The NFL moves fast, which means there’s both an eternity’s worth of time for teams to add to their rosters, and, paradoxically, that cut-down day will be here before we know it. With some exceptions — a trade here, a free agent there — coaches and GMs have largely assembled what will become the basis for their squad next season.
So it’s early, but not too early, to take our first best guess at how the Green Bay Packers’ final 53-man roster will take shape.
Quarterbacks (2): Jordan Love, Tyrod Taylor
Green Bay solved its QB2 riddle by signing veteran Tyrod Taylor. The seasoned quarterback comes over from the New York Jets and has earned enough respect with his resume and play not to have to battle it out for the backup spot. As a corresponding move to the Taylor signing, the Packers released Desmond Ridder, putting to rest any thoughts of a duel for the gig. Kyle McCord and Kyron Drones will both try to earn a practice squad spot.
A realistic outcome here is Ridder ending up as QB2 with 18 starts in three years. Meanwhile, they put Drones on the practice squad if he impresses.
Running backs (3): Josh Jacobs, MarShawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks
The Packers will really be banking on Lloyd to finally stay healthy after appearing in just one game during his first two years in the NFL. If he can’t, the writing will be on the wall. Emanuel Wilson left in free agency to sign a one-year deal with the Seattle Seahawks, which opens up the runway for Lloyd to claim the No. 2 spot.
Green Bay usually doesn’t carry four running backs. However, if Lloyd can’t stay healthy, Pierre Strong Jr. or Damien Martinez could sneak into the frame.
Wide receivers (6): Christian Watson, Matthew Golden, Jayden Reed, Savion Williams, Skyy Moore, Bo Melton
Watson, Golden, Reed, and Williams are locks. After they traded Dontayvion Wicks and Romeo Doubs left in free agency, Moore is also a near certainty to make the roster. His strength is his return ability, but he will be classified as a wide receiver. What the Packers do with Melton is anyone’s guess. He attempted to make the transition from wide receiver to cornerback last offseason, only to get some snaps back at wide receiver as the season carried along, while not getting any at cornerback.
Head coach Matt LaFleur loves Melton, so we’ll put him back at wide receiver after Green Bay drafted two cornerbacks. Keep an eye on J. Michael Sturdivant, a freak athlete brought on as an undrafted free agent out of Florida.
Tight ends (3): Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, Josh Whyle
My tight end prediction is rooted in the idea that Kraft is ready to go for Week 1 after tearing his ACL midseason a year ago.
Musgrave is the wild card here. If he’s on the team at the end of the summer, he’ll make the 53-man roster. Trade rumors last season and more whispers this offseason suggest it’s possible things could change for the former second-round pick, who has never lived up to his draft status and is entering the final year of his deal. Whyle is the No. 3 tight end in all of this.
If Kraft isn’t ready for Week 1, Green Bay will likely keep a fourth tight end.
Offensive line (10): Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Anthony Belton, Zach Tom, Jager Burton, Jacob Monk, Darian Kinnard, John Williams, Travis Glover
Green Bay often carries 10 offensive linemen, and after a year in which the group generally underwhelmed, keeping 10 also feels more likely this time around. Brian Gutekunst will want the team to be prepared for every outcome, including injuries, should they arrive in bulk again.
Williams was a rookie last year and spent most of the season on the shelf, and he will really have to earn his spot. Burton is the fifth-round pick out of Kentucky this year and is a fun name to keep tabs on. After starting plenty of games at both guard spots and center in college, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Burton slotted in to start this year at some point should there be injuries on the interior of the line.
Edge defenders (6): Micah Parsons, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Collin Oliver, Brenton Cox Jr., Dani Dennis-Sutton
This one was tough for multiple reasons. First, Parsons isn’t expected to be ready for Week 1. However, if the Packers opted to put Parsons on the PUP list to start the season, he’d be required to miss the first four games. If there’s even a chance that he’ll be ready in Week 2 or 3, it would be foolish to put him on the PUP list. So we have Parsons on the roster coming out of the summer.
On the back end, it really came down to Oliver or Arron Mosby. We gave the nod to Oliver, who played on the edge and inside linebacker in college at Oklahoma State. A fifth-round pick last year, Oliver was out rehabbing an injury most of his rookie campaign. Dennis-Sutton, the fourth-round pick this April out of Penn State, is an intriguing rookie to watch.
Defensive tackles (6): Devonte Wyatt, Javon Hargrave, Karl Brooks, Chris McClellan, Warren Brinson, Nazir Stackhouse
It was a tough call between keeping five or six guys here, but we went with six and kept Brinson and Stackhouse on the back end of the depth chart. Wyatt, Hargrave, Brooks, and McClellan should be locks. Jonathan Ford could have a say in a final spot over Brinson or Stackhouse if he impresses in his second stint with the Packers. Everything else here feels straightforward.
Linebackers (5): Zaire Franklin, Edgerrin Cooper, Isaiah McDuffie, Ty’Ron Hopper, Nick Niemann
Speaking of straightforward, let’s state the obvious: Franklin, Cooper, McDuffie, and Hopper are all locks. Even though Hopper hasn’t earned much run after being a third-round pick in 2024, he feels like a safe bet to make the roster.
So, it all comes down to two items: Do the Packers keep five or six linebackers? If it’s five, does the final spot go to Niemann or Kristian Welch?
We kept five, given that new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will be running a 3-4 defense. Niemann and Welch offer immense special teams contributions. It could be a coin flip. We went with Neimann and had Welch land back on the practice squad.
Cornerbacks (5): Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, Benjamin St-Juste, Brandon Cisse, Domani Jackson
The locks are Nixon, Valentine, St-Juste, and 2026 second-round pick Brandon Cisse. Jackson was a sixth-round pick out of Alabama in April and is less of a guarantee. Still, given all the open questions in Green Bay’s cornerback conundrum, he’s a good extra option to have. Green Bay could keep six, depending on how Kamal Hadden looks after suffering a season-ending tibia and fibula injury last year.
Safeties (4): Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, Kitan Oladapo
This is perhaps the easiest position to predict of the bunch. All four players have a role, even Oladapo, on special teams and as a depth piece at safety. McKinney is an All-Pro, Williams is ascending towards that level, and Bullard is dang good in the slot.
Specialists (3): Trey Smack, Daniel Whelan, Matt Orzech
Orzech is the only long snapper currently on the roster. Whelan is coming off a phenomenal season. The only question is who will win the kicking battle. We went with Smack, for whom the Packers traded up at the end of the sixth round. He beats out veteran Brandon McManus and Lucas Havrisik.
