Green Bay Packers Roster: Post-Preseason Week 2 53-man projection

Kamal Hadden #36 of the Green Bay Packers holds a football during training camp at Ray Nitschke Field in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, on August 2, 2026. (Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | NurPhoto via Getty Images

After Week 2's action against the Denver Broncos, we did a full breakdown of the Green Bay Packers' entire depth chart, position-by-position, while showing our work. Now we're going to take it a step further and update our 53-man roster projection with our best guess on what the team will look like when the club announces that they've successfully dropped 38 players from the 91-man offseason roster.

Quarterback

1. Jordan Love
2. Tyrod Taylor

Yes, Kyle McCord has clearly been outplaying Tyrod Taylor in the preseason so far, but Taylor is still taking all of the second-team snaps, while McCord only received all of the outright third-team snaps following the release of Kyron Drones last week. I don't think the door is completely closed on McCord winning the job, or the team pivoting to a veteran option like Jimmy Garoppolo, but right now I'm guessing that Taylor is the backup in Week 1.

Running Back

1. Josh Jacobs
2. MarShawn Lloyd
3. Chris Brooks

Barring injury or suspension, it's going to be tough for Pierre Strong Jr., the Packers' fourth running back option, to make the roster. He will probably be a practice squad priority for them, though, and be called up if Green Bay is ever down a body at the position.

Receiver

1. Christian Watson
2. Matthew Golden
3. Jayden Reed
4. Savion Williams
5. Bo Melton
6. Skyy Moore
7. J. Michael Sturdivant

The top six are essentially roster locks as far as I see it. Christian Watson and Matthew Golden are the team's starting outside receivers, while Jayden Reed continues to start as a slot-exclusive player for Green Bay. Savion Williams is Watson's direct backup, Bo Melton is Golden's direct backup and Skyy Moore is Reed's direct backup on offense.

Beyond just offense, Williams has been getting work as a kick returner and punt gunner, Melton has been getting work as a punt gunner and jammer on the punt return team and Moore has been getting work as a kick and punt returner. All three of the backup receivers have special teams ability, which helps their situations.

The final roster spot here I'm giving to J. Michael Sturdivant, who is also being onboarded to play some key special teams roles (punt gunner and lead blocker on punt return). Technically, Isaiah Neyor does seem to be one spot ahead of Sturdivant on the offensive depth chart, but I think the special teams ability (which helps Green Bay not only cover injuries at the receiver position but also at defensive back) gives Sturdivant a little boost.

It's possible that Sturdivant exited the Broncos game with a concussion, which sort of muddies this projection. We'll learn more about Sturdivant's status when the press asks head coach Matt LaFleur about it this week.

Tight End

1. Tucker Kraft
2. Josh Whyle

The Packers are good for one roster game" every cutdown. I think this year, it could be at tight end. With Luke Musgrave (neck) still on the PUP list, I'm not sure Green Bay needs to worry about Drake Dabney or Messiah Swinson being picked up on waivers at the cutdown deadline.

If the Packers drop to just two tight ends at initial cuts, as I'm projecting, they can hold an extra player for a day (or more) longer, hoping that they can more safely pass that player on the practice squad through waivers as other teams fill up their rosters. At worst, I think Green Bay can plan on calling up a Dabney or Swinson from the practice squad until Musgrave is activated. At best, maybe they add a tight end themselves via waivers.

I fully expect the team to have three tight ends on the 46-man gameday roster against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. I just don't necessarily think that means that three of them have to be on the initial roster at cutdowns.

Offensive Line

1. Zach Bako-Bewele (RT)
2. Sean Rhyan (C)
3. Jordan Morgan (LT)
4. Aaron Banks (LG)
5. Jacob Monk (G/C)
6. Jager Burton (G/C)
7. Anthony Belton (RT/RG)
8. Donovan Jennings (G/C)
9. John Williams (LT)
10. Darian Kinnard (RT/RG)

The player I'm most iffy about making this team is probably Donovan Jennings, but he continues to be rotated into the offensive line quickly in the preseason and is grading out decently - at least in line with the Packers' other backup offensive linemen. If they only keep nine, I'm assuming that Jennings is the cut, but as of now I have 10 making the team.

Defensive Line

1. Devonte Wyatt
2. Karl Brooks
3. Javon Hargrave
4. Warren Brinson
5. Chris McClellan
6. Jonathan Ford

The roster squeeze is going to be felt the most on the interior defensive line, where Jonathan Ford, Nazir Stackhouse and Anthony Campbell are all fighting for essentially one roster spot. Right now, I'd give the nod to Ford, who has started back-to-back preseason games with the first-team defense as a head-up nose tackle. He has a more defined role in the starting lineup than either Stackhouse or Campbell at the moment.

Reminder: Jordon Riley will start the year on the PUP list, too.

Edge Defender

1. Lukas Van Ness
2. Barryn Sorrell
3. Brenton Cox Jr.
4. Collin Oliver
5. Dani Dennis-Sutton

This is a pretty clear 1-2-3-4 pecking order, with the question mark being where rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton, who has been held out of back-to-back preseason games after overheating in a practice, fits into the mix. Assume the early-season starters will be Lukas Van Ness and Barryn Sorrell, with Brenton Cox Jr. being the next man up and Collin Oliver playing in some obvious pass-rushing situations.

Once Micah Parsons returns from the PUP list, the team might have to drop one of these players (if injuries haven't already solved that problem), at which point they'll need to ask themselves whether they believe holding Cox through the end of the 2026 season is more valuable than hanging onto the remainder of Oliver's rookie contract.

It's likely that Arron Mosby makes the team's practice squad and is called up at some point during the 2026 season to play special teams, but that's mostly a kicking game thing, as he hasn't contributed much as a defender in the NFL.

Off-Ball Linebacker

1. Zaire Franklin
2. Edgerrin Cooper
3. Isaiah McDuffie
4. Ty'Ron Hopper
5. Nick Niemann

This one is pretty clear. They're running back the unit from last year but replacing Quay Walker with Zaire Franklin. Kristian Welch should be available to call up from the practice squad if there are injuries, and he, like Nick Niemann, is mostly in Green Bay to play special teams, not defense.

Cornerback

1. Keisean Nixon
2. Carrington Valentine
3. Brandon Cisse
4. Benjamin St-Juste
5. Domani Jackson

Domani Jackson actually worked behind Jaylin Simpson versus the Broncos, but Jackson also just returned to practice recently after recovering from an offseason surgery to his core. Brian Gutekunst doesn't really like letting go of his draft picks, so I'm leaning Jackson here over Simpson.

Safety

1. Xavier McKinney
2. Evan Williams
3. Javon Bullard
4. Kitan Oladapo
5. Kamal Hadden

The top four are pretty self-explanatory, as they've been on the roster since 2024, when they were all added to the team. Shoutout to whoever was doing safety crosschecks for the Packers that year.

I'm moving Kamal Hadden to the safety position, as he only played the slot role and the third safety role for the Packers against the Broncos, displacing Kitan Oladapo as Javon Bullard's preferred backup. With that being said, Oladapo plays the true safety position, too, which Hadden hasn't done (at least yet).

If you want to think about it this way: The backup at true safety would be Bullard (who would then kick to the slot when the team is not in their 3-4 base). When Bullard kicks to the slot if there were an injury to Xavier McKinney or Evan Williams, Oladapo would play that true safety role. If Bullard is ever hurt, Hadden would step up in the slot. That's how the Packers are covering their bases right now.

Kicker

1. Trey Smack

Punter

1. Daniel Whelan

Long Snapper

1. Matt Orzech

The Packers continue to hang onto Matt Orzech, which makes me think that they want him to be their long snapper once he's called up from the PUP list. The team has stated that Orzech should be returning to the field soon, so we should get an Orzech vs. Cal Adomitis battle at the position as we approach the cutdown deadline.

I'm sure fans who have watched Trey Smack kick perfectly this preseason don't want to mess with the operation, but there's no incentive for Green Bay to hang onto Orzech at this point unless they're hoping he pushes Adomitis for the job. That's just my line of thinking.

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So that gets us to 53 players. As far as the roster game with just two tight ends, I could see the team looking to add a player via waivers at cutdowns. If that happens, the top candidates to be waived on the day after the cutdown deadline, when teams will have fewer opportunities to make claims because of filled roster spots, would probably be WR J. Michael Sturdivant, OL Donovan Jennings and CB Domani Jackson.

If you're in the Packers' position and want to keep one of those players on the practice squad to start the year, it could be much safer to waive that player on the day after teams put in their initial waiver claims than the day of the cutdown deadline, even if that means only rostering two tight ends on the first official roster of the season.

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Let me know your opinion on this 53-man roster and what you would have done differently in the comments section.

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