Way Too Early Post Draft Packers 53-Man Roster Prediction
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers Defense and Special Teams
Interior Defensive Line (5): Kenny Clark, Jarran Reed, TJ Slaton, Devonte Wyatt, and Dean Lowry
Last season the Green Bay Packers kept six interior defensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster; however, I don’t see that being necessary this year. Jack Heflin was the six defensive linemen and rarely saw the field. These five players will make up the Packers’ interior rotation–giving them their deepest unit in a number of years.
Edge Rusher (5): Rashan Gary, Preston Smith, Kingsley Enagbare, Randy Ramsey, and Jonathan Garvin
Gary and Smith are, of course, locks, and Enagbare can hopefully provide a pass rush presence in obvious passing situations. But filling out those final two roster spots wasn’t easy.
Randy Ramsey missed all of last season due to an injury but saw his fair share of snaps at edge rusher in 2020 and was a core special teams player that year as well. Jonathan Garvin took his lumps last season, but he’s still a young player — just 22-years-old and entering his third NFL season — so, at this stage of the process, I’ll choose his upside. Tipa Galeia was left off, and a big reason is that it is going to be more challenging for him to impact the run game with his frame.
Linebacker (5): Quay Walker, De’Vondre Campbell, Krys Barnes, Tariq Carpenter, and Isaiah McDuffie
Barnes may see his defensive snaps take a hit, but he can still provide value on special teams, and there’s plenty of value in having his experience off the bench if needed. Carpenter and McDuffie will also be core special teams players as well. Ultimately, Ty Summers, who is entering his fourth NFL season and, if on the roster, would be a special teams player, was left off. Given that special teams would be his main role, I decided to with the youth of Carpenter and McDuffie instead.
Cornerback (6): Jaire Alexander, Rasul Douglas, Eric Stokes, Shemar Jean-Charles, Keisean Nixon, and Kabion Ento
As good as the first three cornerbacks on the depth chart are, the next three have just as many question marks. Jean-Charles will give the Green Bay Packers another option out of the slot, while I like the special teams ability that both Nixon and Ento can bring. If the Packers are going to make a free agent addition yet, adding a veteran to this room wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Safety (4): Adrian Amos, Darnell Savage, Innis Gaines, and Vernon Scott
I decided to keep four safeties instead of five because, with the addition of Quay Walker at linebacker, my guess is that we won’t see as many three safety looks from the Green Bay Packers this season.
Innis Gaines impressed last summer, both on the defensive side of the ball as well as on special teams. However, figuring out who the fourth safety will be wasn’t easy. Scott was on the roster last season but didn’t see any playing time and was inactive. I ultimately gave him the benefit of the doubt because of his experience as he is entering his third season, but a name to watch is UDFA Tre Sterling.
Specialists (3): Mason Crosby, Pat O’Donnell, and Steven Wirtel
O’Donnell signed a two-year deal–so he’s going to be the punter in 2022. I do believe there will some competition at kicker, but until I see otherwise, I’ll assume Crosby will win that role–and likely fairly easily. My hope is that there is competition at long-snapper this summer, but again, until I see otherwise, I’m choosing Wirtel.