After winning nine games in the 2023 season and making some noise in the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers are poised to emerge as one of the toughest teams in the NFC going forward. This is a team that is obviously used to having a lot of success, but there were major question marks a year ago at this time about whether or not Jordan Love was going to be able to become the next franchise quarterback.
Now that the Packers know they have a stud at quarterback, general manager Brian Gutekunst and head coach Matt Lafleur really need to make sure they don't screw anything up in terms of surrounding him with talent on the rest of the roster.
With training camp getting closer and closer, who is actually going to make this Packers roster in 2024?
Green Bay Packers 53-man roster prediction before training camp
Quarterback - 2 (2/53)
- Jordan Love
- Michael Pratt
Let’s start off with at least a little bit of a surprise as the Packers go with just two quarterbacks on this roster projection, and one of them is not 2023 fifth-round pick Sean Clifford. The former Penn State starter has had a rough offseason overall, and is going to need a big training camp and preseason to hold off seventh-round rookie Michael Pratt for that QB2 spot behind Jordan Love.
I still don’t exactly love the fact that the Packers would have to turn to either of these guys in the event that Jordan Love would have to miss time this year, but Pratt went way later than people would really have ever anticipated. He was supposed to be a 3rd-5th-round pick and the Packers got him just before the draft ended. He might open up the 2024 season one snap away from playing.
Specialists - 3 (5/53)
- Anders Carlson, kicker
- Daniel Whelan, punter
- Matt Orzech, long snapper
There is a kicker competition going on for the Packers right now between 2023 draft pick Anders Carlson – who struggled last season, to say the least – and both Greg Joseph and James Turner. The Packers were one of a handful of teams to look into signing star UFL kicker Jake Bates, but they were beaten out by the Detroit Lions. After the Lions signed Bates, they cut James Turner and the Packers added him quickly.
It’s starting to feel less like the Packers are trying to find competition for Anders Carlson and a little more like they are trying to replace him as quickly as possible. We’ll see what happens.
Running backs - 4 (9/53)
- Josh Jacobs
- MarShawn Lloyd
- AJ Dillon
- Emanuel Wilson
It’s been a huge offseason for the Green Bay Packers at the running back position. They went out in the first wave of NFL free agency and signed Josh Jacobs, the former All-Pro Raiders running back who replaced longtime starter Aaron Jones. Not only did the Packers spend big money on Jacobs, but they also used a top-100 pick on USC star running back Marshawn Lloyd, and offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said they want to get Lloyd involved right away.
It was rather surprising to see AJ Dillon brought back, in general, but he looked good at OTAs and the Packers have some enviable depth at this position after struggling with injuries last year. One of the players who stepped up after injuries was 2023 UDFA Emanuel Wilson, who showed enough last year to stick around for another season.
Wide receivers - 6 (15/53)
- Christian Watson
- Romeo Doubs
- Jayden Reed
- Dontayvion Wicks
- Bo Melton
- Malik Heath
The 2024 season marks year three for Christian Watson, who has had a couple of up-and-down seasons for the Packers to start off his NFL career. There has obviously been a lot of good from Watson – he has more touchdown catches than any other receiver to come into the league in 2022 (12) – but there have also been some concerns in the form of injuries and lack of availability. If he can emerge as a consistent WR1, this can be the best receiver room in the league.
It’s going to be tough to leave any of these six players off of a final roster projection, which is bad news for players like Grant DuBose, Samori Toure, and anyone else competing for a roster spot. Every single one of the guys listed here contributed in a big way last year, and the crazy thing is that Bo Melton was the first one of them all to hit 100 yards receiving in a game. This depth is off the charts.
Tight Ends - 3 (18/53)
- Luke Musgrave
- Tucker Kraft
- Tyler Davis
The Green Bay Packers seem to like doubling up in the NFL Draft at certain positions even when it may not be necessary, but using two really high picks on tight ends last year was a necessity. This team went from having one of the least interesting groups of tight ends in the league to having a duo that could end up being better than pretty much anyone else’s.
The question with both Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft is – can they stay healthy?
Injuries happen all over the NFL, obviously, but Musgrave and Kraft have historically struggled in that category. There’s just no denying the talent that they have when they’re on the field, especially together. They combined for 65 receptions and over 700 yards receiving last year as rookies.
Offensive Line - 9 (27/53)
- Rasheed Walker
- Elgton Jenkins
- Josh Myers
- Jordan Morgan
- Zach Tom
- Andre Dillard
- Sean Rhyan
- Travis Glover
- Jacob Monk
We knew there was going to be an emphasis on reshaping the offensive line for the Packers in 2024, but they really went hard after some upgrades. The most obvious was letting starting right guard Jon Runyan Jr. go in free agency (New York Giants) and adding former Arizona starter Jordan Morgan in the first round of the NFL Draft. The addition of Jordan Morgan hasn’t gone according to plan just yet, but the Packers obviously love his talent and versatility and eventually envision him being in their starting five somewhere.
Beyond the addition of Jordan Morgan, the Packers added former first-round pick Andre Dillard who could be a nice swing option and project for Adam Stenavich to work with. They went in the later rounds of the NFL Draft and added Jacob Monk (5th round) and Travis Glover (6th round) as some young guys with versatility and upside.
With the NFL’s new kickoff return rules, you might even start to see these backup offensive linemen making a major impact on special teams as well.
Defensive Line - 5 (32/53)
- Kenny Clark
- Devonte Wyatt
- Karl Brooks
- TJ Slaton
- Colby Wooden
When it comes to the overall defensive front, the Green Bay Packers are one of the toughest teams in the NFL. Kenny Clark is one of the most underrated players in the league – regardless of position – and the Packers have some really nice pieces in Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks. Each of those three guys had six or more TFL last season and at least four sacks. There’s some nice depth on the defensive front, but nothing absolutely crazy.
The key is that the Packers just get great contributions from all of the guys listed here in somewhat limited snaps. They help keep each other fresh and productive. It will be fascinating to see how new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley utilizes each of them.
Edge Defenders - 5 (37/53)
- Rashan Gary
- Preston Smith
- Lukas Van Ness
- Kingsley Enagbare
- Brenton Cox Jr.
The other part of the Packers’ productive defensive front is this edge defender group, led by Rashan Gary and Preston Smith. Both Gary and Smith are models of consistency when it comes to sacks, pressures, QB hits, and hurries. They finished 1st and 2nd on the team last year with 9.0 and 8.0 sacks respectively, and each of them eclipsed 20 quarterback hits on the year.
The Packers didn’t put Lukas Van Ness out there a ton in 2023 (365 total snaps) but he still finished with 4.0 sacks and 10 QB hits, the 5th-best marks on the entire team.
You expect the role of Van Ness to grow this coming season along with the return of both Kingsley Enagbare and Brenton Cox Jr. The Packers have the ability to bring pass rush in waves.
Linebackers - 6 (43/53)
- Quay Walker
- Edgerrin Cooper
- Ty'Ron Hopper
- Isaiah McDuffie
- Eric Wilson
- Kristian Welch
When it comes to constructing this overall Packers roster, one of the areas that is going to look more different than just about any other is the linebacker position. Quay Walker – the team’s leading tackler by far despite only playing 14 games – returns as the leader of the group but he’s got some new help. The Packers used Day 2 picks on both Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper who could both end up in the starting lineup of Jeff Hafley’s 4-3 base defense.
Because they run a 4-3 base defense, it’s reasonable to expect the Packers to keep six guys at this position. Players like Eric Wilson, Isaiah McDuffie, and Kristian Welch are going to have to provide depth but also bring it on special teams (like they did last year with over 200 snaps each).
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia isn’t going to complain about having those guys back.
Cornerbacks - 5 (48/53)
- Jaire Alexander
- Eric Stokes
- Keisean Nixon
- Carrington Valentine
- Corey Ballentine
To say the Packers’ inactivity in terms of upgrading the cornerback position in 2024 was surprising would be an understatement. The Packers declined Eric Stokes’s 5th-year option and ultimately didn’t draft anyone at cornerback until the 7th round (Kalen King) who isn’t even on the final roster here. They are putting their trust in some guys who got opportunities last year in the wake of Stokes’s latest injury as well as some players who are trusted by Rich Bisaccia for their special teams abilities.
I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see the Packers go out and look for upgrades via trade or the waiver wire if they can create roster spots elsewhere. Kalen King is going to need to have a great preseason on special teams to steal a roster spot from someone else.
Safety - 5 (53/53)
- Xavier McKinney
- Javon Bullard
- Evan Williams
- Kitan Oladapo
- Anthony Johnson Jr.
The Packers made some necessary and big-time upgrades to the safety position in the 2024 offseason, starting with their biggest free agency investment – Xavier McKinney. The former Giants second-round pick is going to come in and make a substantial impact right away, along with former Georgia star Javon Bullard, one of the Packers’ second-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
With those two guys starting, the team has immediately upgraded over last year’s unit which has been pretty much completely overhauled. The Packers drafted three safeties and I think we’ll see all three of them (Bullard, Evan Williams, Kitan Oladapo) make the roster and be active on gamedays. One of them is going to have to beat out Anthony Johnson, who actually started some last year and got to play a little special teams as well.
