3 Packers Still on Thin Ice Despite Surviving Roster Cuts

2. Zayne Anderson, DB

One roster decision that shocked Packers fans was management opting to retain defensive back Zayne Anderson over the likes of Anthony Johnson Jr. After all, Johnson — a former 2023 seventh-rounder — played 12 games (4 starts) for Green Bay last season and even saw first-team reps this summer while Anderson is a career special teamer.

It's going to be interesting to see if keeping Anderson was the right choice once the dust settles.

While having a strong special teams unit is important, Anderson's usage is fairly one-dimensional. The ex-BYU defender hasn't played a single defensive snap across the last three seasons, instead playing all 237 of his snaps on special teams. Those opportunities resulted in four solo tackles with three of them occurring last season alone.

In other words, it's difficult to tell if Anderson could handle a defensive role if given the chance. He played 74 snaps for the Packers in the preseason, registering three solo tackles with a miss as Pro Football Focus gave him a 59.7 tackling grade and a mark of 58.7 for his run defense.

Even though I understand why Anderson is on the team, it's clear that he isn't an irreplaceable presence.