Quick Breakdown of Packers 2023 undrafted rookie signings

At least for the time being, the Green Bay Packers’ list of undrafted rookie signees is set. This year, Green Bay made 12 signings following the 2023 NFL Draft to help round out their roster.

For the most part, from a positional standpoint, these signings came where you’d expect as the Packers continue to build out their depth at receiver, tight end, and the interior defensive line–three position groups that were incredibly thin prior to the draft taking place.

"“The amount of names that these guys (team scouts) go through during the fall and spring is pretty enormous,” said Gutekunst after the draft. “We have them rated at all different levels, and we have rookie mini-camp coming up as well. There’s always names up there (on the big board). I will say, when you get down to it, this undrafted free agency is chaotic and a pretty neat time. There’s always a few names where ‘I can’t believe he’s still up there,’ and we will invite them to rookie mini-camp and be excited about that. There’s as much energy and juice with the UDFA signings as there is in the draft at times. These guys work so hard to get to this point, and that they’re able to do that is a big deal. As you guys know, we’ve had some guys come out of it and be really good players for us.”"

As OTAs, mini-camp, and training camp unfold, there always seems to be one undrafted rookie who ends up making a roster push. Although this year, at least on paper, there doesn’t seem to be many positions with a spot on the 53-man roster up for grabs.

In the coming weeks, I will take a closer look at each of these 11 players, but for now, here is a quick rundown of what you need to know.

Duece Watts, WR, Tulane

6’1″ | 196 | RAS: 7.00

Watts was targeted 155 times, catching 80 (52%) of those passes at 16.0 yards per catch with 16 touchdowns. He was a downfield target for Tulane, with an average depth of target of 17.1 yards, the 17th most in college football in 2022, with 34% of his targets coming 20 or more yards downfield.

Keshawn Banks, Edge, San Diego State

6’3″ | 251 | RAS: 2.09

Like the other members of the defensive front who the Packers drafted, Banks is versatile. He played 653 snaps from the B-gap, 609 lined up over the tackle, and 1,152 at edge. Between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he recorded 85 pressures, including 53 in 2021 and eight sacks. His run defense grade from PFF in 2022 ranked 35th, and he ranked 38th in run stop rate.

Hunter Pearson, TE, Appalachian State

6’2″ | 249 | RAS: 4.51

Pearson was known more as a blocker than a pass catcher. Over his college career, he had 1,404 snaps as a run-blocker. In 2022, he caught 25 of his 32 targets and averaged 13.2 yards per catch with five touchdowns. He did move around, spending 24% of his snaps from the slot, and accumulated 389 special teams snaps over his career.

Jimmy Phillips, LB, SMU

6’1″ | 232 | RAS: 3.44

Phillips had just over 1,500 career defensive snaps, with 522 coming on the defensive line, another 690 as a box defender, and 264 from the slot. He has been a very reliable tackler throughout his career, making 165 out of his 176 total attempts, and he had the 10th-best tackling grade among linebackers in 2022. In 2022, Phillips logged 14 pressures and six pass breakups as well. It’s also important to note that Phillips has a whopping 834 special teams snaps at SMU.

Chuck Filiaga, IOL, Minnesota

6’5″ | 321 | RAS: 7.89

Filiaga was a guard for the Gophers, spending 497 snaps on the left side and another 966 on the right. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he was credited with giving up just two sacks and 14 pressures during that span. His run-blocking grade from PFF ranked 27th out of 200 guards this past season.

Malik Heath, WR, Ole Miss

6’2″ | 213 | RAS: 6.58

Heath had at least 53 targets in each of the last three seasons, including a career-high of 76 in 2022. He ended up catching 52 (68%) of those passes at 16.0 yards per catch with four touchdowns. Nearly all of Heath’s snaps (97%) came on the boundary, and he was efficient with his opportunities, averaging 2.45 yards per route run.

Jason Lewan, IDL, Illinois State

6’6″ | 292 | RAS: 8.54

Most of Lewan’s career snaps came as a defensive end, but he did line up in the B-gap 315 times as well. This past season, he logged 13 pressures, one sack, and 17 stops. His PFF run defense grade ranked as the 25th best among all interior defenders in the 2023 draft class. With only five interior defenders on the roster before the draft, this is a position where the Packers needed more depth for OTAs and training camp.

Christian Morgan, S, Baylor

6’0″ | 200 | RAS: 8.67

Morgan has nearly 1,900 career snaps. 696 have come in the box, 750 as the free safety, and 368 from the slot. In 2022, he allowed just nine completions on 18 targets at 21.9 yards per catch. He made 45 of his 53 tackle attempts, along with recording three interceptions and two pass breakups. Morgan ranked 33rd out of 200 safeties in PFF’s run defense grade and played 337 total special teams snaps.

Benny Sapp, S, UNI

6’1″ | 205 | 4.40

The majority of Sapps’ snaps have come as a traditional safety, but he also played 383 from the box and 349 from the slot. Throughout his career, Sapp allowed 43 completions on 66 targets at 15.6 yards per catch with nine interceptions and four pass breakups. he made 120 of his 150 tackle attempts and played almost 500 special teams snaps.

Kadeem Telfort, OT, UAB

6’8″ | 319 | 1.59

The next Caleb Jones? Telfort stands tall and, from a testing standpoint, didn’t put up impressive numbers, similar to Jones last offseason. Just about all of his snaps at UAB came at left tackle, where he allowed two sacks and just 18 pressures over the last two seasons. He ranked 40th among tackles by PFF’s run-blocking grade.

Camren McDonald, TE, Florida State

6’4″ | 245 | 2.52

As a pass catcher, McDonald hauled in 74 of his 114 career targets at 11.7 yards per catch with five touchdowns. In 2022, he had a career-high 15.0 yards per catch and ranked 28th, with an average YAC of 7.0. McDonald had 33% of his total snaps come from the sot, along with 784 as a run-blocker and another 470 snaps on special teams.

Brenton Cox, Edge, Florida

6’4” | 250 | RAS: 6.57

Cox spent the majority of his 1,730 snaps lined up as a true edge rusher. He played just seven games in 2022, but during the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Cox would accumulate 74 pressures and eight sacks. In 2021 specifically, he ranked 17th out of all edge rushers by PFF’s run defense grading system. He was dismissed from both the Georgia and Florida programs.

All stats courtesy of pff.com