2024 Packers roster ranking, 90-81: The long shots will make their case in camp
The Leap ranks the Green Bay Packers' 90-man roster in order of player caliber.
The Green Bay Packers will open training camp in just over three weeks, but it will be among the quietest weeks on the NFL calendar. That makes now the perfect time for the return of our ranking the Packers series for the free Monday newsletter.
A reminder on our methodology: This order reflects a player’s specific ability, not their positional value. This can be taken as “Who are the best 90 players on the Packers heading into 2024?” Just remember we based this on our projection for what they will do, not only on what they’ve done in the past.
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 those on the fringes of the 90-man roster, the true long shots. Some were tryout players or undrafted free agents. They’re unlikely to make the 53 and probably have a less than 50/50 shot to land on any opening-day roster.
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T-89. Jarveon Howard
Position: running back
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
Jarveon Howard came to the NFL from Alcorn State by way of Syracuse. He’s built very similarly to MarShawn Lloyd at 5-foot-9 and 215 pounds. He is an explosive linear mover with a 96th percentile broad jump (a Brian Gutekunst favorite) as part of a 7.93 Relative Athletic Score. He’s a true one-cut runner who runs hard through arm tackles.
The problem for him is the numbers. There are already four running backs expected to make the roster, and Ellis Merriweather (more on him momentarily) starts the season with a leg up after joining the Packers’ practice squad last year.
There are so many good running backs, and this scheme has a history of producing them out of nowhere. We can’t sleep on any running back in a situation like this if he has NFL athleticism which Howard does. That being said … wake me up in August.
T-89. Ralen Goforth
Position: linebacker
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
The Packers clearly believe Ralen Goforth deserves to be higher on this list. They gave him a three-year undrafted free agent deal worth $2.84 million total with a $10,000 signing bonus. Eating 10K if Goforth gets cut won’t hurt Russ Ball’s balance sheet too much, but it’s noteworthy he got guaranteed money.
Goforth plays a clear need position, comes in with suitable athleticism (7.81 RAS) to be a special teamer while he figures out the NFL game. Goforth played four years at USC before transferring to Washington, which also means he gets the Sam Seele stand of approval. This is a name to watch in training camp (maybe the only one on this list) and blame Jason for his ranking this low.
88. James Ester
Position: defensive tackle
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
They gave him No. 65. This never ends well. Ester comes to the Packers as a UDFA from Northern Illinois with below-average size and athletic ability (4.12 RAS). Ester’s best case is his versatility. He played all over NIU’s front boasting the size to play inside and entrusted with the pass rush juice to work off the edge.
Green Bay has a rich history of an iconoclast defensive tackle turning Cinderella story during August, but most of them turn back into a pumpkin before final cuts.
*Clock strikes midnight*
87. James Turner
Position: kicker
How acquired: waiver claim from Detroit Lions (2024)
When the Detroit Lions waived James Turner earlier this summer, it surprised some who believed Turner posed a legitimate challenge to win the kicking job for the defending NFC North champions. GM Brad Holmes signed UFL kicker Jake Bates, rendering Turner redundant in their eyes, but their loss is the Packers’ gain.
At this point, it would take quite the training camp and preseason performance for Turner to land the kicking job for the Packers, but he has a shot to stick on the practice squad. If Anders Carlson wins the starting spot, Greg Joseph would be a prime candidate to be the backup on the P-squad but also a prime candidate to be stolen by a team looking to upgrade its kicking situation.
It would be reasonable for Green Bay to prefer Turner on the practice squad as he’d be considerably less likely to get picked off by another team.
86. Deslin Alexandre
Position: defensive end
How acquired: street free agent (2024)
Deslin Alexandre came into the league in 2023 as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets who waived him in August of that year. Alexandre signed with the Chicago Bears’ practice squad where he spent all of last season before signing a futures contract with the Packers.
Alexandre brings athleticism (8.41 RAS), but he also started at Pitt in 2017. He just turned 26 despite entering his second season and has never produced at volume despite playing in 2022 well above his age group.
It would be a cool story, but the odds are against Alexandre developing enough to be worth keeping for the Packers. Plus, they gave him No. 49. This is a wrap.
T-82. Christian Young
Position: linebacker
How acquired: street free agent (2024)
Christian Young came to the Packers last fall after the Seattle Seahawks waived the undrafted free agent in August. Young played safety at Arizona but lacked the athleticism to stick there in the NFL and moved to linebacker. He’s undersized at 6-foot-1 and 221 pounds but ran the 40-yard dash in the 4.6-second range in the pre-draft and that alone provides some potential special-teams value.
These types of hybrid players have long ruled college football, but the results have been mixed in the NFL. Linebackers have gotten smaller to be sure, and Young is only marginally smaller than second-round pick Edgerrin Cooper -- they even have similar density.
But Young’s issues at Arizona were processing and awareness. That’s mitigated a bit closer to the line of scrimmage, but he profiles at best as a special-teams player.
T-82. Joel Wilson
Position: tight end
How acquired: street free agent (2023)
Joel Wilson is another one of the handful of players at the bottom of the list to have already spent time in Green Bay, signing with the practice squad last November. Wilson started his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. The Bills put him on their practice squad before the Packers sniped him when their tight-end depth began to wane following Luke Musgrave’s lacerated kidney.
The problem for Wilson is he’s a poor athlete (4.32 RAS), particularly by the Packers’ standards. That makes him poor competition for Musgrave, Tucker Kraft, et al. In order to be anything more than a practice-squad player, Wilson has to prove a great deal as a blocker. Experience in the scheme will give him a leg up over another fringe roster tight end coming up later on the list, but will it be enough?
T-82. Ellis Merriweather
Position: running back
How acquired: street free agent (2023)
Merriweather came to the Packers around the same time as Wilson, in November of last year. After a short stint with the New Orleans Saints and several weeks off an NFL roster, Green Bay signed him to the practice squad.
With Lloyd and Josh Jacobs joining incumbents AJ Dillon and Emanuel Wilson, Merriweather faces a difficult path to landing on the roster. However, given the rate of running back injuries, he has a chance to stick around as a practice-squad player. He lacks the kind of athleticism the Packers tend to prize (5.46 RAS) but at 6-foot-1 and 220 pounds, he’s a big back who has been in the system. That’s … something.
T-82. Gemon Green
Position: cornerback
How acquired: street free agent (2024)
A former All-Big Ten selection at Michigan, Gemon Green went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the New York Giants who put him on their practice squad for all of one day. Injuries reportedly held Green back last year. In fact, he was coming off shoulder surgery when he signed with the Packers.
Green plays a position of need for DC Jeff Hafley’s new group and has a chance to stick on the practice squad, but he’s no better than CB8 entering training camp.
That being said, against a very deep receiver room, Green will get ample opportunities in practice to show he’s worthy of a long-term investment. He played an NFL scheme at Michigan and did so at a high level for one of the best defenses in college football. It would be a surprise to see him push for a roster spot but, given the injury histories of some of the guys in front of him, it wouldn’t be shocking.
81. Dimitri Stanley
Position: wide receiver
How acquired: undrafted free agent (2024)
Dimitri Stanley enters 2024 as the “other” UDFA receiver after Julian Hicks stood out throughout the spring. You’ll notice he’s not on the list yet. Stanley just misses checking the athletic boxes the Packers prefer at receiver thanks to an 188-pound front at a shade under 5-foot-11. But he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.52 seconds, jumped 10-foot-8 in the broad (a 92nd percentile number), and hit 7.03 seconds on his three-cone.
Those are pretty Packers-y numbers, but Stanley is undersized and did not produce at a high level the way Green Bay tends to like.
Speaking of numbers, this is where Stanley is swimming upstream of the Fox River. At best, he’s WR9 if he’s ahead of quarterback convert Alex McGough and the aforementioned Hicks. He’s probably not. I would suggest renting, not buying.