Green Bay Packers: Revised Final 53-Man Roster Prediction
By Paul Bretl
![July 30, 2021; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (19), wide receiver Juwann Winfree (88), wide receiver Davante Adams (17) and wide receiver Malik Taylor (86) participate in training camp Friday, July 30, 2021, in Green Bay, Wis. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY NETWORK July 30, 2021; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (19), wide receiver Juwann Winfree (88), wide receiver Davante Adams (17) and wide receiver Malik Taylor (86) participate in training camp Friday, July 30, 2021, in Green Bay, Wis. Mandatory Credit: Dan Powers-USA TODAY NETWORK](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/1c465d8d21414ffd737f904a7f421fb278981db62caa0ebc47ba9e7927de3612.jpg)
Defensive line (5): Kenny Clark, Kingsley Keke, Dean Lowry, TJ Slaton, Tyler Lancaster
Previous prediction: Kenny Clark, Kingsley Keke, Dean Lowry, TJ Slaton, Tyler Lancaster
There is no change from last time because this position group is pretty straight forward. In fact, I’d say it’s the easiest position to address on this roster.
UDFAs Jack Heflin, Willington Previlon, and Josh Avery — all with no NFL experience — are on the outside looking in.
Edge rusher (4): Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Jonathan Garvin
Previous prediction (5): Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith, Rashan Gary, Jonathan Garvin, and Tipa Galeai
From the sounds of it, Randy Ramsey — who was on the roster in 2020 — is going to miss significant time after suffering an ankle injury in practice, so he is no longer competing for a roster spot. And since I’m only rostering four edge rushers instead of five, I went with Jonathan Garvin over Tipa Galeai because of his upside as a pass-rusher.
The reason that I went from five edge rushers to four was that I added a roster spot elsewhere to help bolster the special teams unit. Like the running back position with Jones and Dillon, at edge, a majority of the snaps will go to The Smiths and Gary, so I thought it was better to use that roster spot at a different position.
Linebacker (5): De’Vondre Campbell, Krys Barnes, Kamal Martin, Isaiah McDuffie, Ty Summers
Previous Prediction (4): De’Vondre Campbell, Krys Barnes, Kamal Martin, Isaiah McDuffie
De’Vondre Campbell and Krys Barnes have been taking most of the linebacker reps with the starting defense, and we know Kamal Martin is a roster lock as well.
Although Isaiah McDuffie is yet to practice because of an injury, I really believe he can be an immediate help to the special teams unit. As I just mentioned, I added a fifth roster spot to the linebacker position to hopefully bolster the special teams unit with Ty Summers, and he has also seen his fair share of practice reps with the 2s as well.
Oren Burks is on the hot seat, and we’ve rarely heard his name mentioned early on. I believe that the Green Bay Packers choose the cap savings over rostering him again.