Dead Zone Stab at the 53 Man Roster (Practice Squad In Parentheses)

[Joemailman]

QB (2) Jordan Love, Malik Willis (Taylor Elgersma)

OL (9) Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, Donovan Jennings, Jacob Monk (John Williams, Travis Glover, Kadeem Telfort)

RB (4) Josh Jacobs, Marshawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Emanuel Wilson (Amar Johnson, Jalen White)

TE (4) Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, John Fitzpatrick, Ben Sims (Messiah Swinson)

WR (7) Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Mecole Hardman, Bo Melton (Malik Heath, Cornelius Johnson)

CB (4) Nate Hobbs, Kalen King, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine (Kamal Hadden, Micah Robinson)

S (5) Javon Bullard, Xavier McKinney, Kitan Oladapo, Evan Williams, Zayne Anderson (Omar Brown)

DL (5) Karl Krooks, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Warren Brinson (Cameron Young, Nazir Stackhouse)

DE (5) Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Kingsley Enagbare, Collin Oliver (Brenton Cox)

LB (5) Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Tyron Hopper, Isaiah McDuffie, Isaiah Simmons (Kristian Welch)

ST (3) Brandon McManus, Matt Orzech, Daniel Whelan

PUP: Christian Watson

Note: Only have 4 CB's listed, but Javon Bullard, who will likely play slot corner is listed by Packers as a safety. And Bo Melton is listed as a WR.

[Fritz]

Equally early crazy dead zone stab:

Brenton Cox over Enagbare.

Colby Wooden gets the axe.

Either Fitzpatrick or Sims gets cut - whichever one is a worse blocker/special teamer.

John Williams surprises us all and Bobble gets a boner as Williams makes the cut over Donovan Jennings.

[Joemailman]

Equally early crazy dead zone stab:

Brenton Cox over Enagbare.

Colby Wooden gets the axe.

Either Fitzpatrick or Sims gets cut - whichever one is a worse blocker/special teamer.

John Williams surprises us all and Bobble gets a boner as Williams makes the cut over Donovan Jennings.

Those were basically the toughest choices. I ended up with 11 guys on the 53 who were not on it last year. 6 2025 draft picks, 2 guys who were on the PS last year (Jennings, Kalen King), and 3 FA's (Banks, Hardman, Hobbs).

[Fritz]

To me the running back situation is of great interest. Wilson and Brooks brought different things to the table last year, and they were both good. It's kinda hard to imagine them keeping four RB's, though I suppose if you consider Brooks and/or Wilson good special teams players, you could make the case for keeping four running backs.

I like Brooks. He brings a physicality to the blocking he does and when he carries the ball. I remember him as pretty decent catching passes, though I could well be wrong about that. If I had to choose between him and Wilson, I think I might go with Brooks. Though I like Wilson, too. I wouldn't be upset either way.

But it will be interesting to see what Lloyd brings. He's a fumbler, so if he can't get that corrected he'll end up a gadget guy without many snaps. So you're going to need a Brooks and/or Wilson to take up that slack. But if Lloyd can get a grip on his fumbling problem (ha!) and if he can learn to block decently, then you'll have a really great change-of-pace guy.

[Joemailman]

I wanted to go with 3 RB's, but I don't think they're ready to place too much trust in Lloyd. Brooks is their best pass-blocking RB, and Wilson is legit. I'm not sure they could get either one to the practice squad.

[bobblehead]

Pretty solid imo. I'm betting on Williams ahead of Jennings by a mile.

I think WR is really interesting and half expect moving Doubs or cutting Hardman. Somethings gotta give. Melton won't make the team as a WR, but may as a swiss army ST core guy. They definitely like the kid.

CB is ugly. You got the big 3 and a crapshoot. I guess having a cross trained Melton and Bullard around makes keeping 3 + developmental guy could happen. I would really think they are praying one of the young kids shows out. I'm still thinking they ultimately keep 5 and maybe the last 2 aren't even on the team yet.

DL is too tough to project at this point, but I think Cox makes the roster. He showed a lot late last year. Van Mess will probably be used primarily as a DT during pass downs.

Some fun battles and your early 53 makes it a little easier to decide who to focus on in meaningless games. I'll be watching the DL a lot and the CBs to see who plants their flag (we need 1 more guy to step up).

[bobblehead]

I wanted to go with 3 RB's, but I don't think they're ready to place too much trust in Lloyd. Brooks is their best pass-blocking RB, and Wilson is legit. I'm not sure they could get either one to the practice squad.

They'll go 3 with rotating guys through the PS. There are a ton of decent young RBs out there you can rotate through as ST/backup guys. My best guess is Brooks is the 3rd.

[texaspackerbacker]

4 RBs is fine. In the old days, there used to be a fullback taking up a spot. Now, you have four more athletic types who can still line up at fullback as needed.

Inevitably, somebody is gonna get hurt at least in a minor way, so it's good to have that four.

[Fritz]

Brooks could fit that fullback role pretty well, I think. He could be a lead blocker for Jacobs. Imagine the holes in the middle if Brooks leads Jacobs, with Jenkins clearing out linemen at center and the big guards on either side.

[bobblehead]

Brooks could fit that fullback role pretty well, I think. He could be a lead blocker for Jacobs. Imagine the holes in the middle if Brooks leads Jacobs, with Jenkins clearing out linemen at center and the big guards on either side.

I think MiLF has used his TEs that way more than other RBs. He wanted his Jusuckexyzpdq guy like SF had, but couldn't quite find him. Now he just lets them all do a little bit of that work. Savion could also play a little RB this season so I really don't see them carrying 4 on the roster.

Brooks is a really good all around back and thats why I think he is the 3rd guy. Wilson might be a touch better of a pure runner, but lacks in every other category.

[Fritz]

Who would be more difficult to replace? That is the question, not to be or not to be.

I do think IF Lloyd remains healthy and doesn't fumble too much, Wilson's role is more jeopardized.

[Joemailman]

Not many changes. Melton moved from WR to CB. Stackhouse instead of Brinson. Cox instead of Enagbare. Brinson could unseat Wooden or Brooks, but he appeared to injure his shoulder in practice today.

QB (2) Jordan Love, Malik Willis (Taylor Elgersma)

OL (9) Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, Donovan Jennings, Jacob Monk (John Williams, Lecitus Smith, Kadeem Telfort)

RB (4) Josh Jacobs, Marshawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Emanuel Wilson (Amar Johnson, Israel Abanikanda)

TE (4) Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, John Fitzpatrick, Ben Sims (Messiah Swinson)

WR (6) Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Mecole Hardman, (Malik Heath, Will Shepherd)

CB (5) Bo Melton, Nate Hobbs, Kalen King, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine (Kamal Hadden, Micah Robinson)

S (5) Javon Bullard, Xavier McKinney, Kitan Oladapo, Evan Williams, Zayne Anderson (Omar Brown)

DL (5) Karl Brooks, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse (Deslin Alexandre, Warren Brinson)

DE (5) Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Brenton Cox, Collin Oliver (Kingsley Enagbare)

LB (5) Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Tyron Hopper, Isaiah McDuffie, Isaiah Simmons (Kristian Welch)

ST (3) Brandon McManus, Matt Orzech, Daniel Whelan

PUP: Christian Watson

IR: Travis Glover

[texaspackerbacker]

QB (2) Jordan Love, Malik Willis (Sean Clifford)

OL (8) Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Elgton Jenkins, Zach Tom, Rasheed Walker, Jordan Morgan, Anthony Belton, Kadeem Telfort (Jacob Monk, John Williams,)

RB (4) Josh Jacobs, Marshawn Lloyd, Chris Brooks, Emanuel Wilson (Amar Johnson, Israel Abanikandi)

TE (4) Tucker Kraft, Luke Musgrave, John Fitzpatrick, Ben Sims (Messiah Swinson)

WR (7) Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, Matthew Golden, Savion Williams, Mecole Hardman, Malik Heath (Will Sheppard, Cornelius Johnson, Isaiah Neyor)

CB (5) Nate Hobbs, Kalen King, Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine. Bo Melton (Micah Robinson, Corey Ballentine)

S (5) Javon Bullard, Xavier McKinney, Kitan Oladapo, Evan Williams, Zayne Anderson (Omar Brown)

DL (6) Karl Krooks, Kenny Clark, Devonte Wyatt, Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse, Warren Brinson

DE (5) Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Barryn Sorrell, Kingsley Enagbare, Aron Mosby (Collin Oliver)

LB (4) Edgerrin Cooper, Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Isaiah Simmons (Tyron Hopper, Jamon Johnson, Kristian Welch)

ST (3) Brandon McManus, Matt Orzech, Daniel Whelan

PUP: Christian Watson

IR: Travis Glover

Not much different from Joe's. I think they keep Clifford over Elgersma. I think Ballentine makes at least the PS, maybe beats King or somebody for the 53. Abanikandi as an RB on the PS as well as Heath maybe making it as the 7th WR.

I just counted, and I had way too many on the PS.

[Fritz]

For the third QB, wouldn't you keep the younger guy with seemingly more upside? Or are the Packers so determined that this is the year, that if the unthinkable happened, Cliffy could keep the team afloat for a few games?

[Joemailman]

For the third QB, wouldn't you keep the younger guy with seemingly more upside? Or are the Packers so determined that this is the year, that if the unthinkable happened, Cliffy could keep the team afloat for a few games?

I think they're still figuring out if Air Canada can run an NFL offense. He's had some plays where he held onto the ball way too long. Preseason games will be really important.