sorts. Over his first two years, he received plaudits for playing admirably for limited stretches, including stepping in for Jaire Alexander during the 2024 season. Then in 2025, Valentine emerged as a de facto starter, playing 70% of defensive snaps but allowing a team-worst seven touchdowns and letting multiple “gimme” interceptions slip through his fingers.

Now in a contract year, Valentine remains in the starting conversation entering 2026. However, the Packers have reloaded at cornerback, drafting Brandon Cisse in the second round and signing Benjamin St-Juste early in free agency. Those additions don’t mean Valentine has lost the inside track for his job, but he will need to outperform the competition during training camp and the preseason to maintain the status quo.

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Our methodology: We order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the “best” players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most “value.” That means the starting quarterback doesn’t have to top the list because of the position he plays.

Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.

Today’s group looks at a slew of young players and key veteran free agents with a chance to establish themselves as central to what the Packers do in 2026 and beyond

Thank you for reading and supporting our coverage. You can also support our work by following us on social media:

Jason B. Hirschhorn: @by_JBH on Twitter / @byjbh@bsky.social on Bluesky / @by_jbh on Threads

Peter Bukowski: @Peter_Bukowski on Twitter / @peterbukowski@bsky.social on Bluesky / @peter_bukowski on Threads

The Leap: @TheLeapGB on Twitter / @theleap.bsky.social on Bluesky / The Leap's YouTube channel

If you appreciate thoughtful, independent coverage of the Packers and NFL, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support allows us to serve this community with the stories and reporting it deserves.

Subscribe now

As always, thanks for making The Leap a part of your day.

30. Tyrod Taylor

Position: quarterback
How acquired: unrestricted free agent (2026)

After the Packers let Malik Willis walk in free agency this offseason, they added a player in Tyrod Taylor who once followed a similar trajectory. Taylor, who turns 37 in August, earned the nickname T-Mobile for his ability to make plays with his legs. He’s also a smooth thrower who can play with touch and accuracy to all fields.

Although Taylor can’t move like he used to, he’s always taken care of the football, which is what a backup quarterback has to be able to do if Jordan Love misses time. And unfortunately for the Packers, that has been a theme of the season each of the last two years, though he only involuntarily missed one game last season after being knocked out of the second Chicago Bears game on a questionable hit from Austin Booker.

Taylor can no longer handle the type of zone-read offense the Packers could deploy with Willis because his athleticism has waned, but he can be a caretaker of this offense, letting Matt LaFleur do what he does best.

T-28. Luke Musgrave

Position: tight end
How acquired: second-round pick (2023)

On the flip side, athleticism has never been the problem for Luke Musgrave, at least not his speed for his size. Musgrave came into the NFL as a premier size/speed athlete at the tight end position, drawing rare rookie raves from LaFleur as early as spring ball back in 2023.

Musgrave started from Day 1, showing off his ability to stretch the seam and make difficult catches. But his struggles as a blocker, coupled with injuries, allowed Tucker Kraft to steal his starting job and supplant him as a core player in the passing game.

When Kraft went down last year, the Packers tried to use Musgrave once again as a vertical weapon, but his inefficiency as a blocker became too big a problem to overcome. With Kraft returning, Musgrave can resume his rightful role as TE2 and someone who has to do just enough as a blocker to survive.

There’s still plenty of potential here, but Musgrave appears to be capped out as a pass-catching secondary tight end despite his size and strength.

T-28. Brenton Cox Jr.

Position: edge
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2023)

If Brenton Cox Jr. could ever stay healthy, he may have already earned a starting job. In 2024, Cox showed the most pass rush juice on the roster, but only managed to stay on the field for seven games.

Still, he had 17 pressures in just 97 pass rush reps. That 17.5% pressure rate led the team. But he’s not just some designated pass rusher. Cox plays with physicality and ruggedness that belies his size. That’s not to say he’s some Maxx Crosby-level run defender — he’s not — but if he could stay healthy, he’s an impact edge player who has the skills to beat players currently getting more hype around the defense right now.

Don’t forget about him.

27. Savion Williams

Position: wide receiver
How acquired: third-round draft pick (2025)

When Jordan Love speaks about his receivers, listen. Love brought up Savion Williams multiple times this spring as a player he’s looking to be a more impactful part of the offense in 2026. Injuries and a crowded depth chart precluded Williams from making the kind of dent in the target share most third-round picks would get.

But when he was on the field, usually LaFleur was designing a touch specifically for him, whether that was as a wildcat quarterback or a receiver screen player.

Whether or not Savion Williams plays running back, as Jason has suggested, LaFleur has shown he will be inventive with the ways he gets Williams involved, but in order for the former top-100 pick to ingratiate himself fully into this offense, he will have to show he can play the boundary as a receiver. With the reps streamlined following the departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks, Williams now has a more straightforward path to playing time.

The physical skillset is obvious, but the actual skills are more opaque. He has to clear them up this season.

26. Chris McClellan

Position: defensive lineman
How acquired: third-round pick (2026)

After Brian Gutekunst traded up for Chris McClellan in the third round, he immediately started in base defense during spring practices. While half-speed reps in shorts don’t tell us much about the quality of trench players, their placement speaks loudly about what the Packers think McClellan can do this season.

Nazir Stackhouse and McClellan are the only true nose tackle bodies on the roster currently, and Stackhouse did not look like an NFL player last season. That opens the door for McClellan to come in as a base run defender for Jonathan Gannon’s new-look odd front defense.

Last year, teams bled the Packers on the ground to limit Love’s possession and keep Micah Parsons out of third-and-must-pass situations. In order to maximize both the offense and the pass rush, McClellan has to live up to those expectations and help stabilize a run defense that struggled once again in 2025.

25. Brandon Cisse

Position: cornerback
How acquired: second-round pick (2026)

Somehow, the perfect developmental cornerback fell into the Packers’ lap. Brandon Cisse already does the things well that keep rookie cornerbacks off the field: he was one of the best tackling cornerbacks in college football at South Carolina. And he’s not just some try-hard grit player.

Cisse runs 4.4 with a 41’’ vertical jump. And he only just turned 21 earlier this month despite playing four years of college football.

He has to improve his recognition and awareness in coverage, but he has the explosive click-and-close burst to close down space in off coverage and the speed to turn and run in man coverage or man-match.

Cisse saw some reps with the 1s in the spring, and the arrival of a new defensive staff provides a chance for him to earn a legitimate shot to start despite some veterans standing in his way on the depth chart.

24. Benjamin St-Juste

Position: cornerback
How acquired: unrestricted free agent (2026)

The L.A. Chargers acquired Benjamin St-Juste as a veteran flyer to help an ailing secondary. He ended up being the best corner on the team and Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded zone cornerback last season.

The Packers signed the former top-75 draft pick to a three-year $30 million deal, a hint that St-Juste will be a presumed starter come training camp. Considering the investment at the position with St-Juste and Cisse, it’s fair to assume all the boundary cornerback spots are up for grabs.

LaFleur has no problem rotating players on either side of the ball either, and gave Nate Hobbs a shot to win his job back from Carrington Valentine after an injury kept Hobbs out to start the season. Valentine ultimately kept his job, but he didn’t do nearly enough to feel secure in his spot.

23. Anthony Belton

Position: offensive lineman
How acquired: second-round pick (2025)

There’s no player who more directly represents the Packers’ push toward bigger, power-centric offensive linemen than Anthony Belton.

“I just think it's his style of play,” LaFleur said of Belton.

“He's a mauler, and he does a great job. I love the way he plays the game”

The PFF grades don’t reflect play style, and while Belton had inconsistencies in the passing game, he was playing a position he’d never even practiced until the Packers desperately needed him to play.

Now, with a full offseason to prepare for his transition to guard, Belton can settle into a position. He was solid filling in for Zach Tom, though a brutal penalty cost the Packers a touchdown on one of the best throws of Jordan Love’s career, the play that cost Jayden Reed half a season with a broken collarbone.

Still, Belton has as much potential as any offensive lineman currently on the Packers roster and could develop into a stalwart.

22. Karl Brooks

Position: defensive lineman
How acquired: sixth-round pick (2023)

After a promising rookie season, Karl Brooks failed to take the step forward many predicted in 2024. Part of that stemmed from having to play undersized nose tackle as Green Bay asked Kenny Clark to do more pass rushing from a traditional three-technique alignment. Brooks just isn’t built for that type of play.

That problem compounded when the team traded Clark last season in the Parsons deal because not only did Brooks have to once again play some nose tackle, but when he wasn’t playing the nose, it was even-more-undersized Colby Wooden playing that spot, and between the two of them, they couldn’t hold up consistently inside.

Brooks is best as an interior disruptor, someone who can beat blocks and get upfield. This defense is perfectly suited to his skillset, and despite the arrival of Javon Hargrave and McClellan, that overlap could result in the best season of Brooks’ career.

Green Bay might need it with Parsons out and no proven edge rushers on the roster. It may be up to the interior rush to carry the day while they wait for their superstar to return.

21. Lukas Van Ness

Position: edge
How acquired: first-round pick (2023)

For the Packers to reach a championship-caliber defense, this ranking has to end up looking bad in a few months. With Parsons expected to be out into October, there isn’t an edge player on the team with more than two career NFL starts.

Barryn Sorrell and Cox got a token start in Week 18 last year, and they still have half as many career starts as Van Ness, who was stuck behind Rashan Gary and Kingsley Enagbare, as well as Parsons last season.

The fact that Van Ness couldn’t beat out Enagbare earlier speaks to his lack of polish coming out of Iowa, as well as his inability to stay healthy. Still, he was in the midst of the best month of his career to open the 2025 season before he broke his hand on a sack of Joe Flacco.

Until Parsons gets back, he has to play like a guy worthy of a first-round pick. The Packers season, and Van Ness’ career, may ultimately depend on whether or not he can.

Our methodology: We order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the “best” players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most “value.” That means the starting quarterback doesn’t have to top the list because of the position he plays.

Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.

Today’s slate features players with perhaps the widest range of outcomes on the entire roster, including some at key positions.

40. Daniel Whelan

Position: punter
How acquired: street free agent (2023)

When now-former coordinator Rich Bisaccia first arrived in Green Bay, he pushed the team to sign multiple specialists and core special teamers to the roster to bolster his units. That list included a punter, veteran Pat O’Donnell, who received a two-year, $4 million deal, a sizable investment for the position.

O’Donnell didn’t see the back half of that contract. In the 2023 offseason, he lost a head-to-head battle with a virtually unknown Irish punter who had never appeared in a regular-season NFL game: Daniel Whelan.

In the three seasons since, Whelan has outgrown his underdog story. His 47.8 yards per punt currently ranks as the all-time Packers career record among qualifiers, and his 51.7 yards per punt last season led the NFL (and set a team single-season record). Those figures look even wilder when factoring in the adverse weather at Lambeau Field late in the year. Accordingly, it came as little surprise when Green Bay rewarded him with a multiyear deal worth $6.2 million.

T-38. Kitan Oladapo

Position: safety
How acquired: fifth-round draft pick (2024)

Speaking of those ostensibly brought to Green Bay at Bisaccia’s behest, Kitan Oladapo has grown into a core special-teams player over the past two seasons. In 2025, he appeared on almost exactly half of the Packers’ special-teams snaps, seeing action on every unit except field-goal kicks. That utility, along with his cost-controlled rookie contract, put him in a strong position to make the roster again despite the change at special-teams coordinator.

For Oladapo to take the next step, he’ll need to prove he can regularly handle defensive snaps in meaningful games. To date, he has played only 20 of those snaps outside of Week 18 matchups. While he doesn’t necessarily need to add that to his résumé to have a long NFL career, demonstrating competence as a backup safety would bolster his job security.

Perhaps under new DC Jonathan Gannon, Oladapo will get that chance. Gannon’s defenses with the Arizona Cardinals regularly featured three safeties playing together, creating more opportunities for a player with Oladapo’s skill set. While he won’t surpass Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, or Javon Bullard on the depth chart, one injury could press Oladapo or another safety into action.

Read more

Our methodology: We order the players based on ability relative to their respective positions rather than weighing the importance of those positions. Put another way, this exercise prioritizes the “best” players, not necessarily the ones who offer the most “value.” That means the starting quarterback doesn’t have to top the list because of the position he plays.

Each edition of the 90-man roster ranking will include a batch of roughly 10 players. Due to voting ties, some batches will feature slightly more or less.

Today’s slate features players who are likely to make the roster, but nearly all of them as special teams players first and potential rotation players in a few cases.

50. Nazir Stackhouse

Position: Interior defensive line
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2025)

Had the Green Bay Packers not signed a priority free agent and traded up on Day 2 to take a nose tackle, Nazir Stackhouse likely finds himself much higher up this list as a former undrafted free agent. In fact, when the Packers signed him last offseason, we pointed out he was higher on the consensus boards than his Georgia teammates Warren Brinson, who Green Bay actually drafted.

The problem is Stackhouse failed to show the promise of his frame and collegiate flashes as a run-stuffing nose tackle on a team that desperately needed someone, please, God, anyone, to be a run-stuffing nose tackle.

Stackhouse has been working out with Micah Parsons and a group of Packers front players this offseason, which doesn’t speak to the run defense portion of his game, but if he can improve at getting off blocks, he has a chance to be in Jonathan Gannon’s defensive line rotation for a guy who loves to rotate bodies.

49. Matt Orzech

Position: long snapper
How acquired: unrestriced free agent (2023)

He’s a long snapper. Presumably, Matt LaFleur doesn’t talk to them either.

48. Travis Glover

Position: interior offensive lineman
How acquired: sixth-round pick (2024)

Had it been up to me, Glover would have been on the list with the last set of players, but for some reason, Jason believes there’s real potential upside here. I don’t. The Jager Burton pick was designed specifically because they do not believe in their current backup offensive linemen’s ability to be relied upon should a starter go down at any of the interior spots.

The times we’ve seen Glover get into competitive football games have been a disaster. When he had to come into the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, he was literally unplayable, to the point that the Packers had to unplay him.

Glover is huge (6-foot-6, 317), but a torn lat cost him his 2025 season, making that Eagles game the last time we saw him on the field for the Pack. That’s a tough look to have as a lasting image.

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