Quick Takeaways on Packers unofficial depth chart ahead of 49ers game

The Green Bay Packers released their unofficial depth chart ahead of their first preseason game with the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night.

Now, before I get into some quick thoughts, I can’t stress enough the word unofficial because that’s exactly what this is. Matt Schneidman of The Athletic would also mention that this is put together by the PR team — not the coaching staff — and is an estimation of where the players stand.

Based on what we’ve seen and heard from the Packers’ training camp practices, here are the items that stand out to me.

– Players listed on the PUP list, which includes David Bakhtiari, Elgton Jenkins, Robert Tonyan, Christian Watson, Mason Crosby, and Kylin Hill, are not going to be included on the depth chart.

– It’s not a surprise that the veteran receivers — Sammy Watkins, Randall Cobb, and Allen Lazard — are listed as the starters. Even with Romeo Doubs playing well, my guess is that this is what the depth chart looks like on Week 1. As Aaron Rodgers said, “production over potential,” or at least initially. With that said, that doesn’t mean that Doubs or another receiver won’t have their fair share of playing time.

– The starting offensive line matches what we’ve seen for the most part during practice. The other starting combination utilized has been Zach Tom, Jon Runyan, Josh Myers, Royce Newman, and Yosh Nijman. This group, and really every combination that we’ve seen, have had their issues against this Packers’ defensive front. The play of the offensive line this year is going to be so crucial to this offense’s success.

– Tyler Goodson is listed ahead of Patrick Taylor and BJ Baylor. As I wrote recently, no one has really stood out at this position. So for all we know, this could be the case–although on my recent roster prediction, I did put Taylor ahead of the undrafted rookies based on his experience and special teams ability.

– Based on playing time so far, I don’t see Dominique Dafney over Tyler Davis. So far, Davis has seen his share of reps with the first-team offense and can best fill the void in the passing game while Robert Tonyan is out. This doesn’t mean that Dafney can’t make the roster as a fifth tight end, but he will really have to shine on special teams.

– The edge rusher group behind Preston Smith and Rashan Gary remains a bit unclear but based on snaps with the second team defense, La’Darius Hamilton should be higher than what he is listed as here. Tipa Galeai was oftentimes Hamilton’s running mate, but he saw his snaps with the second-team reduced on Family Night. I also think that Kingsley Enagbare is actually ranked higher as well, just given where he was drafted.

– Given Rico Gafford’s special teams ability with his 4.22 speed and the fact that he has been lined up everywhere, not to mention that he has several pass breakups, I don’t see him being behind Kabion Ento.

– I’m also not so sure that Innis Gaines is actually ahead of Shawn Davis and Dallin Leavitt. Davis was viewed as the front-runner for the third safety role coming out minicamp and has had first-team snaps in camp, while Leavitt feels like a roster lock given his special teams experience with Rich Bisaccia. The playing time in practice also doesn’t support this either.

– Everything else seems line up with what we have seen and heard from the first 11 training camp practices up to this point.