2022 UDFA Prospectus: Which undrafted free agents are best positioned to stick with the Packers?

The Leap assesses which undrafted free agents have the most favorable path to a spot on the Packers' 53-man roster or practice squad in 2022.

While all NFL teams enjoy some modicum of success with undrafted free agents, few franchises consistently retain as many as the Green Bay Packers. If history provides any indication, one or more prospects that didn't hear their name called during the draft will find themselves with a job on Green Bay's 53-man roster or practice squad in 2022.

As the Packers regularly bring in double-digit undrafted rookies, projecting which ones ultimately stick around presents a serious challenge. Multiple factors come into play when evaluating UDFAs and their path to success. Certainly, a prospect must possess talent. But if he plays in a crowded position group, the coaching staff might not provide him with enough opportunities to demonstrate his skill set.

The Packers UDFA prospectus, one of my favorite projects from my time at Acme Packing Company, dates back to the 2013 season. In all but one year, the prospectus featured at least one undrafted rookie that earned a spot on the 53-man roster or practice squad. The lone attempt without a hit came in 2017, though that comes with a sizable asterisk. That prospectus picked two players Green Bay hoped to sneak onto the practice squad, QB Taysom Hill and offensive lineman Geoff Gray. Hill, famously, wound up with the New Orleans Saints as a waiver claim while Gray chose to join the New York Jets' practice squad instead of Green Bay's offer.

The most recent edition of the prospectus effectively had a perfect record, with two of the four players (Yosh Nijman and Randy Ramsey) earning jobs outright, a third (Curtis Bolton) set to start at linebacker before a torn ACL landed him on injured reserve, and a fourth (Greg Roberts) spending a season on the physically unable to perform list before moving to the practice squad. Nijman and Ramsey remain with the Packers three years later, with the former the apparent front-runner to start at right tackle and the latter positioned to compete for playing time at outside linebacker behind Rashan Gary and Preston Smith.

Whether the Packers retain that many undrafted free agents in 2022 remains unclear. The team drafted 11 rookies last month with six coming in the top 150 picks, leaving fewer openings for other rookies. Still, with Elgton Jenkins and Robert Tonyan likely to start the season on the PUP list, Green Bay has a few more openings with which to play.

So with the qualifiers out of the way, here are the undrafted free agents best positioned to stick with the Packers in 2022.