Packers Depth Chart: Projecting a 53-man roster after the 2026 draft

Quarterbacks

1. Jordan Love
2. Desmond Ridder I think Desmond Ridder, who has 18 starts under his belt at the NFL level, has the inside lane on the backup quarterback job ahead of Kyle McCord, a 2025 draft pick the Packers signed to a reserve/futures deal, and undrafted rookie Kyron Drones. On the topic of Drones, I think Green Bay brought him in to simulate some of these mobile quarterbacks in training camp/practices in general. They usually complain about having to split reps four ways with quarterbacks, but Drones brings the team a different element than Jordan Love, Ridder or McCord from a mobility standpoint. Story time: When I was with the XFL, before our first and only season, we had a dual-threat quarterback under contract by the name of P.J. Walker (he later got some NFL opportunities). During the 2019 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to sign him to a practice squad deal for one week to simulate Lamar Jackson in practice (we declined, since he was under contract with us). Sometimes, practice squad players are practice players, not just developmental players. I could see that being the case with Drones, especially when Kyle Murray is on the schedule twice and the team will also play Malik Willis, too.

Running Backs

1. Josh Jacobs
2. Chris Brooks
3. MarShawn Lloyd Everyone has their opinion on whether or not MarShawn Lloyd will be healthy enough to make the team, but the Packers sure are acting as if that’s their assumption for the 2026 season. If not, Pierre Strong Jr., a former fourth-round pick, and Damien Martinez, a former projected top-100 selection, will end up pushing for the third running back job in Green Bay.

Receivers

1. Christian Watson
2. Matthew Golden
3. Jayden Reed
4. Savion Williams
5. Bo Melton
6. Skyy Moore I think this one is pretty cut and dried. Head coach Matt LaFleur even talked about Bo Melton in his post-draft interview when discussing the receiver position, so I think it’s safe to assume that the cornerback experiment is over. The trade of Dontayvion Wicks (along with losing Romeo Doubs in free agency) has really cleared the road for Skyy Moore to make this team, which could provide the Packers with a true punt returner for the first time in a long time.

Tight Ends

1. Tucker Kraft
2. Luke Musgrave
3. Josh Whyle General manager Brian Gutekunst admitted that the Packers were looking for a true Y tight end in the 2026 draft, but that they couldn’t find a good value. I’m not surprised, considering how many blocking tight ends went much earlier than expected in the draft, starting as early as the second round. With Darian Kinnard (tackle) able to play tight end and Chris Brooks being a quality blocking back, I think blocking tight end is less important to Green Bay than most teams, but all three of their guys right now are pass-catchers. I wouldn’t be shocked if they ended up adding a true Y (and maybe flipping Luke Musgrave, who I had heard the team was close to trading around the trade deadline last year before injuries started to pile up at the position) in some way this offseason.

Offensive Linemen

1. Jordan Morgan (LT)
2. Aaron Banks (LG)
3. Sean Rhyan (C)
4. Anthony Belton (RG)
5. Zach Tom (RT)
6. Darian Kinnard (T/G)
7. Travis Glover (T)
8. Jager Burton (G/C)
9. Jacob Monk (C)
10. John Williams (G/C) Oddly enough, the toughest call for me in this entire exercise was deciding whether or not the 10th offensive lineman on the team (the Packers usually carry 10, sometimes even 11) would be 2025 draft pick John Williams or Donovan Jennings. Last year, Williams dealt with an injury that kept him sidelined until the end of his rookie season, when he practiced with the team late in the year while still on the injured reserve. The Packers allowed for Williams’ practice window to expire, keeping Jennings on the active roster going into the playoffs, which is one strike against Williams. With that being said, Gutekunst loves his draft picks and Williams is still under contract for three more cost-controlled years. Gun to my head: They keep Williams. I could be wrong. Pray for my head.

Defensive Linemen

1. Devonte Wyatt (DE)
2. Javon Hargrave (DE/NT)
3. Karl Brooks (DE)
4. Chris McClellan (DE/NT)
5. Warren Brinson (DE/NT)
6. Nazir Stackhouse (NT) This seems pretty straightforward, too. I don’t know who is going to be the starting nose tackle, because Javon Hargrave, Chris McClellan and Warren Brinson are more hybrid players than true head-up-on-center nose tackles, but that will get sorted down the line. I feel pretty good that these six will be the defensive linemen who make the roster in Jonathan Gannon’s 3-4 defense.

Edge Defenders

1. Lukas Van Ness
2. Dani Dennis-Sutton
3. Barryn Sorrell
4. Brenton Cox Jr.
5. Collin Oliver Without Micah Parsons, I think these five edge defenders will be the team’s 3-4 outside linebackers. Brenton Cox, who doesn’t help much on special teams, will probably get knocked off the 53-man roster (barring an injury elsewhere) when Parsons returns to the lineup around Week 5. Don’t be surprised if Arron Mosby is retained on the practice squad and comes up (when injuries pile up on the roster) to play some special teams snaps later in the season. He’s really good at what he does in the kicking game.

Linebackers

1. Zaire Franklin (Mike)
2. Edgerrin Cooper (Will)
3. Isaiah McDuffie (Mike)
4. Ty’Ron Hopper (Will)
5. Nick Niemann I’d be surprised if the Packers carried more than five linebackers while they’re running a 3-4 defense. Under Jeff Hafley, they usually carried five, even though Gutekunst admitted it was hard to field a quality special teams unit with numbers that low. When Green Bay has run a 3-4 in the past, they’ve carried four more often than not. With that being said, it sure seems like the Packers are investing in that last linebacker spot, because they gave both Nick Niemann and Kristian Welch, two true special teams contributors, a little money this offseason. Only one likely makes the roster, with the player having the inside track being Niemann. Don’t be surprised if Welch sticks on the practice squad and ends up being called up for games eventually, similar to the Mosby situation.

Cornerbacks

1. Keisean Nixon
2. Brandon Cisse
3. Carrington Valentine
4. Benjamin St-Juste
5. Domani Jackson
6. Kamal Hadden The Packers are a little thinner at safety, which should help with the cornerback numbers this year. Usually, Green Bay doesn’t play cornerbacks on special teams much (Bo Melton aside). The fact that free agent signing Benjamin St-Juste is a special teams ace sort of helps him fill the role of the fifth safety on special teams (Green Bay uses safeties a lot on teams). I think it’s pretty much a lock that the top five cornerbacks make this team, with second-round rookie Brandon Cisse, returning starter Carrington Valentine and St-Juste likely to compete for playing time opposite of Keisean Nixon. The big question for me is what Kamal Hadden, whom the staff called the team’s most improved player in 2025, will look like when he returns from injury.

Safeties

1. Xavier McKinney
2. Evan Williams
3. Javon Bullard
4. Kitan Oladapo This one is a layup. All four of these players are contributors to the team, with Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams starting at safety, Javon Bullard holding down the slot position and Kitan Oladapo being the backup slot and a special teams contributor. Unless the team makes a trade or someone steps up in the preseason, I’m assuming these are the four who make the roster.

Kicker

1. Trey Smack The Packers can move on from Brandon McManus, which I wrote about in January. I thought the chances that they would actually do so were slim after they paid him a $1 million roster bonus earlier this offseason, but clearly the team traded two picks to select rookie kicker Trey Smack in the draft — something that can’t be overlooked. Either Green Bay will burn two seventh-round picks or a million dollars with their kicker decision, but they’ll have legit competition at the position this summer. Just based on the team’s incentives in the situation, I think they would like to keep the younger player who is on a cost-controlled four-year contract. McManus is due for $8.3 million over the next two years on his current deal, for example. Smack was picked 216th overall. Last year’s 216th pick was Jeremy Crawshaw, who is making $2 million over his first two years in the league (and $4.4 million over four). If it’s close, the job will go to Smack.

Punter

1. Daniel Whelan Daniel Whelan is an All-Pro caliber punter. Nothing will be changing here.

Long Snapper

1. Matt Orzech Matt Orzech is the only long snapper on the roster, but it is interesting that the Packers are bringing in multiple long snappers for their rookie minicamp. Maybe they’ll finally push him this offseason. I still think Orzech is the best bet to make the team, but I’m on alert until I see which tryout players get signed to the offseason roster after rookie minicamp.