With the Green Bay Packers trimming their 91-man roster down to just 53 active players, it’s time to look at how the puzzle pieces fit together for the 2024 regular season. What does an AJ Dillon-less backfield mean for rookie MarShawn Lloyd and preseason standout Emanuel Wilson? Will second-round rookie linebacker Edgerrin Cooper really not start ahead of Eric Wilson in Week 1?
We’ll try to answer these questions and more by going through the Packers roster breakdown position by position, determining which situations are in flux and which are absolutely safe for the 2024 season.
quarterback
- Jordan Love
- Malik Willis
Right now, the only two quarterbacks on the Packers’ roster are Jordan Love and Malik Willis, meaning Willis is the backup quarterback by default. Whether that stays that way in Week 1 after a potential call-up to the practice squad comes into play remains to be seen. Apparently, Green Bay is interested in re-signing Sean Clifford to the practice squad, which could lead to a short-term period where Clifford is activated and allowed to replace Love while Willis learns the playbook. However, we’ll have to wait and see if Clifford comes through the waivers list on Wednesday to see if the Packers’ plan works out.
Run back
- Josh Jacobs
- MarShawn Lloyd
- Emmanuel Wilson
With AJ Dillon placed on the injured list, which means season-ending for him, the team’s primary backup running backs will be MarShawn Lloyd and Emanuel Wilson behind Josh Jacobs. The Packers have made it clear that they want to take a running back-by-committee approach at the position, giving both Lloyd and Wilson the opportunity for significant appearances in 2024. Before Lloyd suffered the hamstring injury, he was the team’s third running back – behind Jacobs and Dillon. Assuming he’s healthy by Week 1, he’ll likely be the Packers’ second running back. That being said, Wilson is in his second year in the system and is coming off two impressive preseasons in a row. The situation is a little uncertain.
Recipient
- Christian Watson
- Romeo Doubs
- Jayden Reed
- Dontayvion Wicks
- Bo Melton
- Malik Heath
Christian Watson, Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed — with Reed in the slot — have been the most used receivers on the first team offense this summer. Behind that trio is Dontayvion Wicks, who really came on in the second half of his rookie season. If Watson ever falls out of the lineup, Bo Melton is expected to step in as the team’s “speed” receiver. Malik Heath won’t be used much, as he’s the sixth receiver on the team who specializes in doing the “dirty work” of the offensive blocking game while also contributing on special teams as a non-returner, a rarity under special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia.
Tight End
- Luke Musgrave
- Tucker Kraft
- Ben Sims
The Packers finished third in the league in 12 personnel sets (one running back, two tight ends) in 2023. That came despite Tyler Davis being on the injured list all season and Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft both dealing with major injuries. Davis is now out of the running as he landed on the injured list again, ending his season, but Musgrave and Kraft are healthy to start the regular season. That trio will be on the field a lot in 2024. Ben Sims will also contribute on special teams as a protector on both the punt and field goal teams.
Offensive line
- Rasheed Walker (LT)
- Elgton Jenkins (LG)
- Josh Myers (middle)
- Jordan Morgan (RG)
- Zach Tom (RT)
- Sean Rhyan (G/C)
- Andre Dillard (T)
- Jacob Monk (G/C)
- Kadeem Telfort (T)
- Travis Glover (T)
The projected starters from left to right on the offensive line are Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jordan Morgan and Zach Tom. Head coach Matt LaFleur has indicated that the team will rotate Morgan and Sean Rhyan at the right guard position, as Rhyan and Jon Runyan Jr. did at the same spot last season. The first tackle off the bench is expected to be Andre Dillard, who played mostly left tackle in the preseason. Jacob Monk is the last significant offensive lineman on the lineup, as both Kadeem Telfort and Travis Glover appear to be more redshirt players than anything else. Don’t be surprised if Telfort and Glover are out on a weekly basis.
Defensive end
- Rashan Gary
- Preston Smith
- Kingsley Enagbare
- Luke Van Ness
- Brenton Cox Jr.
- Arron Mosby
One of the biggest surprises from Tuesday’s cuts was that the team retained six defensive ends, even though the Packers didn’t use a fifth edge defender in any games last season. Kingsley Enagbare made a few more first-team appearances in the preseason than former first-round pick Lukas Van Ness, but it remains to be seen what Green Bay plans to do with Brenton Cox Jr. and Arron Mosby this season. If the team needs to add another player to the 53-man roster due to injuries or other numbers issues, one of the two reserve ends could move to the practice squad.
Defensive Tackle
- Kenny Clark
- TJ Slaton
- Devonte Wyatt
- Karl Brooks
- Colby Wood
Currently, Kenny Clark and TJ Slaton are expected to be the starters at defensive tackle, but Devonte Wyatt is expected to see almost as much action as Slaton. Wyatt will be used more in pass-rushing situations, while Slaton will be used in run-stopping situations if this summer’s rotation was any indication of how the team will use players this regular season. Karl Brooks and Colby Wooden were barely used in first-team defense, but Brooks remains one spot higher in the rankings than Wooden.
Linebackers
- Quay Walker (MLB)
- Isaiah McDuffie (OLB)
- Eric Wilson (OLB)
- Edgerrin Cooper
- Ty’Ron Hopper
The bitterest pill for Packers fans to swallow heading into Week 1 is that their 2023 backup inside linebackers (Isaiah McDuffie and Eric Wilson) are now their 2024 starting outside linebackers, despite the team selecting two players at the position on Day 2. Ty’Ron Hopper was healthy this preseason but underwhelmed. Edgerrin Cooper rotated as a nickel linebacker on the first-team defense, but not as a 4-3 outside linebacker until his hip injury kept him off the field for the entire preseason. Cooper, a second-round rookie, was still inexperienced at the start of his NFL career. His injury-stunted development certainly doesn’t help him get on the field at the start of the 2024 regular season. Let’s assume Green Bay will play base defense about a third of the time based on what they’ve shown this summer.
Corner
- Jaire Alexander
- Eric Stokes
- Keisean Nixon
- Carrington Valentine’s Day
- Corey Ballentine
Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes received virtually all of the first-team snaps as outside cornerbacks this summer. Whenever one went off the field, they were replaced by starting tight end Carrington Valentine and Keisean Nixon. Valentine and Corey Ballentine should also contribute on special teams as long as Alexander and Stokes remain healthy. This is about as clear as a number one through number five at a position is on the Packers’ roster.
Security
- Xavier McKinney
- Javon Bullard
- Evan Williams
- Kitan Oladapo
- Zayne Anderson
Javon Bullard spent most of the summer competing with Evan Williams and Anthony Johnson Jr., who was surprisingly sacked on cutdowns, for the starting position opposite Xavier McKinney. About two weeks ago, Bullard began to secure the job, which also ended his time as the team’s No. 2 slot option behind cornerback Keisean Nixon. However, if Nixon ever goes down, Bullard could potentially start as a safety in base defense and move to the slot in nickel sets. In that scenario, Williams would end up playing safety in nickel sets. Kitan Oladapo will likely contribute the most on special teams in his rookie year after recovering from toe surgery that limited him early in training camp. Zayne Anderson is almost a positionless player, playing exclusively on special teams during the regular season. If Anderson is ever in a position to play defense in a game, it’s almost certain that the team will call up someone from the practice squad the next week to take those reps.
specialist
- Kicker: Greg Joseph
- Punter: Daniel Whelan
- Long Snapper: Matt Orzech
Daniel Whelan and Matt Orzech were unchallenged at their respective positions at the end of training camp. That the Packers chose kicker Greg Joseph, whose contract is guaranteed if he’s on the roster in Week 1, over the younger Anders Carlson was a bit of a surprise considering neither had a very strong summer. Perhaps Green Bay will rummage around the waiver list to see if there’s another kicker they could bring in to displace Joseph, but it’s unlikely there are better options available at this point.
